The “Stolypin’s” Project on Don: Don Economist I.V. Timoschenkov of Migrations of the Cossacks and Creation of New Villages

Abstract. In 1908 a known Don economist and a member of the Statistics Committee of the Don Army Region I.V. Timoshenkov has presented a project. Its purpose was to eliminate the shortage of land of the Don Cossacks in some villages. The project had some features that were close to the agrarian reform of Stolypin. It was a voluntary resettlement of the Cossacks in military spare land with further creation of new villages and hamlets. Stolypin sought to preserve existence of landlords, and Timoshenkov – of Cossacks. However, the project of Timoshenkov had a significant difference from the Stolypin reforms. The Stolypin reform was aimed at eliminating peasant communities and turning peasants into independent farmers. The project of Timoshenkov was, on the contrary, aimed at preservation of traditional Cossack communities and establishing new communities of Cossack settlers in new villages and hamlets. This was the fundamental difference between the agrarian reform of Stolypin and the project of Timoshenkov. The reform was aimed at modernizing agricultural system of the country and had a progressive significance. The Timoshenkov’ project involved conservation of the estates of the Cossack community and contrary to the desire of the Don peasants to expand their holdings. A new revolution and civil war showed that the project of Timoshenkov was a conservative utopia.

Keywords: Timoshenkov project, Stolypin agrarian reform, farming community, Cossack community, land army reserves, resettlements.