ASSESSMENTS OF THE STOLYPIN AGRARIAN REFORM BY SOME FOREIGN RESEARCHERS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE HISTORY OF THE VOLYN PROVINCE OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Abstract

The article analyzed the scientific studies of some foreign historians dedicated to the problems of agricultural development in Volyn and Ukraine during the period of the Stolypin agricultural reform. The problem is that, first of all, a significant part of the work of domestic historians is based on methodological principles that have determined tendency and unilaterality in the illustration of individual aspects of the Stolypin agrarian reform as a whole and in Volyn in particular. Especially this applies to ideologically engaged works of the Soviet period; secondly, part of the research, even claiming to be objective, has an episodic character and does not give the opportunity to fully reproduce important details and regional features of the implementation of the Stolypin agricultural course in the Volyn; thirdly, declaring new approaches to the study and lighting of the problem, many researchers in practice only resort to the revision of judgments, estimates and conclusions established in previous times. In their research, they use traditional methods, ignoring the contemporary achievements of world historical thought. Therefore, the possibility of modern objective research is due not only to the application of new approaches and modern methodologies but also to the significant expansion of the source base and the involvement in the scientific circulation of important materials and documents that were previously inaccessible to researchers. Stolypin’s agrarian reform, and its implementation in the Volyn province in particular, has been studied for more than a hundred years; however, to date, practically no single approach has been developed to its interpretation. The study of this problem at this stage is relevant from a practical point of view. Today, under the conditions of the aggression of the Russian Federation, the agricultural sector of Ukraine is facing a huge number of socio-economic problems. Particularly important, after our victory over the enemy, will be the question of restoration and reform of the domestic agricultural sector and the creation of an efficient infrastructure for the agro-industrial complex. This is not only a question of food but also the political security of the Ukrainian nation, so the experience of all the agricultural reforms that took place on our land is very important.