The issue of ownership of peasant allotment land in Siberia in the second half of the XIX century

In this article we submit for consideration the problem of introduction of private property on peasant allotment land and the opportunity of its spreading in Siberia. The necessity of introduction of land privacy was realized at the beginning of XIX century. So, a landowner Zubov considered that peasants cultivate land insufficiently in order to have a good crop, because it is not their property. Before the abrogation of serfdom in Russia the discussion between westernizers and slavophiles flares up again. Their points of view on the property problem were absolutely contrary. If slavophiles acknowled ged peasant property on allotment land, proceed from the fact that they invested their productive labour in it, westernizers thought that land privacy right should be concentrated in the state. The act of 19 February 1861 proposed to give peasants land in private property. Land lots, bought in results of redeemed operations were brought to the community and the community disposed them by its own. The community could divide lots between peasants and give everybody a lot in private ownership, or leave it in common possession. Every member of rillage society could demand to allot him land out of social possession, equal to his share of participation in acquisition of land. During state peasants managing reform it was decided to give them equal rights with peasants from serfdom dependence. According to the act of 18 January 1866 state peasants were transferred to state department of property than forming rural parishes. In the given act, the attention was concentrated on the point that peasants settled on the state lots own their land and keep their possession. This functioning order worked without changing up to the definition of land arrangement of the state peasants. Edict of November 24, 1866 foresaw introduction of private property in 36 provinces of The Russian Empire, except Siberia because its lands had no boundaries. The possibility of spreading act of 24 November 1866 on Siberian peasants had a committee under the leadership of M.N. Medem, set up in December 1872. The commission considered that optionally surveying state lands in both parts of Siberia may not be sufficient reason to postpone the land-unit. Land surveying and removal of the plan could be initiated immediately after the publication of the rules in Siberia on the land unit. As in Siberia have developed special forms of land use and prevailing remained gripping, the commission insisted that the officials conducting land management, strengthened border peasant ownership is not temporary and permanent land-signs established for general and special surveying, and that made up their plans would have legal force and the value of general plan survey. When gripping ownership in the hands of peasant focused virtually all three constituent property rights - ownership, use and disposal. The farmer thought that if they had invested labor in the cultivation of land, it is his property. However, subsequent legislation definitively determined the ownership of land by the state.

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