THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURE OF CRIMEAN GERMANS IN 1804 - 1930

Abstract

The article analyzes the issues related to the development of agriculture in places of compact residence of Germans on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula. It is well known that the German colonization of the south of the Russian Empire was aimed at active agrarian development of the land. Living on the territory of Crimea, the Germans were able to create an expanded agronomic system and to introduce signiicant land tracts of the steppe Crimea into agricultural circulation. This was due to the development of transport infrastructure as well as the growth in demand for grain in the domestic and foreign markets. In the climatic conditions of the peninsula, the main attention was paid to the cultivation of winter wheat, for which most of the land area was allocated. At the same time, the cultivation of such crops as potatoes, rye, corn and millet was assigned only to domestic consumption. Only the lands of those volosts (Byutenskaya, Tabuldinskaya, Zurichtal), in which there were small Crimean rivers, were used by the Germans for growing potatoes and other vegetables. After the establishment of Soviet government and the implementation of complete collectivization, the cultivation of winter wheat continued to dominate in places of compact residence of the Germans, and attempts were made to spread the culture of cotton production. It is stated in the article that the Germans applied an intensive approach to the organization of agriculture, the mechanization of labor and new technologies to increase the yield (the use of fertilizers, planting forest belts, the creation of seed farms). The widespread use of technical innovations by German farms allowed them to reduce losses during harvesting season and to cultivate the virgin lands of the steppe Crimea. The German experience was a good example for the surrounding population, who actively adopted many of the innovations applied by the Germans and introduced them into their farms.