Awareness of village communities

The wooden triumphal arch was far less grand than the one Napoleon had built in Paris, but considering the construction costs, Nikolai did not want to build a wonder in every place he visited.

The triumphal arch in Minsk stood only about three to four meters high. After passing through it, Nikolai realized that if he extended his arms, others wouldn't be able to pass through.

Minsk Province was located in the heart of the entire Belarus region, and from a broader perspective, it lay at the crossroads of different cultures—foreign and Russian, traditional and modern.

This brought Nikolai a wealth of experiences. Since leaving Riga and before arriving in Minsk, he often felt as if he were in a non-Russian country, as the daily sights resembled some Central or Western European landscapes, highlighting the Russian Empire's multicultural diversity.

These cultural differences also brought different social traditions. In the Baltic and Lithuanian regions, Nikolai rarely heard of Russian communes, whereas in Minsk Province, they were much more common.

"Are those villages we visited part of the same commune?"

Standing on a dirt road connecting the fields of a commune in a county of Minsk Province, Nikolai shaded his eyes from the noon sun and squinted at the farmers bent over, pulling out weeds.

The arrival of the Crown Prince caused quite a stir in this quiet village. The farmers eagerly surrounded Nikolai and his entourage, some devout Orthodox Christians even knelt to kiss the ground at Nikolai's feet.

To them, the Tsar and the Crown Prince seemed like distant, lofty figures.

"Yes, Your Highness. There are over two hundred people here, and the village to the south has over three hundred more."

The elder who welcomed Nikolai was one of the commune's patriarchs. Sixty-four-year-old Old Ivan had grandchildren who were already married with children. The lines on his face and his hunched back spoke of the hardships of farming.

According to Old Ivan, the communes here generally consisted of around 500 people. If a village had fewer than 500 people, several villages would combine into one commune. If a village had more than 500 people, it would be divided into several communes.

"Are they weeding?"

"Yes, we weed in April. The wheat harvest is in a little over a month."

Old Ivan crossed himself, thanking God for the new harvest. Last year's poor yield had brought significant losses to the area.

"I see the land is divided into long strips. Who owns these?"

Nikolai noticed that although the farmers in the commune worked collectively, their land was fragmented and irregular.

"That plot belongs to Igor, that one to Ivan, and that one to Old Sergei..."

Old Ivan pointed to the fields, rattling off a list of farmers' names.

"All these lands belong to different families?" Nikolai was a bit surprised. "How do they make a living?"

"No, no... Your Highness, we have other lands too."

Old Ivan shook his head and slowly led the Crown Prince around the commune's fields.

Nikolai learned that the commune's land was divided into countless small plots. The land intermingled, making it impossible to use livestock for farming, reducing them to rely on human labor.

"Why do it this way?"

"This way, the mir is fair."

The "mir" Old Ivan mentioned referred to the commune.

By customary law, the commune's land wasn't individually owned by farmers but was collectively owned. The land was redistributed every 10-15 years, ensuring every male over 18 received land.

The redistribution aimed for equal land allocation, considering both quantity and quality, resulting in fragmented and interspersed land for different households.

Nikolai found that the most extreme case was a family with over twenty plots scattered across different locations, some several kilometers apart.

"How can farmers have any economic profit this way? It's enforced poverty."

Though Nikolai couldn't understand it, Old Ivan saw the commune as the farmers' protector.

"The mir ensures equality! Your Highness, you don't know the benefits of the mir..."

Nikolai viewed things from a capitalist perspective, prioritizing individual wealth, economic profit, and maximum efficiency, valuing efficiency over fairness to support Russia's agricultural and industrial development.

But to Old Ivan, the commune provided a basic livelihood for every farmer. Although it was poor equality, it ensured no one was left destitute.

Moreover, the commune also performed various grassroots organizational functions.

"What about your taxes?"

Nikolai didn't argue further with Old Ivan, who spoke from experience and wisdom. Instead, he inquired about the commune's financial responsibilities.

The commune organized farmers to fulfill various taxes and duties, including military service, corvée labor, head taxes, and redemption payments.

"What can I say, even collective responsibility..."

Old Ivan couldn't help but complain when this topic arose.

Collective responsibility was a harsh policy where everyone was responsible for each other. If this year's direct tax was set at one ruble and there were 300 men registered in the commune, the leaders had to ensure 300 rubles were paid to the treasury.

If they fell short, the leaders were first held accountable, followed by the wealthier farmers. If no wealthy farmers could cover the shortfall, the remaining farmers had to make up the difference.

All farmers were bound by collective responsibility, making taxes a heavy burden. Poor farmers had to cover the taxes of their even poorer comrades.

Considering that tax collection in Russia, as mentioned earlier, was enforced by the police under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, this system was inhumane.

While the commune was a protector for farmers, for the Russian Empire, the government, and the Tsar, it was also a tool for extracting farmers' labor and resources.

The complex duality left Nikolai unable to judge whether the commune was good or bad. He needed to further understand Russia's commune system, so even when he left Old Ivan's commune, he remained in thoughtful silence.

"What's your opinion on the village commune?"

