Agricultural Situation Before 1906

• Although the rural economy provided a livelihood for 80-90% of the Russian population it was largely ignored or sacrificed in the interests of industrialisation until 1906 when Pyotr Stolypin was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs
• Before 1906 farming had remained small scale and in the hands of former serfs and state peasants who were tied to their local mir by redemption dues and heavy taxation
• Traditional – wooden plough still used medieval rotation system lack of husbandry
• The amount of land available to farm did not grow
• There was pressure from a growing population upon resources
• Some peasants managed to improve themselves since the Emancipation Edict by buying up land and farming more efficiently (kulaks).