People's commissars for agriculture of the first Soviet government and the beginning of the revolutionary agrarian transformations in Russia (1917–1920)

Analysis of the activities of the first Soviet people’s commissars of agriculture in the context of the restructuring of the agrarian economy after the Revolution of 1917 is presented. A description of the causes and features of the land crisis in Russia and its impact on political life is given. The nature of the first experiments in the transformation of agriculture against the backdrop of revolutionary events is analyzed. As radical revolutionary forces came to power in Russia, the project of "socialization" of the land, developed by the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party and supported by the Bolsheviks, was attempted. The basis of this project was the specific ideas of socialists to achieve progress in agriculture only through the maximum centralization of agricultural production and the nationalization of land, eliminating any private land ownership. The assessment of the Soviet legislative acts related to the introduction of collective forms of land management and state management of the rural economy stands out in this description. It is noted that during the first three years of the revolution's development, decisive steps were taken to implement this project. However, the practical results clearly revealed their utopian nature. By 1921, the development of agriculture, as well as other sectors on the basis of governmentalization led to a general political crisis in the country and the need to introduce the New Economic Policy. The role of the first organizers of the Soviet agrarian system, the people's commissars of agriculture of the RSFSR, is highlighted. Some biographical information about them is given, and their political views on the ways of solving the land issue in the country are evaluated. The article provides an original interpretation of the first revolutionary transformations of the agrarian economy of Russia, as well as the participation of the people's commissars of agriculture in them.

1. Kabanov V.V. People's Commissar of Agriculture V.P. Milyutin. The First Soviet Government. October 1917 - July 1918. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1991. (In Russian).

2. Milyutin V. The first steps. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya zhizn' = Agricultural Life, 1922, no. 7.

3. Kolegaev A.L. At the frontier. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya zhizn' = Agricultural Life, 1922, no. 7. (In Russian).

4. Soldiers of the Party. Moscow, 1971, pp. 27–49.

5. Storozheva A.M. The resilient Bolsheviks. Ryazan', Moskovskii rabochii Publ., 1986. (In Russian).

6. Public figures of the Soviet Union and the revolutionary movement in Russia. Moscow, Sovetskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 1989. (In Russian).

7. The first Soviet government. Moscow, Politizdat, Publ., 1991. (In Russian).

8. Political Figures of Russia 1917: Biographical Dictionary. Moscow, Bol'shaya rossiiskaya entsiklopediya Publ., 1993. (In Russian).

9. Kabanov V.V. People's Commissar of Agriculture A.L. Kolegaev. The first Soviet government. October 1917 - July 1918. Moscow, Politizdat Publ., 1991. (In Russian).

10. Chernoivanov V.I. Commissars and Ministers of Agriculture of the USSR. 1917–1991. Moscow, 1997. (In Russian).

11. Lenin V.I. Speech at the meeting of the delegates of the Poor People's Committees on November 8, 1918. Complete Works, Moscow, Gospolitizdat Publ., 196, vol. 37. (In Russian).

12. Knipovich B.N. Analytical review of the activities of the People's Commissariat for Agriculture over three years (1917-1920). Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo, 1920. (In Russian).

13. Mitrofanov A. Revolutionary land legislation 1917-1920. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya zhizn' = Agricultural Life, 1922, no. 7. (In Russian).