Economic Policies

Question 1

What were the social impacts of the Emancipation of the Serfs?

Answer 1

• Feudal system remained unchanged
• Farming controlled by the Mir (village council) e.g. what crops to grow.
• Less land and poorer quality for serfs.
• Hardship due to redemption payments
• No longer protected by the noble landowner

Question 2

What was the economic impact on the Emancipation of the Serfs?

Answer 2

No positive impact as traditional farming methods were still used (subsistence, strip farming)

Question 3

What was the political impact of the Emancipation of the Serfs?

Answer 3

• Peasant unrest due to redemption payments.
• Radical groups called for the overthrow of the tsar (People’s Will).
• Paved the way for further reforms e.g. judiciary - a ‘neutral’ authority was needed.

Question 4

What was the social impact of Railway Development?

Answer 4

Degree of urbanisation. Cultural disruption caused by movement of rural workers off the lane into industry as coal and iron production increased.

Question 5

What was the economic impact of Railway Development?

Answer 5

Industrial output doubled as a result of a seven-fold increase in railways.

Railways could ‘break bulk’ at speed (carriage of low cost high density goods such as coal and iron ore)

Question 6

What was the political impact of Railway Development?

Answer 6

Urbanisation bred radicalisation, Bolshevik propaganda, led to opposition.

Question 7

What was the social impact of Grain Exportation?

Answer 7

Grain shortage contributed to 1891 famine that affected Russia’s most fertile regions. Approx. 500,000 dead.

‘Hunger bread’- made of mud, weeds and chaff.

Mobility of peasants as they searched for work spread disease e.g. smallpox and typhus.

Question 8

What was the economic impact of Grain Exportation?

Answer 8

Stabilised government finances

Question 9

What was the political impact of Grain Exportation?

Answer 9

Peasant unrest.

Ministry of Agriculture established but officials blamed famine on the ‘character of the peasants’. Land captains were introduced to keep order in rural areas.

Appointment of Sergei Witte as Finance minister, led to a heavier focus on industry rather than agriculture.

Question 10

What was the Social Impact of Witte’s Great Spurt?

Answer 10

Taxes raised to fund projects.

Urbanisation led to poor living conditions, public health and increase in deaths attributed to disease, pollution and dangerous machinery.

Rising birth rates, led to population growth.

WW1 cause inflation, food shortages and wide scale suffering.

Question 11

What was the Economic impact of Witte’s Great Spurt?

Answer 11

The placement of the rouble on the gold standard in 1897 led to an increase in foreign investment.

Before the war, coal output quadrupled, iron tripled and railway track doubled e.g. Trans Siberian Railway.

WW1 saw collapse of Witte’s economy due to a focus on urbanisation.

Question 12

What was the political impact of Witte’s Great Spurt?

Answer 12

Rural discontent due to neglect of agriculture.

Urbanisation need radicalisation.

Workers returned to villages for harvests, spreading ideas.

Perhaps a ‘dress rehearsal’ for Stalin’s industrialisation?

Witte is dismissed in 1903.

Question 13

What was the social impact of Stolypin’s Reforms?

Answer 13

Peasants freed from the commune.

Peasants consolidated farms, worked together and experimented with new farming techniques.

Movement away from strip farming.

Question 14

What was the economic impact of Stolypin’s Reforms?

Answer 14

Agricultural production increased.

Plan backfired as 2 million peasants left their village communes, leading to a labour shortage in some regions.

Question 15

What was the political impact of Stolypin’s Reforms?

Answer 15

Rural discontent as peasants felt the very best land was still not available to them.

Question 16

What was the social impact of war communism?

Answer 16

Famine in 1921, 5 million died due to grain requisitioning.

Cannibalism.

Question 17

What was the economic impact of war communism?

Answer 17

Agricultural production still poor as there was no incentive to grow more than needed due to requisitioning.

Question 18

What was the political impact of war communism?

Answer 18

Opposition from peasants, burnt crops and farms.

Loss of support from groups that previously supported them such as Krondstadt sailors.

