Peasants' Land Bank

The Peasants' Land Bank (Russian: Крестьянский поземельный банк) was a financial institution of the Russian Empire founded during the reign of Tsar Alexander III, by his Minister of Finance, Nikolai Bunge. He created the Peasants' Land Bank in 1883 to help peasants purchase their own farms. The Peasants' Land Bank was somewhat limited in its effectiveness by a lack of funding; it was also not nearly as generous as the Nobles' Land Bank, which had lower interest rates. Bunge also abolished the Poll Tax, which was only paid by peasants, in 1886, which helped to reduce the financial burden the peasants faced.

Portrait of Nikolai Bunge (1887), founder of the bank.

The Bank began operations in April 1883, with nine branches. In 1888 its activity was extended to include the Kingdom of Poland; by 1891 it had thirty-nine branches.

Each bank was managed by a council consisting of: a manager; an assistant manager; three others appointed by the Ministry of Finance; and lastly a member representing the Ministry of Agriculture.

Under Peter Stolypin the Land Bank was extended to make it easier for the peasants to set up their own farms and by 1907 670.3 million roubles had been repaid out of a total of 2012 million.