6. Social and economic developments Flashcards
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Who was he?
Minister of finance 1887-1892
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
What did he do?
- Raised tarrifs and prohibited importive tarrif of 30% of items value introduced = designed to boost home production and helped iron industry + machinery.
- Increased indirect taxes and mounted drive to swell grain exports = on the surface - sucsessful, 1881-91 exports incraesed by 18% and budget in surplus.
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Quote about famine
“we ourself shall not eat, but we shall export.”
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Cause of The Great Famine?
remarkable export drive at expense of peasants who paid taxes and saw their grain aquistioned by state, left with no reserves for winter
The Great Famine
Dates
1891-92
The Great Famine
Death toll
over 350,000
The Great Famine
How many russian provences did it effect?
17/39
The Great Famine
Effect on population
= weakened by hunger - susceptible to disease, even when food began to grow - cholera and thypoid spread.
= able bodies died, no family breadwinner
= early winter + dry summer = crops ruined.
Sergei Witte
Who was he?
Minister of finance 1892-1903
= committed to economic modernisationnto curb revolutionary activity.
Sergei Witte
His policy surrounding tarrifs?
Continued high tarrifs on foreign imprts to protect domestic industries - so Russian companies brought home produced goods - less money flowed out of Russia.
Sergei Witte
Policies surrounding tax?
Raised indirect tax rates on everyday items, hit peasants so they were forced to sell more grain to sell abroad.
Workers wages kept low - money back into industrial development.
Sergei Witte
Use of gold reserves?
- Built them up.
- 1897 - adopted gold standard for rouble so ER’s now fixed against other currencies - added scurity for foreign investors.
Sergei Witte
Railway development
- Trans-Siberin railway set up, involved 25 factories + invested millions of state money. - by 1899, state brought 2/3 of production.
- end of 1890s = 60% iron and steel consumed by railways
- stimulated metallurigical, engerneering.
Sergei Witte
Use of loans
Negotiated loans to pay for level of expenditure, 1900 1/3 capital invested by foreign money.
~ critics accused him of creating dangerous dependence on them.
Agriculture and land issue
Why did emancipation fail to bring any change?
- high taxes
- grain requisitions
- redemption payments
- traditional farming practices
Agriculture and land issue
Yeilds compared to West Europe
= Low
Agriculture and land issue
When was Peasants and Nobels land bank established, and what was it’s drawback?
1883
loans offered often merley increased debts
Agriculture and land issue
Agricultral productions in 1870/80s increased or decreased?
Increased overall due to Vyshnegradsky export drive.
But famine showed average peasant had too little land to become prosperous.
State promoted industrial growth
What supported industrial expansion?
use of foreign technical expertise and capital
State promoted industrial growth
What year did oil extraction begin in Caspain Sea?
1871
State promoted industrial growth
When was iron works set up?
1872
State promoted industrial growth
Who established the Naphtha Extraction company, and for what purpose?
- Nobel Brothers.
- For coal and oil extraction.
State promoted industrial growth
Who was Mikhail von Reutern?
Minister of finace 1862-78
produced series of reforms.
State promoted industrial growth
Policies to boost econ and drive industrialisation
- treasury reformed + new tax collecting arrangements.
- tax farming abolished.
- state bank est. 1860
- munciple bank 1862
- savings bank 1869
- reduction of import duties 1863
- gov subsidies offered = enable priv entrepunures to develop railways.
- Foreign I encouraged.
