in the campaign “Land plunder: the colonial repartition of land, land hunger and Cossack colonization of the Terek oblast (1860-1917)”
The ban on leasing land directly to the highlanders, introduced at the end of the 19th century, produced middlemen: "The result of this decision was the appearance of a large number of intermediaries through whom the land still reached the highlanders, but at a higher price"[1]. Who profited from it is named by historian Z. Kh. Ibragimova: "Speculative leasing became widespread; it was practiced by officials of the government and administration and by officers, who rented large areas at 10-15 kopecks per desiatina and sublet them to the highland population at a price several times the original"[2]. The difference in price was pocketed by officials and officers of the very administration that had taken the land away.