Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 3 - From Marx to Mao

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM IN RUSSIA
allotment and purchased land—for 66.3% of the total rented
arable (Returns for Melitopol Uyezd, p. B. 190-194). On the
other hand, 40% of the households, the poor ones (those with
up to 10 dess. under crops), comprising 30.1 % of the peasant
population, account—despite the fact that they are worst
provided with allotment and purchased land—for 5.6% of
the total rented arable. As can be seen, this closely resembles
“equal per-capita distribution”!
Mr. Maress bases all his calculations of peasant land-renting
on the “assumption” that “the renting households are mainly
in the two groups worst provided” (provided with allotment
land; that “among the renting population there is equal percapita
(sic!) distribution of rented land”; and that “the renting
of land enables the peasants to pass from the groups
worst provided to those best provided” (34-35). We have
already shown that all these “assumptions” of Mr. Maress
directly contradict the facts. Actually, the very contrary is the
case, as Mr. Maress could not but have noted, had he—in
dealing with inequalities in economic life (p. 35)—taken
the data for the classification of households according to economic
indices (instead of according to allotment tenure),
and not limited himself to the unfounded “assumption” of
Narodnik prejudices.
Let us now compare Kamyshin Uyezd with other uyezds
in Saratov Gubernia. The ratios between the peasant groups
are everywhere the same, as is shown by the following data
for the four uyezds (Volsk, Kuznetsk, Balashov and Serdobsk)
in which, as we have said, the middle and the well-to-do peasants
are combined:
Groups of householders
Four uyezds in Saratov Gubernia
as % % of total
Households
Population,
both sexes
With no draught animals24.4 15.7 3.7 14.7 2.1 8.1 4.4
” 1 ” animal 29.6 25.3 18.5 23.4 13.9 19.8 19.2
” 2 and more animals29.6 25.3 18.5 23.4 13.9 19.8 19.2
Total . . . . . . 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Total animals
Allotment
land
Rented land
Total land
in use
Area under
crops
101