Kulaks (Russian: кула́к, kulak, "fist", by extension "tight-fiste") was a category of rich peasants in later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia and early Soviet Union. The word "kulak", originally referred to independent farmers in Russia who owned larger farms and used hired labor or bondslaves, as a result of the Stolypin reform introduced since 1906. Peter Stolypin's reforms resulted in the creation of a class of landowners who became independent farmers and supported the Tsar's government. In 1912, 16% (11% in 1903) of Russian farmers had over 8 acres (32,000 m²) per male family member (a threshold used to distinguish middle-class and prosperous farmers in statistics). At that time an average farmer's family had 6 to 10 children.