Agrarian Policy of the Social Revolutionary Party and Its Impact on the Development of the Russian Peasantry into a Politicized Social Class, 1870-1907

In the Russian Empire, where so many of its inhabitants were of the peasant class in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is interesting that despite their large numbers, they did not engage themselves regularly in political matters. While some parties attempted to include the peasantry in the years 1902-1907, many were unable to effectively incorporate the peasants within the organizational structure of the party. Peasants, despite their discontent with their circumstances, were unwilling to join organized political parties in the revolutionary movement that was present in Russia during these years. Instead, the peasants demonstrated their ability to become a contender in the realm of politics apart from the Socialist Revolutionary Party (PSR), the one most active among the countryside. There is evidence that both the PSR and the peasants were striving to change the social and political scene in Russia. Although the PSR hoped that the peasants would unite in its efforts to bring forth a revolution to Russia, the peasants acted alone, seeking different concessions from the government. In the end, the peasants are often remembered for their uprisings and revolts directed at their landlords, but it is because of these actions that many parties, and the government, began to rethink the agrarian question. By 1902, the peasants were a political force, regardless of the ultimate outcome of their actions.