36 RUSSIA - CREDIT 



This table shows that in the first years the nobles formed the large ma- 

 jority of proprietors selling their lands. Their category and that of the 

 traders and the various sellers, most of whom belonged to one of the two 

 former classes, included almost all the sellers. Afterwards the percentage 

 of nobles tended to be lowered and to yield place to that of peasants. The 

 percentage of nobles would always have remained very high if the purchase 

 had not been ipitiated of lands of the bashkiri, on whose steppes many lands 

 intended for Russian settlers were sold, after regular shares had been as- 

 signed to the bashkiri. If the lands of the bashkiri be excluded the 

 percentage of peasants selling their lands is very low and that of the 

 hereditary nobilit]^ doing so is very high. 



If we compare the enormous extent of 4,346,427 deciatines, worth 

 538,804,597 roubles, bought by the bank in this third period (1906-1915), 

 with the bank's purchases from 1882 to 1906 which were of 961,487 decia- 

 tines worth 68,183,124 roubles, we must allow that in this branch of itj ac- 

 tivity it realized in this period a great development. 



§ 2. Cession of " ouddji. " lands. 



To the land bought by the bank from individuals was added that ceded 

 to it by the administration of the oudiel (crown lands) by the decree of 12 

 August 1906. A total area of i, 258,089 deciatines, costing 70,788,438 

 roubles, was thus ceded. In 1915, 428 deciatines were ceded for 19,888 

 roubles. 



5,604,436 deciatines, costing 609,593,035 roubles, thus passed to the 

 bank in the third period. 



§ 3. Properties rem.a.ining to the bank after auctions. 



In 1 91 5, in view of the difficulties of wartime, the bank had recourse, 

 in cases of extreme necessity only, to public auctions of the properties for 

 which due sums had not been paid. Delays were gra^nted in the case of 

 all properties situated in the invaded districts and the neighbourhood of the 

 zone of military operations, that is in eighteen provinces. In other districts 

 the bank, before decreeing an auction, investigated the causes of delays and 

 held no auctions where these were serious, as in the case of defective harvests 

 or lack of labour. 



Nevertheless 62,984 properties were put up for auction. Of them 55,080 

 having an area of 668,512 deciatines, were in private ownership ; 5,925, hav- 

 ing an area of 1,175,444 deciatines, belonged to co-operative associations ; 

 and 1,149, having an area of 573,8.03 deciatines, belonged to rural communes. 

 These lands represented 15.2 per cent, of the total mortgaged area ;, and 16.9 

 per cent, of those in private ownership, 12.4 per cent, of those owned by 



