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

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM IN RUSSIA
are the general data for the economic groups of the Taurida
peasantry.*
Groups of peasants
Groups
of peasants
Dnieper Uyezd Three uyezds
Per household
% of total households
persons of both sexes
working males
I. Cultivating no land 9 4.6 1.0 7.5 — — —
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
”
”
”
”
”
up to 5 dess.
5 to 10 ”
10 to 25 ”
25 to 50 ”
over 50 ”
11
20
41.8
15.1
3.1
4.9
5.4
6.3
8.2
10.1
1.1
1.2
1.4
1.9
2.3
11.7
21
39.2
16.9
3.7
3.5
8.0
16.4
34.5
75.0
34,070
140,426
540,093
494,095
230,583
2.4
9.7
37.6
34.3
16.0
12.1
37.6
50.3
40.2
39.2
20.6
Total . . . 100 6.2 1.4 100 17.1 1,439,267 100
The unevenness in the distribution of the area under
crops is very considerable: e of the total households (comprising
about � of the population, for the size of these families
is below the average) possess about 8 of the total area
under crops; they belong to the poor group, cultivating little
land, who cannot cover their needs with their income from
farming. Further, there are the middle peasants, also constituting
about e of the total households, who cover their
average expenditure by income from the land (Mr. Postnikov
considers that a family requires from 16 to 18 dessiatines
under crops to cover its average expenditure). Lastly,
there are the well-to-do peasants (about 5 of the households
and � of the population), who concentrate in their hands
over half the area cultivated, the crop area per household
clearly indicating the “commercial” character of the farming
done by this group. In order exactly to estimate the extent
of this commercial agriculture in the various groups,
* The following data relate mostly to the three northern
mainland uyezds of Taurida Gubernia, namely the Berdyansk, Melitopol
and Dnieper, or to the latter one alone.
** Dessiatine= 2.70 acres.—Ed.
% of total households
Average area under
crops per household.
Dessiatines**
Total area under
crops. Dessiatines
Same as % of total
{
{
% of total
households
71