 In 1875, Michurin leased a strip of land of about 500 square metres not far from Tambov, began collecting plants, and started his research in pomology and selection.In 1899, he acquired a much bigger strip of land of about 130,000 square metres and moved all of his plants there.In 1920, right after the end of the Russian Civil War, Vladimir Lenin ordered People's Commissar of Agriculture Semion Sereda to organize an analytic research project on Michurin's works and practical achievements.