The formation of state land mortgages in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century (based on the example of the provinces of the black earth region)

The article is devoted to the organization of the activities of state banking mortgage institutions such as the Peasant Bank and the Noble Bank. The land deficit after the 1861 reform led peasants within rural communities, partnerships, and individual households to replenish land through the mediation of the Peasant Bank. At the same time, maintaining noble land ownership through the issuance of preferential loans from the Noble Bank was an even more priority task. The research problem is based on the study of the Central Black Earth region, which was considered a stronghold of noble land ownership, confirming the relevance of the chosen research theme. A review of the scientific literature allows us to put forward the thesis that the formation of state land mortgages was one of the priority tasks of Emperor Alexander III. The aim of the research is to prove this thesis, relying on the results of the analysis of historical archival sources and bank reports. Based on the goal, the subject of study is the description of the research results of the activities of the Peasant and Noble Banks, both at the regional and national levels in the early years of functioning in the Central Black Earth region. The research utilized general scientific methods: analysis, induction, and deduction of archival sources that ensure documentation in the activities of mortgage banks. Special historical methods were also used: comparative-historical and problem-chronological, revealing the possibilities of state mortgage provisions in bank branches and identifying the gradual resolution of issues in their activities in the early years of operation. The main conclusion obtained during the research is that mortgage lending secured by estates, established under Emperor Alexander III, was particularly in demand by the nobility of the provinces of the Central Black Earth region. Peasants within rural communities, partnerships, and individual households also actively sought the services of the Peasant Bank, which was established by the state for them, within the framework of intermediary operations. In the future, state land banks were expected to become the basis for conducting a systemic transformation of the village under Emperor Nicholas II, especially during the period of the Stolypin agrarian reform. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that it first analyzes the experience of studying the activities of state mortgage banks from the moment of their establishment in the late 19th century, using the example of the Central Agricultural Provinces.