The Peasants' Land Bank () was a

financial institution A financial institution, sometimes called a banking institution, is a business entity that provides service as an intermediary for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial ins ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

founded by

nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

during the reign of Alexander III.

History

The Peasants' Land Bank was created to help peasants purchase their own farms. The Peasants' Land Bank was somewhat limited in its effectiveness by a lack of funding; it was also not nearly as generous as the

Nobles' Land Bank Nobles' Land Bank () was a bank operating in the Russian Empire founded in 1885. The bank was created to provide cheap loans to Russian landed nobility as the mortgages of their estates. History The Nobles' Land Bank was founded in 1885 to main ...

, which had lower interest rates. Nikolai von Bunge also abolished the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

, which was only paid by peasants, in 1886, which helped to reduce the financial burden the peasants faced. The bank began operations in April 1883, with nine branches. In 1888, its activity was extended to include the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

; by 1891, it had thirty-nine branches. Each bank was managed by a council consisting of: a manager; an assistant manager; three others appointed by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

; and lastly a member representing the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. Under

Peter Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin ( rus, Пётр Аркадьевич Столыпин, p=pʲɵtr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ stɐˈlɨpʲɪn; – ) was a Russian statesman who served as the third prime minister and the interior minister of the Russian E ...

, the Land Bank was extended to make it easier for the peasants to set up their own farms, and by 1907, 670.3 million roubles had been repaid out of a total of 2,012 million.

References

*Sally Waller (June 8, 2015)
Oxford AQA History for A Level: Tsarist and Communist Russia 1855-1964
Oxford University Press. — Texbook. Defunct banks of Russia Banks established in 1882 Banks with year of disestablishment missing 1882 establishments in the Russian Empire Banks of the Russian Empire {{Russia-hist-stub