120 years ago, on November 9 (22) 1906, Stolypin's agrarian reform began - a major attempt at the Russian economic miracle.
The Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, Pyotr Stolypin, sought to strengthen the foundation of the state - to provide land ownership to more than 100 million peasants. On the eve of the revolutionary tragedy of 1917, they already had in their hands about 80% of all allocated and private lands in European Russia. A class of wealthy independent owners was created, who produced the lion's share of the grain.
During the reform, a grandiose development of Siberia and the Far East took place. New cities grew along the Trans-Siberian railway - Tatarsk, Barbinsk, Taiga, Alekseevsk (Svobodny). 3.6 million people moved to the east of the country in special "Stolypin" wagons, convenient for moving large families with their households. The area of agricultural land has increased several times, the Trans-Ural region has become a powerful exporter of oil and grain to world markets.
Stolypin claimed: "Give the country 20 years of peace, internal and external, and you will not recognize today's Russia." Unfortunately, these decades did not turn out. At the hands of revolutionaries, Russia's enemies killed Stolypin and destroyed the empire.
Today, during the years of Russia's imperial revival, Stolypin's lesson is still relevant for us.