Question 19

What was the social impact of New Economic Policy?

Answer 19

Development of a new middle class: kulak (richer peasant).

A new breed of entrepreneur, a nepman.

Question 20

What was the economic impact of New Economic Policy?

Answer 20

Impressive short-term impact.

Increase in industrial output.

However supply of food greater than demand leading to a fall in food prices. Cost of manufactured goods remained high.

Question 21

What was the political impact of New Economic Policy?

Answer 21

‘Compromise with capitalism’. Decision to let farmers sell crops deemed as a ‘strategic retreat’ by Lenin.

However, seen as a ‘betrayal of the Revolution’ and a ‘degeneration of Bolshevism’ by many.

Led to banning of all splits and factions within the Bolsheviks.

Divisions in the party followed Lenin’s death.

Question 22

What was the social impact of Collectivisation?

(warning - this is a big boy)

Answer 22

‘Destroyed Russian peasantry’ according to Cohen as population of Kazakhstan fell by 75% with nomadic peasants moving to China.

Widespread man-made famine. Cannibalism. Stalin suspected peasants of hiding grain so requisition officials were spent and took it all, including personal food supplies. 5-7 million died of starvation mostly in fertile regions such as Ukraine.

Churches were turned into grain stores under Soviet Atheism.

Kulaks denounced and shot or sent to camps. 6-8 million kulaks killed.

Told ya :)

Question 23

What was the economic impact of Collectivisation?

Answer 23

Disastrous affect on grain production. In 1930, 85 million tonnes of grain produced. In 1934 this fell to 69 million. By 1936 at pre WW1 levels.

Kulaks, the most productive farmers, were driven away from their land.

Question 24

What was the political impact of Collectivisation?

Answer 24

Sporadic resistance to policy. Peasants burnt homes and crops and killed their cattle.

Victory in WW2 was, according to Stalin, in part through collectivisation.

Question 25

What was the social impact of Five Year Plans and, in particular, Magnitogorsk?

Answer 25

Magnitogorsk - poor living conditions, food and fuel scarce, -35 degrees. No sewers or roads. Housing was primitive barracks.

Question 26

What was the social impact of Five Year Plans outside of Magnitogorsk?

Answer 26

Moscow in mid 1930s - 25% living in one room that was shared by 2-3 other families. 5% lived in a bathroom, corridor, kitchen or hallway.

Arrest quotas to fill gulags to create free work force.

Education reforms as literate and numerate peasants were more useful to Stalin, emphasis on vocational education.

Hospitals and clinics opened. Rise in female doctors.

Question 27

What was the economic impact of Five Year Plans?

Answer 27

By 1936 Magnitogorsk was producing 15,000 tonnes of iron ore a day.

Created more jobs. Railways needed to supply Magnitogorsk. Timber was needed for railways etc.

Factories made materials to feed agricultural revolution e.g. tractors.

Moscow Metro exemplified technology.

1927-1937 production in coal and steel quadrupled.

Question 28

What was the political impact of Five Year Plans?

Answer 28

Created arms and equipment for Europe’s largest army to defeat Germany.

Levels of bureaucracy involved made projects unmanageable. Stalin blamed failure of systems on enemies of the state - legitimised terror.

Workers believed they were key to success. Break from tsarism. Less opposition or just scared?

Question 29

What was the social impact of the Virgin Land Campaign?

Answer 29

Urban dwellers began to feel like food requirements were at least being adequately met.

Question 30

What was the economic impact of the Virgin Land Campaign?

Answer 30

By 1964 165 million acres given over to wheat production
(99million in 1950).

But when Khrushchev fell, the state of Russian agriculture still remained a major problem.

The ‘virgin soil’ lacked fertility in the long-term - Khrushchev had been hasty and cut corners.

Question 31

What was the political impact of the Virgin Land Campaign?

Answer 31

Main reason for Krushchev’s downfall?

Rural unrest not entirely the fault of the policy - bad weather led to bad harvests 1962-3.