9. Social developments to 1914

Question 1

Developments in working and living conditions

Growth in Urban Population and Factories

Answer 1

• Factory workers rose from 2 million (1900) to six million (1913).
• Urban population surged from 7 million (1867) to 28 million (1917).
• By 1913, 6 million urban factory workers resided in major cities.

Question 2

Developments in working and living conditions

Living conditions in cities

Answer 2

• Urban facilities couldn’t accommodate the growing population.
• Workers lived in overcrowded, unsanitary barrack-like conditions.
• St. Petersburg: 40% houses lacked water/sewage, leading to cholera outbreaks.
• High rents forced some to live rough or within factories.

Question 3

Developments in working and living conditions

Challenges for workers

Answer 3

• Women earned less than half the average industrial wage.
• Wages lagged behind inflation rates.
• Working hours reduced to ten by 1914.

Question 4

Developments in working and living conditions

Education

Answer 4

• Primary school provision increased by 85% by 1914; government supported universities.
• Education investment less than industry; 55% engaged in full-time education by 1914.

Question 5

Developments in working and living conditions

Political discontent

Answer 5

• Urban discontent fueled political frustration, shifting strike motives.
• Repression of strikes led to violence; 1912 Lena Goldfields strike resulted in 270 deaths and 250 injuries due to workers demanding better wages and conditions.

Question 6

DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Growing socio-economic disparities

Answer 6

• Widening wealth gap between the richest (kulaks) and poorest peasants.
• Harder lives for the poorest, leading some to become migrant laborers or move to Siberia (only 3.5 million of 97 million were able to).
• Government schemes were insufficient to alleviate pressure.

Question 7

DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Varied living standards

Answer 7

• Diverse living standards across regions; Baltic and Western Siberia were more prosperous.
• Continued dominance of nobles in land ownership and outdated farming in the Russian heartland.

Question 8

DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Social conditions and infrastucture

Answer 8

• Areas of Bolshevik support and counter-revolution tended to be prosperous in 1917.
• Former state peasants fared better post-emancipation with more land.
• Higher mortality rates in Russia compared to other European countries.
• Severe shortage of doctors and teachers; 60% illiteracy rate in 1914.
• Peasantry remained at the bottom of the social hierarchy.

Question 9

DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKING AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

Cultrual and social loyalties

Answer 9

Peasant loyalty remained tied to the Church and Tsar despite challenges.

Question 10

Nobilty

Post-emancipation status of nobility

Answer 10

• Some nobles thrived post-emancipation through land arrangements, enterprise, military connections, and government roles.
• Between 1861-1905, around a third of nobles transferred land to townspeople/peasants; some struggled with debts and lacked modern money management skills.

Question 11

Nobilty

Financial situation and political influence

Answer 11

• Absence of redistributive tax on the wealthy led to no significant change in their incomes, maintaining traditional lifestyles.
• Nicholas aimed to bolster noble influence in the zemstva and appointed them to provincial governorships.

Question 12

Nobilty

Nobel assemblies and determination

Answer 12

• Each district had a noble assembly convening annually.
• In May 1906, the first meeting of the ‘united nobility’ occurred, determined to safeguard property rights and traditional interests amidst societal changes.

Question 13

Nobilty

response to change

Answer 13

Some nobles adapted to changes, while most retained their previous wealth and status, displaying resilience and determination.

Question 14

The middle class

Emergence of middle class

Answer 14

• Traditional societal structures faced challenge from the rising middle classes amid rapid economic changes.
• New business and professional individuals secured comfortable lives for themselves and their descendants.

Question 15

The middle class

Social mobility

Answer 15

Sons of nobles pursued business careers; hardworking individuals from peasant backgrounds ascended to middle management and became factory owners within a generation.

Question 16

The middle class

Growth and influence

Answer 16

• As society industrialized and became more complex, demand rose for management and professional roles, fueling the expansion of the middle class.
• Industrial regions and infrastructure development provided ample opportunities for entrepreneurial ventures.

Question 17

The middle class

Influence in gov

Answer 17

• Increased education and demand for administrators further bolstered the growing middle class.
• Founding a natural home in zemstva councils and town/state dumas, the middle class exerted significant influence beyond its numerical size.

Question 18

Workers and peasantry

Impact on them

Answer 18

• Workers and peasantry were most impacted by population growth and economic development.
• Social developments primarily unfolded in the countryside.

Question 19

Workers and peasantry

Political unrest and awakening

Answer 19

• Pre-1914, most peasant protests stemmed from traditional grievances like failed harvests and unfair land allocation.
• Slow progression from peasant inertia to political activism by 1914, eventually accelerated during wartime conditions.

Question 20

Workers and peasantry

Urban areas

Answer 20

• Urban areas saw peasants losing connections to family and roots, leading to a loss of former identity and alignment with others sharing grievances.
• This alienation made them easy targets for political agitators.

Question 21

Workers and peasantry

Gov failure and social change

Answer 21

• Tsarist government’s failure to effectively address social changes in cities proved consequential.
• The large, discontented urban working class eventually became the impetus to overthrow the regime in 1917.

Question 22

Cultural changes

Education and middle class influence

Answer 22

• Government increased education spending from 5 million to over 82 million roubles by 1914, fostering literacy and augmenting the influence of the middle classes.
• Relaxation of censorship and increased literary texts diversified Russian culture, extending beyond the intelligentsia.

Question 23

Cultural changes

Womans inderpendance

Answer 23

• Patriarchal structure persisted, yet women found increased independence through factory work.
• December 1908: All-Russian Congress of Women saw 1035 delegates attend, signifying a growing women’s movement.

Question 24

Cultural changes

Tsars opinions

Answer 24

During the 1913 Romanov Tercentenary, his speech aimed to reaffirm reverence for autocracy while subtly hinting at a desire to retreat to the past, hoping it would safeguard against the future.