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Summary OCR history a level in-depth notes: russia and its rulers, topic 2 - society and economy

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Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964 (Y318)

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OCR

OCR history a level Russia and its rulers Paper 1, code Y318 Thematic Super detailed in-depth notes, providing dates, details and examples

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Uploaded on June 9, 2024
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Type Summary

Berenice Ings – Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964

Chapter 2: the impact of dictatorial
regimes on the economy and society
the extent and reasons for economic change

industrialisation
 1855-1964 accelerate industrialisation -emphasis on heavy
industry
 ‘catch up with the west’ - based progress on iron and coal
industries
 To emulate the revolution that had occurred in the west -
increase and maintain world power status
 industrialisation proceeded through different phases-
differences in political leadership; changing world context
 common thread that affected development- relationship with
agricultural activity; peculiar nature of Russian society

alexander II and the proto-management of the economy
 before 1855 - reluctance to engage in industrialisation,
associated with rise of urban proletariat who displayed a
propensity to revolt
 Alexander II recognised that the threat of peasant unrest was
just as great - this could be dealt with by moving rural workers
off the land and into industry
 factories warranted a new work discipline
- factory owners introduced strict rules and regulations
that were required for employees to work safely and
efficiently with machines
- way of controlling the activities of the bulk of the
population
 more committed move towards state involvement in industry -
appointment of Mikhail Reutern as minister of finance
- helped to implement emancipation; minister of finance;
introduced a unified state budget
- adopted a sensible approach- continued railway
construction, attraction of foreign technical expertise,
employment of foreign investment capital
 modernisation + expansion within the staples and newer
industries
 Ludwig Loop - developed the Russian textile industry
 the Nobel brothers - growth of oil industry around Baku in the
Caucasus

1

,Berenice Ings – Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964

 J.J. Hughes - transformed iron and steel production at
Ekaterinoslav: employed in 1871 by the Russian government
as an expert in the manufacture of armour plate
 1884- New Russian Coal, Iron and Rail-making Company
was the largest producers of pig iron in the whole of the
empire
 start of the 20th century- responsible for 1/2 of the steel
production of Russia
 accompanied by social investment- constructed a new town
(Yuzovo)
 had english schools, public houses and 32,000 welsh Russians
by 1904
 clear demonstration of the value of employing foreign
technical expertise to move Russia forwards - trend that
continued throughout the period

railway construction
 1837- first railway in Russia completed during the reign of
Nicholas I; work of Gerstner
 1851- St Petersburg to Moscow line opened- stimulated by the
success of the Manchester to Liverpool railway
 design + construction influenced the American engineers
George Washington Whistler
 Reutern built on this foundation
 7x increase in amount of railway track opened
- 1862- 2194 miles
- 1878- 13,979 miles
 gave a significant boost to the industrial sector, major reason
for the doubling of industrial output - average annual growth of
6% during Reutern's term of office
 allowed Russia to cushion itself against the European economic
depression from 1873 to 1882
 government bonds- way of investing in the government by
buying bonds and cashing them in at a later date with interest
 taxation exemptions- being allowed to pay lower tax in
return for lending money to the government
 monopoly concessions- being given the right to the only
seller of a particular product
 some of money that went to government was used to protect
railway projects from failure-construction was placed in the
hands of private contractors
 to secure their services the government made guarantees to
bail out projects if they encountered financial difficulties
- resulted in a certain amount of corruption and an
expensive transport system
- very high costs of construction and operation
2

,Berenice Ings – Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964

 94% of railway lines were in private hands by 1880
 reutern created the first state managed exercise in industrial
advance HOWEVER, his efforts were cut short by the coming of
war
 paved the way for others to follow

reforms after the death of alexander II
 further economic reforms enacted by the new finance minister
Nikolay Bunge
- professor of economics at Kiev University; experience of
local administration; considered to hold liberal political
views
 fiscal amendments- abolition of the salt tax (1881), creation
of a Peasant Land Bank (1883), move towards greater state
ownership of the railways
- 1911- 69% of the system under public control
 Alexander III blamed Bunge for a dramatic fall in the value of
the rouble in the mid 1880s
 replaced him with Ivan Vyshnegradskii
- son of a priest; educated at a church seminary;
professor at the St Petersburg Technological Institute;
gained useful experience of the private business sector
by acting as director of the South Western Railway
Company
 managed to balance the government budget and make a
surplus of income
 more efficient utilisation of income from taxes, railways, crown
properties, the state bank and treasury
 revenue raised through the Medele'ev tariff of 1891
 income gained by exporting large amounts of grain – “we
ourselves shall not eat, but we shall export”
 1891 famine was seen partly as a result of Vyshnegradskii's
policies -> forced to give way to Count Witte

the great spurt
 1893- economic activity revolved predominantly around
agriculture
 Wanted total commitment to industry – achieved at the
expense of agriculture, which caused suspicion and
consternation among sections of the Russian elite
 taking out foreign loans, raising taxes and interest rates to
boost available capital for investment in industry +
encouraging foreign experts to come to Russia
 1897- placed the rouble on the gold standard; potential
investors confidence in the value of the Russian currency
 most investment went on heavy industry and the railways

3

, Berenice Ings – Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964

 further industrialisation was to be planned and managed
mainly by the state
- coal production doubled
- iron and steel production increased 7x
 stimulus provided to the development of a more specialist and
new technologies in the oil and chemical industries
- railway track opened: 17264 miles in 1891 to 31125
miles in 1901
- growth in capital from abroad- average increase of
120%1893-1898
- income from industry: 42Mr 1893 to 161Mr by 1897
 indication that Russia had started to catch up with other
nations
 1900- France had been ousted into 4th place in world iron
production
 annual average rate of increase in industrial production of
7.5%

criticisms of witte's policies
 witte focused on heavy industry and neglected other areas of
industry
 short sighted- the demand for metals came from other
industries
 the reliance on foreign capital criticised as being dangerous-
loans recalled at short notice; reliance on foreign expertise
stunted the emergence of home grown talent
 the railway system was costly and not as impressive as in
other parts of Europe
- 1914- Russian had 11x fewer miles of track than
Germany
- most railway investment was made in the Trans-Siberian
line started in 1892- never fully completed
- although greatly aided the industrial and agricultural
expansion of Siberia - rushed and poorly constructed
 scant attention to agriculture- rural discontent and distrust
from other members of the government

the first world war and industrialisation
 August 1903- Witte was dismissed from his post
 Nicholas II: expansionist foreign policy - Witte opposed
because of cost
 dip in the economy + disastrous war in japan ->social unrest in
1905
 Witte = prime minister
 Stolypin = minister of finance
- joint efforts resulted in a revival of the economy
4

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