Nikolai sat in a rickety open carriage. The roads between the county towns were rarely well-maintained, mostly just compacted dirt paths.

"The village commune shapes the spiritual world of the Russian people."

The one responding to the Tsarevich's question was an official from the local county office who accompanied Nikolai. He wore round glasses and had his hair parted in the middle, a typical intellectual look. From his tone, one could sense his admiration for the village commune.

"And you?"

Nikolai turned to the other side, causing another representative from the Minsk provincial local government to feel both surprised and honored.

"I believe the village commune has its merits. Its spirit and principles are still characteristics of the Russian people."

What these local administrative bureaucrats were discussing were the social functions borne by the village commune.

Besides being an agricultural production and tax unit, the village commune was also the smallest grassroots administrative unit. It mediated family disputes, approved marriages, divorces, and property divisions, and oversaw inheritance and other civil activities.

Elders like Old Ivan also took on judicial and representative roles within the commune, handling civil and criminal cases. Of course, these peasants didn't understand codified law, relying more on customary law.

Elder care, healthcare, cultural education, entertainment, festivals, and religious activities were all managed by the village commune.

Thus, the statement that the commune was everything to the peasants was not an exaggeration.

But these words made Nikolai shake his head. He could understand the Russians' attachment to this collective system, but this sentiment could only hinder real improvements to Russian agriculture.

"Under the current tax pressure, peasants in the commune can't bear more economic responsibilities. They will fall into greater poverty."

This was not Nikolai's foresight but a reality unfolding before him.

Although Finance Minister Vyshnegradsky's position was precarious, replacing him wouldn't mean a 180° policy shift. In fact, Witte, who was likely to become the new finance minister, envisaged rapid industrialization that would only increase taxation on the countryside.

The good days for Russian peasants seemed far away!

Thus, Nikolai had no positive view of the village commune. Although he acknowledged the social security and relief functions it provided, these advantages would be negligible under a heavy tax burden.

It was 1892, not 1492. A country's industrial capability determined its survival in the cutthroat Victorian era. Therefore, systems that couldn't support industrialization had to change.

This was the main reason for Nikolai's rural inspection.

Should he enforce collectivization directly?

Nikolai had considered this but knew it was unrealistic for him to single-handedly devise a whole scheme for collectivized agriculture to support industrialization. Therefore, he needed to further investigate the various aspects of Russian village communes.

While Nikolai was contemplating the future path of Russian agriculture, Witte, inspired by Stolypin, was in the Minsk provincial tax bureau understanding the tax situation of the peasants.

The provincial tax bureau in Russia was merely an administrative body, not responsible for tax collection. They only stored taxes in the provincial treasury under their jurisdiction.

The notorious Interior Ministry police were criticized for their tax collection and arrears enforcement methods. As Witte learned, as early as the 1880s, the previous finance minister, Bunge, had intended to reform the tax department.

But given the administrative efficiency of the Russian Empire, it took several years from proposal to discussion, amendment, and final approval.

The tax inspection department treated peasants more gently than the police, who directly confiscated property. However, they were also helpless in the face of widespread tax arrears among peasants, who lacked the economic means to pay taxes.

"Based on the production and living conditions of peasants in the Minsk province, about half of them cannot pay their taxes in full. Those who can mostly come from the western and southwestern regions."

An official from the provincial tax bureau reported to Witte.

"Those areas follow the Western European household land ownership system..."

Witte hinted.

Stolypin's admiration for wealthy peasants had some merit, causing Witte to reconsider the village commune. He found that an economy dominated by village communes couldn't support the finance ministry's tax policies.

But how exactly to reform?

At this moment, both Nikolai and Witte independently formed vague ideas about change.

"From what I understand from the Minsk provincial tax bureau, the Russian Empire's machine is facing a fuel shortage."

After the Tsarevich Nikolai ended his two-day rural inspection, Witte privately approached him to share his thoughts.

In Witte's metaphor, he likened the Russian Empire to a complex machine that needed sufficient fuel—its economic power—to run continuously.

"Isn't this exactly what I want to do?"

Nikolai said to Witte, amazed by their shared thoughts.

"Yes, Your Highness, after my investigation, I found that tax arrears among peasants are widespread. This cannot provide enough economic strength for the Russian Empire. So, in any case, the current system will fall into trouble."

Witte was a pragmatist. Although he previously claimed the village commune had invaluable traditions for Russia, he immediately confessed the reality to Nikolai after understanding the actual situation.

"I think so too." Nikolai shamelessly claimed he had always thought this, even though his ideas were still in their infancy. "But how exactly to reform, Witte?"

"On one hand, we need more investigations into the economic conditions of the peasants as a basis. On the other hand, we need to promote the idea of reform to more people."

Witte believed that the current agricultural failure had made the rural situation in Russia severe, which might lead to a change in thinking among at least some government officials. Therefore, it would be best to publicize the preliminary results of this inspection through the media.

"We can publish an advisory letter on agriculture in Kyiv to garner more support."

Afterward, Nikolai and Witte shared their observations and investigations in the Minsk province and then headed to Kyiv by waterway a day later.