Chapter 8 Flashcards
The economic development of Russia to 1914
What was Russia’s annual growth rate from 1894 to 1913?
8%
In what ways was Witte’s term as Minister of Finance remarkable?
Railway trackage doubled, coal output jumped from 183 million in 1890 to 671 million in 1900 and foreign investment soared.
Who were the largest investors in Russian goods?
France (1/3), Britain (23%) and Germany (20%)
How did Witte actively seek to state-manage the new industrial growth?
He sought capital, technical advisers, managers and skilled workers from overseas
What was the capital from the period of Witte’s term used to fund?
Public works such as railways, telegraph lines and electrical plants as well as mines, oilfields and forests
What percentage of Russia’s income from 1903 to 1913 came from industrial investments?
25%
By 1905, how many kilometres of railways did Russia have, and how much of it was state-owned?
59,616 and 66% of it was state-owned
What did the extension of the railways allow for?
It helped to open up the Russian interior and allowed for more extensive exploitation of Russia’s raw materials, as well as reinforcing the export drive
What was the length of Russia’s railway lines by 1913 and what was the longest railway line in the world?
62,200 km in comparison to the USA’s 411,000 km
What was the Trans-Siberian Railway?
A railway line of 7000 kilometres that linked central European Russia and Moscow with the railway line which opened up emigration to Siberia
What was the purpose of the Donbas region in the Russian economy?
It was 23,300 square kilometres and supplied 87% of all Russian coal by 1913
What other good did the Donbas region contribute to?
Pig iron, of which it produced 74% alongside the ironfields of Krivoi Rog
How did oil change from 1885 to 1913?
Russian oil production trebled from 153 million puds to almost 570 million which led to Russia becoming internally self-sufficient
What was St Petersburg’s most notable economic gains?
The most notable gain was in the engineering sector with the expansion of the Putilov Iron Works
What was the overall output of the textiles industry in 1910?
40% of the Russian economy, which fulfilled the internal demand for light industries
What were the most influential economic powers in the world by 1914?
UK, USA, France, Germany and then Russia
How much did the average agricultural holding fall to from 1877 to 1905?
It fell from 35 acres in 1877 to 28 acres in 1905
What some of the factors that weakened developments in agriculture?
Inefficient problems to population control such as the Trans-Siberian railway, and the use of traditional agricultural railways
What agricultural legislation was introduced in November 1906?
Peasants are given the right to leave the commune, meaning that they could withdraw land from the commune and consolidate scattered strips
What agricultural legislation was introduced on the 1st January 1907?
Redemption payments were officially abolished even though this was first promised in 1905
How many years of peace did Stolypin claim he needed for this to take effect?
20 years
How much did hereditary ownership of land change by from 1905 to 1915?
It changed from 20% in 1905 to 50% in 1915
How much did grain production rise by annually from 1900 to 1914?
It rose from 56 million tons in 1900 to 90 million by 1914
What were the benefits to Stolypin’s emigration programs?
3.5 million peasants left overpopulated rural districts to go to Siberia, developing it into a major agricultural region
What were the largest problems of Stolypin’s agricultural reforms?
By 1913, only 1.3 million out of 5 million applications had been dealt with. By 1914, however, only 10% of land had been transferred from communal to private ownership with 90% of land still in traditional strips
