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

254
V. I. LENIN
noteworthy is the fact that it is commercial agriculture that
is growing: there is an increase in the amount of grain gathered
(after subtracting seed) per head of the population,
while among this population there is an ever-growing
division of social labour; there is an increase in the commercial
and industrial population; the agricultural population
splits up into rural entrepreneurs and a rural proletariat;
there is an extension of specialisation in agriculture itself,
so that the amount of grain produced for sale grows far
more rapidly than the total amount of grain produced in
the country. The capitalist character of the process is strikingly
illustrated by the increased share of potatoes in the
total agricultural production.* The increase in the area
under potatoes signifies, on the one hand, an improvement
in agricultural technique (the introduction of root-crops)
and increased technical processing of agricultural produce
(distilling and the manufacture of potato starch). On the
other hand, it is, from the viewpoint of the rural entrepreneur
class, the production of relative surplus-value (cheapening
of the cost of maintaining labour-power, deterioration
of the people’s nourishment). The data for the decade 1885-
1894 show further that the crisis of 1891-1892, which tremendously
intensified the expropriation of the peasantry,
led to a considerable reduction in the output of cereals and
to a reduction in the yield of all crops; but the process of
the displacement of cereals by potatoes continued with such
force that the per-capita output of potatoes increased, notwithstanding
the reduced yield. Finally, the last five years
(1900-1904) also show an increase in agricultural production,
an increase in the productivity of agricultural labour
* The net per-capita potato crop increased between 1864-1866
and 1870-1879 in all areas of European Russia without exception.
Between 1870-1879 and 1883-1887 the increase took place in 7 areas
out of 11 (the Baltic, Western, Industrial, North-Western, Northern,
Southern, Steppe, Lower- and Transvolga areas).
Cf. Agricultural Statistical Information Based on Material Obtained
from Farmers, Vol. VII, St. Petersburg, 1897 (published by Ministry
of Agriculture). 94 In 1871, in the 50 gubernias of European
Russia, the area under potatoes was 790,000 dess. in 1881—1,375,000
dess. and in 1895—2,154,000 dess, i.e., an increase during the 15
years of 55%. Taking the potato crop in 1841 as 100, we get the following
figures for the later years: 1861—120; 1871—162; 1881—297;
1895—530.