Capítulo 16: Disagreements and controversies
Using administrative orders to promote population migration is not a new idea in Russia.
Witte's Siberian Railway Committee continuously gathered large numbers of construction workers to head to Siberia.
The construction of the railway required a massive labor force, but the local workforce in Siberia was scarce. Besides bringing in external construction workers, Witte also found ways to use prisoners, soldiers, and indigenous people as laborers.
Under Witte's strong promotion, the Siberian Railway was extending towards the Far East at an astonishing speed of 650 versts per year.
Of course, these minor efforts were still far from comparable to the "ethnic expert" Stalin of later generations.
"Russia's land in Asia lacks labor. The resources there need manpower for development, and there is plenty of land there."
The Asian lands Nicholas referred to included the Amu Darya region in Central Asia suitable for cotton cultivation, relatively undeveloped land in West Siberia, and finally, the Far East.
Most of those present also agreed with the approach of transferring the surplus population from European Russia to Asia.
After all, this was just a brief suggestion. Many practical discussions would be left for the Tsar and his government to consider formally adopting.
With no objections, Nicholas nodded and took two pages of the draft to present his second proposal to the attendees.
"Regarding the second proposal, we can solve the problem of insufficient land for peasants through expropriation, purchase, and transfer of landlords' land."
Although the idea was to take land from landlords and give it to peasants, these three terms represented three different approaches.
Expropriation could be understood as taking without compensation.
Purchase, as the term suggests, involved buying land from landlords and then giving it to peasants.
Transfer, which was a concept that initially puzzled many officials, referred to the separation of ownership and usage rights.
"I see that the noble land bank has already acquired many lands mortgaged by nobles. Why not hand over these lands to the peasants for cultivation?"
Nicholas's idea seemed a bit simplistic to others.
"The long-standing collective ownership in village communes has made them not fully understand the concept of property rights and private ownership," a Ministry of Finance official explained to Nicholas. "Peasants would see it as redundant."
"Yes, to the peasants, this kind of transfer is no different from the previous renting of landlord land."
Some opponents echoed this sentiment.
"Well... a transfer could give peasants some bargaining power, reducing rent?"
Through the opposition, Nicholas further refined his nascent ideas.
"If it's not their property, will it positively incentivize peasants?"
Some doubted whether a policy of hanging a sheep's head while selling dog meat would gain peasants' support.
However, the "transfer" was a relatively minor point of contention.
"Expropriation is unacceptable to most landowners."
More opposition was directed at the word "expropriation" in Nicholas's proposal.
"Blindly increasing the amount of land for peasants will only lead to a decline in farming levels and a reduction in fertilization, resulting in peasants having more children to solve intensive farming issues. But how would this improve peasants' income?"
A National Property Department official, who doubted the peasants' farming skills, firmly opposed the expropriation of landlords' land.
"Even if all the landlords' land were transferred to the peasants, it wouldn't solve their hunger and bankruptcy problems."
Voices from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were even more intense.
Thus, the meeting saw heated debates.
To prevent the meeting from devolving into ineffective bickering and wasting time, Nicholas had to exert considerable effort and a loud voice to keep the meeting going.
"While we have disagreements on how to provide land to the peasants, we all agree on the need to improve peasants' land tenure. What do you think?"
Nicholas took a step back, using the meeting's common ground to gain everyone's agreement.
The Crown Prince's performance in the meeting was a departure from his previous gentle young man image. Though his table-pounding to quiet everyone was still somewhat immature and not decisive enough, many felt he was starting to resemble his father.
"We should focus on legal issues and correct errors in local administration."
Some conservative officials insisted that the current situation was already "good enough," and that the Tsar's intentions were fine, only botched by the lower ranks.
"Undoubtedly, this is an economic issue! The village commune system is outdated!"
Other members of the inspection team believed that the private land ownership and family farming model in the northwest and southwest regions were far superior to the communal system.
"The correct approach is to increase the number of peasants owning private land. They will use the land more efficiently, and these people will form the most solid foundation of national order in the future."
These suggestions were already somewhat in line with Stolypin's ideas.
"If many peasants own land, it will only lead to faster land consolidation, as peasants will sell land for personal gain. The peasant class will further sink into poverty and landlessness. Restricting peasants' land ownership might affect their income but at least ensures most have the material resources needed for survival."
Some rebutted from the perspective of class division and the wealth gap against the suggestions to support rich peasants.
Nicholas felt a headache as these suggestions, aside from some of the most conservative ones that could be easily dismissed, all seemed reasonable!
"Today's meeting is about improving the peasants' current situation and publishing an interim report based on this understanding."
Witte noticed Nicholas's budding hesitation and took over the meeting's leadership. After all, he was the vice-chairman of the inspection team, so there were few objections.
"What do you think, Witte?"
This meeting was somewhat anticlimactic. After the meeting, Nicholas, still sitting and pondering, had never dealt with such sharp differences before, which made him feel a bit troubled.
"Our country is still an agrarian nation. Therefore, the peasant issue can be said to be the foundation of Russia."
Witte reassured the Crown Prince, sensing Nicholas's genuine desire for change but also his confusion.
"But ultimately, Your Highness, you must understand, what do you want?"
"What do I want?"
"...?"
Nicholas was stunned. The answer to this question was so obvious. But the ease of answering it made the Crown Prince hesitate. After all, Witte wouldn't ask such a question casually or without reason.
