The Industrialization of Russia, 1870-1903

**aqalieh95** Sat Jun 11, 2011 5:13 pm

Background
1. Russia was Europe's largest state
  1. Population and geographical size
2. Rich natural resources
  1. Timber, coal, oil, gold, and other precious metals
    1. Often located in inaccessible areas
3. Russian Empire
  1. Expanded through military conquest
  2. Composed of many nationalities, cultures, and languages
  3. Military power was essential in maintaining control over wide variety of ethnic groups over large areas
Political Structure
1. Tsar
  1. Ruler of Russia
  2. Unlimited monarch
  3. Support of nobility, army, and the church
  4. Having an effective ruler was crucial to Russia's survival
2. Failure of reform
  1. Emancipation of the serfs (1861) – Alexander
    1. All peasants in Russia were legally freed from their masters, but had to buy their freedom and pay tax to use villageland
    2. Rapid change in small amount of time
      1. Opposition
      2. Greater demand for freedom
        
        Stimulate revolutionaries
Social Structure
1. Rural (Second half of 19^th century → 20^th Century)
  1. Only 10% of population lived in urban areas
  2. Dependent upon agriculture
2. Status
  1. Nobility, merchant, peasant, church, military
  2. Could not easily change their status
3. The nobility
  1. Declining as century progressed
    1. Economic difficulties
      1. Loss of laborers
        
        Emancipation of the serfs
      2. Geographical isolation, poor communication
        
        Less laborers migrated
    2. Lack of technology and lack of interest to develop
    3. Supporter of the government (monarch)
      1. Repression over the peasants
        
        Resulted in ignorance and traditional farming methods, which was the cause of their decline
4. The Peasantry
  1. About 85% of the population
  2. Taxes
    1. Poll tax, local tax, indirect tax on household goods and vodka
  3. Liable to long period of military service
  4. Could NOT travel to another part of the country without a passport
  5. Emancipation
    1. Turned out rather disappointing
      1. Purchase freedom
      2. Growth of rural population → less land available
  6. Village commune (mir)
    1. Regulate life of peasant community
    2. Divide field up into strips and allocated them according to size and need of families
    3. Paid taxes on behalf of the community
  7. Technology
    1. Peasants own few animals
    2. Most work was done by hand, using older farm equipment
    3. Low output
  8. Role of government
    1. Kept peasant communities isolated and ignorant
    2. Little education provided through priests (mostly learning Orthodox prayers)
  9. Communication
    1. Slow, inefficient
      1. Ideas traveled slowly
5. Townspeople
  1. Opportunities
    1. Jobs and education
  2. Russia lacked professionals and commercial class
  3. Only 21.1% of the population knew how to read and write in 1897
The Drive to Industrialize
1. Government
  1. By 1890s, government realized need of educated classes and modernization to keep up with rival nations
2. Sergei Witte
  1. Statesman and minister of finance from 1892-1903
  2. Recognized importance of railway
    1. Construction of Trans-Siberian railway
  3. Urged the rapid industrialization of Russia
  4. Created stable financial climate to draw foreign investors
3. Construction of Railway
  1. Many foreign investors
  2. Polices of Russian government
    1. Increase in direct and indirect taxes
    2. High tariffs
    3. Regulate imported items
    4. Grain export
  3. It was a huge economic success
4. Main industrial areas emerged
  1. Textiles in Moscow region
  2. Metal-processing and machine-building factories in St. Petersburg and Riga
  3. Textiles, coal, and chemicals in Polish region
  4. Center for coal, iron ore, and other chemicals in Donets basin
  5. Mining in Ural Mt.
  6. Oil production in Baku and Caspian sea
  7. Sugar beet in south-east region of Russia
  8. Production of oil and manganese in Caucasus region
Social and Political Consequences
1. Peasants
  1. Increased tax
  2. Forced to sell more grain; not enough left for themselves
  3. Frustration grew, eventually leading up to peasants rising up against their land owners in 1902
2. Industrial Workers
  1. Peasants were put to factories, mines, and railways
  2. Long hours of labor with low pay
  3. Insanitary and dangerous conditions
  4. Not enough living space provided
  5. Outbreak of cholera and typhus
    1. Cholera: spread by polluted water
    2. Typhus: spread by lice
  6. Unable to form unions
  7. Government tried to control minority groups and foreigners from gaining economic power for example owning factories
  8. New ideas came with foreign businessmen
Nicholas II and Reaction
1. Promote economic and industrial changes, but not social and political reform
2. Growth in economy, more repression from the government
3. Decline of economy in turn of century → recession → closure and lay offs → pressure on government
4. Blame
  1. Witte
  2. Jews
    1. Pogroms
      1. Physical persecution of Jews in Tsarist Russia → led to nationalist sentiment
5. War against Japan
  1. Could have been prevented
  2. Poorly equipped military
  3. Many were against the war → Russia was defeated → rise of revolutionaries
Conclusion
1. Although Russia managed to industrialize and grow the economy, the government refused to change in social or political aspects, which resulted in tension between social classes, leading to the rise of revolutionary sentiments.