34 



RUSSIA - CREDIT 



Tabi<EI. — Number and Total Area of Properties Bought from 1906 to 1915. 



Total Number 

 of properties 



bought 

 bv the Bank 



1906 700 



1907 1,191 



1908 465 



1909 i8q 



1910 185 



1911 • 135 



1912 125 



19T3 174 



1914 76 



1915 10 



Total 



3,260 



Total Area 



of 



lands 



bought 



deciatines 

 1,144,464 



i.5i9»547 

 572,082 

 172,842 

 172,189' 

 196,227 



146,544 

 301,194 



83.503 

 17.835 



4,346,427 



If the last figure as to purchases be compared with those of the years 

 1 91 3 and 1 91 4 a strong and progressive retrogressioc in this business will 

 be noted, which confirms our statement that the third and last period of 

 activity of the agriculturists' bank virtually ended in 1915. 



It should be noted that 74.9 per cent, of the total area was bought 

 by the bank between 1906 and 1908. The grave economic and social 

 crisis which characterizes this period was a strong stimulus to purchase. 

 The majority of proprietors were convinced that expropriation was near at 

 hand, and therefore they were anxious to sell. The peasants for the same 

 reason refused to buy. Moreover some of the proprietors were unable 

 to derive any profit from their farms which the revolted peasants had de- 

 vastated, and therefore wished to be rid of them. In receiving the right to 

 issue imlimited bonds the bank may be said to have met the desires of pro- 

 prietors by buying their lands and thus accumulating the power to dispose 

 of a large area. This was followed by the re-establishment of order and 

 fine harvests. The diminution of business resulted from the previous pur- 

 chase of properties eco nominally weak. The year 191 3, in which the agi- 

 tation in the country recommenced, was marked by a renewed increase of 

 purchases which was stopped only by the war. 



The following table gives an exact idea of the motives for the bank's 

 purchase of land.s. 