Unable to figure it out, Nicholas decided to be honest with Witte. After all, there was nothing to hide.
"I want the countryside to become the solid foundation for the modernization of the Russian Empire, rather than continue to wither away as it is now."
"So, can I understand that Your Highness's primary goal is to enhance the economic capabilities of rural areas, disregarding other aspects for now?"
Though Witte's words hadn't fully clarified everything, Nicholas was already enlightened.
"...You're right. My goal is to boost the economic capacity of the countryside, providing Russia with the funds needed to drive modernization. Other aspects can be set aside for the time being."
Thanks to Witte's reminder, Nicholas saw the light. The fierce disagreements during the previous meeting had actually muddled his thoughts. The attendees did not understand the Crown Prince's internal priorities. They merely offered suggestions based on their knowledge and experience regarding Nicholas's broad concept of improving the peasants' situation.
Thus, the disagreements from the previous meeting could be further clarified. Besides economic disputes, there were also discussions about maintaining stability, providing basic living guarantees, and improving administrative efficiency.
"Since that's the case, I think I understand." Nicholas said quickly. "The next meeting should focus on increasing the peasants' income, at least ensuring the countryside can gather the funds necessary for national industrialization."
"Your Highness is wise."
Witte bowed. Before leaving, he told the Crown Prince that he would reconvene the inspection team for a brief pre-meeting report to limit the scope of the discussion.
The next day, the arguments at the meeting indeed diminished. With Witte effectively disciplining the venue, the discussion shifted from unrestricted chatter to a focused discussion on the peasants' economic income.
"Undoubtedly, the village commune is economically inferior to individual peasants owning private land."
According to Nicholas's understanding, most members of the inspection team believed that the collective ownership in the village communes hindered peasants' wealth accumulation, the spread of farming techniques, and capital accumulation.
Thus, the answer was already apparent.
"The future direction of Russia's agricultural reform should gradually force the dissolution of the village communes and support private land ownership and wealthy peasants."
Nicholas's conclusion, though somewhat anticipated by the inspection team, still caused quite a stir when the Crown Prince himself stated it.
"The positive role of the village communes cannot be entirely disregarded from an economic perspective. This is a flaw that does not obscure the virtues." Although the meeting's topic was limited, a few officials still expressed dissenting opinions. "The collective land in the communes is the fundamental guarantee for peasants' production and living. If the communes dissolve, perhaps only 20 out of 100 households could prosper, while the remaining 80 would inevitably decline."
"With the gradual transition of the peasants' economy from subsistence to a commodity economy, along with the development of handicrafts, side jobs, and migrant labor, relatively wealthy and well-off peasants have emerged. The old egalitarianism among peasants is giving way to wealth disparity, which is a natural phenomenon and fully aligns with economic development. The accumulation of wealth is a powerful tool for social and cultural advancement."
Witte's final remarks quelled all dissent. By now, most voices in the inspection team supported this conclusion.
However, this emerging conclusion felt eerily familiar to Nicholas.
"We can certainly allow the wealthy to lead the way and ultimately achieve common prosperity."
The Crown Prince responded to concerns about the wealth disparity that might emerge in the countryside. However, there was no doubt that this generation would bear many sacrifices.
"Then this meeting is concluded."
Nicholas slowly exhaled, the large number of attendees creating a strange odor in the cramped meeting room.
"I will summarize the meeting minutes into a new report as an interim result of the inspection team and call for more insightful discussions at the local level."
Witte, holding several scribbled-on drafts, bowed to Nicholas. He was ready to write the final report.
"Make sure to show me the final draft."
After some hesitation, Nicholas uneasily reminded Witte.
"Yes, Your Highness."
About three days later, the report written by Witte, titled "Interim Inspection Report on Rural Issues," was reviewed by Nicholas and published in the June issue of the Finance, Industry, and Commerce Bulletin, the exclusive magazine of the Ministry of Finance.
However, this report was not fully made public. It was intercepted during internal review by Minister of Internal Affairs Durnovo, who, surprised, immediately presented the information to Tsar Alexander III.
"Kharkov, with over fifty large-scale wars throughout history, has a history of complex rights and wrongs. Historians have noted that this ancient battlefield has determined the rise and fall of many dynasties, hence the saying about contending for the throne in Russia."
The undercurrents in St. Petersburg seemed distant to Nicholas, who was now in the capital of Kharkov province, Kharkov.
Since 1869, when Kharkov established a railway to the nearby Donetsk or Donbass coal fields, the industrial development of this hub city, particularly in metallurgy and machinery manufacturing, had been thriving.
"The largest metallurgical factories in southern Russia, such as the Alexandrov Factory, the Petrov Factory in Donetsk, and the Druzhkovka Metallurgical Plant, all use the most advanced coke fuel, with at least three blast furnaces each."
In June 1892, due to severe health issues caused by multiple strokes, Minister of Finance Vyshnegradskii stepped down amidst widespread criticism.
Witte, now the youngest Minister of Finance in the history of the Russian Empire, was well-versed in the industrial and commercial situation, able to discuss it in detail.
However, soon a telegram from St. Petersburg disrupted Nicholas's inspection.
Alexander III demanded that the Crown Prince return immediately.
The Count of Paris and his second daughter, Elena, were about to arrive in Kronstadt.
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