Mykola Bunge and His Contribution to the Development of Agriculture in the Dnieperian Ukraine in the 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The article examines the political and economic aspects of M. Bunge’s activities in the context of the all-Russian reforms of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries. The study is aimed at identifying the main concepts of his agrarian policy, assessing the impact of his proposed reforms on the development of agriculture, and determining their effectiveness in the context of socio-economic transformations in the region.

The authors analyze the contribution of M. Bunge to the preparation of the General Provisions on Peasants of 1861, where he worked on one of the most complex aspects of the peasant reform – redemption operations, making a significant contribution to the development of the ‘Provisions on Redemption’. Attention is focused on the fact that M. Bunge believed that the logical continuation of agrarian changes should be the abolition of the poll tax, reform of the mortgage lending system, the introduction of general private ownership of land, changes in passport regulation, as well as transformations in other areas of the national economy. It is emphasized that in the agricultural sector, M. Bunge focused on many problems, in particular: land tenure, land use and land ownership; organization of redemption transactions through credit mechanisms; development of agricultural production based on the economic independence of peasants; settlement of socio-economic contradictions between various economic entities during the transformation of land ownership; adaptation of the peasant economy to market conditions; as well as reforming the feudal tax system in accordance with the new economic realities of the agricultural sector.

It is noted that while serving as Minister of Finance, M. Bunge actively implemented a policy aimed at expanding private land ownership among peasants. An important mechanism for implementing this strategy was mortgage lending, thanks to which peasants were able to purchase land for private ownership. Attention is drawn to the contribution of M. Bunge to the creation of the Peasant Land Bank, the main goal of which was to provide peasants of all categories with long-term loans to simplify the process of land acquisition.

It is stated that during his life, M. Bunge’s economic views underwent changes: from adherence to economic liberalism and the idea of market self-regulation, he gradually moved to recognizing the need for moderate state intervention in the economic and social sphere in order to ensure social stability and development.

It is concluded that the agrarian transformations of the second half of the 19^th century in Dnieper Ukraine became an important stage in the formation of a market economy, and the economic views and reforms of Mykola Bunge played a key role in this process. Thanks to his initiatives, in particular the creation of the Peasant Land Bank, an attempt was made to resolve the land issue and improve the situation of the peasantry. Although the reforms could not completely eliminate the socio-economic problems of the agricultural sector, they were an important step towards the modernization of agriculture and the development of private peasant farming.