Economic Reform Under Witte 1893 - 1903

Question 1

Under which person was ‘the great spurt’ and economic Reform in the 1890s

Answer 1

Sergei Witte - Minister of Finance

Question 2

What was the Tsarist government intention of ‘the great spurt’ compared to capitalists

Answer 2

Military motives - improving armed forces, equipment
Economic motives - private enterprise and economic expansion

Question 3

How did the Witte raise state capitalism for modernisation

Answer 3

1) Protective tariffs were setup to increase the price of external goods and safeguard domestic goods - Increased prices. 2) 1897 the Russian currency was put on the gold standard

Question 4

Suggest 2 reasons why the creation of railways was important in the modernisation of the Russian economy

Answer 4

1) It would connect the more remote regions of the central and Eastern Empire with the industrial West to encourage the migration of workers to areas where they was most needed. 2) to boost foreign trade

Question 5

What was the increase of railways from 1881 to 1914

Answer 5

21,000km - 70,000km

Question 6

How long was a Trans-Siberian Railway and from which countries was it connecting

Answer 6

5,770 miles from Moscow to Vladivostok

Question 7

What percentage was Russia’s growth in national product between 1898 - 1913 compared to Britain and France

Answer 7

Russia - 96% Britain - 40% France - 59%

Question 8

How much did the total population of Russia increase between 1885 to 1913

Answer 8

From 98 million to 155 million

Question 9

What are the criticisms of Witte

Answer 9

1) He made Russia too dependent on foreign loans. 2) give priority to have an industry in neglected light industry 3) paid no attention to agricultural needs