Economy 1894-1914

Question 1

State revenue 1908 vs 1914

Answer 1

2 billion roubles
4 billion roubles
= more taxes and imports

Question 2

Number of banks 1908 vs 1914

Answer 2

1146
2393
= more loans

Question 3

Number of factories 1908 vs 1914

Answer 3

22,600
24,900

Question 4

Number of workers 1908 vs 1914

Answer 4

2.5 million
2.9 million

Question 5

Annual production of coal 1900 vs 1910 vs 1913

Answer 5

16.1 m tonnes
26.8 m tonnes
35.4 m tonnes

Question 6

Annual production of pig iron 1900 vs 1910 vs 1913

Answer 6

2.66 m tonnes
2.99 m tonnes
4.12 m tonnes

Question 7

Annual production of oil 1900 vs 1910 vs 1913

Answer 7

10.2 m tonnes
9.4 m tonnes
9.4 m tonnes

Question 8

Annual production of grain 1900 vs 1910 vs 1913 (European Russia only)

Answer 8

56 m tonnes
74 m tonnes
90 m tonnes

Question 9

Population of European Russia 1897 vs 1913

Answer 9

93,442,900
121,780,000
Growth = improved healthcare and nutrition

Question 10

Railway growth 1900 vs 1913

Answer 10

Around 52,000
Around 67,000
= improved infrastructure

Question 11

Industrial output 1900 vs 1913

Answer 11

Steadily increasing, except for 1905 (due to R/J war)

Question 12

Balance of trade 1891-1900 vs 1901-10

Answer 12

600+ m roubles exports, 500+ m roubles imports
1100 m roubles exports, 900 m roubles imports
Positive trade balance

Question 13

Comparative growth in national income 1894-1913

Answer 13

Italy - 121%
Austria - 79%
Britain - 70%
Germany - 58%
France - 52%
Russia - 50%

Question 14

Foreign trade (several countries) in 1913, in £ millions

Answer 14

Britain - 1,223
Germany - 1,030
France - 424
Austria-Hungary - 199
Russia - 190

Question 15

Stolypin background info

Answer 15

• came from an aristocratic family
• became Minister for Internal Affairs and then Prime Minister in July 1906
• was behind the dissolution of first two Dumas + Stolypin’s coup (1907)
• established court-martials led by senior military officers to deal with political crimes (no legal assistance for accused, trial less than 2 days, 💀 sentences in 24hrs)
• executed over 3,000 between 1906-9; noose = ‘Stolypin’s necktie’
• ‘carrot and stick’ approach - reform (carrot) mainly for kulaks

Question 16

Problems in agriculture in 1906

Answer 16

‘Great Spurt’ (rapid industrialisation) 1890s —> needs of agriculture ignored or sacrificed for industrial gain
poor financial situation of peasants (esp due to high indirect taxation) - redemption payments kept them poor and they couldn’t buy their own land
lack of private ownership of land - peasants still subject to control of the Mir, had to farm a collection of scattered strips —> difficult to modernise farm
insufficient methods of farming - solcha (wooden plough) used and three-course crop rotation system still dominant
inequality within peasantry - some kulaks emerged due to Emancipation; this increased inequality, and hence tension, in the countryside

Question 17

‘A Wager on the Strong’

Answer 17

Stolypin’s reform programme
Was to address the agricultural problems
Was to create a more prosperous class of peasants
Stimulation of social change for economic benefit + political benefit, to create a class of kulaks loyal to the Tsar

Question 18

Stolypin’s reforms + impacts in 1906

Answer 18

Sept - the amount of state and Crown land available for peasants increased - make more kulaks
Oct - peasants granted equal rights in local administration - more loyalty to Tsar
Nov (but only approved by 3rd Duma, 1910) - peasants given right to leave the Mir, communal strips could be converted to private property on fully enclosed village (khutora) or consolidated holdings within it (otruba), new Peasant Land Bank established to help peasants buy more land - more rights, turning to urban work, independence, loyalty to the regime (all for peasants)

Question 19

Stolypin’s reforms + impacts after 1906

Answer 19

Jan 1907 - redemption payments abolished - wealthier peasants, more chances of leaving the Mir
June 1910 - all communes which had not redistributed land since 1861 were dissolved, increase in govt subsidies to encourage migration to Siberia - new farms with better methods

Question 20

Evidence of Stolypin’s reforms’ success

Answer 20

• hereditary ownership of land increased from 15% in 1906 to 30% in 1914
• where land was consolidated = larger farms, more machinery and artificial fertilisers - grain production rose, by 1909 - Russia is world’s leading cereal exporter
• more peasants became kulaks due to breaking away from the Mir, with the help of Land Bank and no redemption payments

Question 21

Evidence of Stolypin’s reforms’ failures

Answer 21

• redemption payment cancellation was symbolic, as they could not pay anyway
• only 15% of communal land was privately consolidated by 1914, many were waiting for application for consolidation to be processed; from 6m applications, 2m were withdrawn by applicants + out of 1m successful, 2/3 were forced
• strip farming still dominant - by 1914, only 10% of holdings did not use it; main reason for increased grain production was good harvest
• only few peasants became kulaks - most were poor, landless peasants
  In conclusion, Stolypin underestimated people’s love for the Mir

Question 22

Other factors that hindered Stolypin’s reforms

Answer 22

• WWI - he stated that his reforms needed 20 years of peace to work
• industrial growth was not fast enough to concentrate land in fewer hands (= efficient agricultural production)
• required serious cultural change amongst the peasantry —> could not be achieved
• Stolypin assassinated in 1911

Question 23

Signs that Russia had a strong economy in 1914

Answer 23

• Witte’s policy of state-directed growth (1892-1903) —> ‘Great Spurt’
• 62,200 km of railway laid by 1913
• Trans-Siberian railway completed in 1914 - 7,000 km, from Moscow to Vladivostok
• second largest railway in the world by 1913
• positive balance of trade
• economy grew at a rate of 8.5% per year from 1893-1913

Question 24

More signs that Russia had a strong economy by 1914

Answer 24

• state revenue doubled to 4b roubles, factories +2,300 and workers +400,000
• fifth largest industrial power in the world by 1914
• coal increased from 16.1 to 35.4m tonnes
• industrial output overall around 60%
• urban population growth - St P by 0.8m, Moscow by 0.4m = more workers
• but also growth in rural areas, eg Siberia

Question 25

Signs that Russia had a weak economy in 1914

Answer 25

• 62,200 km of railway was still not enough for Russia’s enormity
• USA was far ahead with railway production, with 411,000 km
• Russia only reached £190m in foreign trade in 1913 - Britain reached £1223m and Germany £1030m
• Western countries expanded faster in national income 1894-1913; 50% for Russia as opposed to 121% for Italy and 70% for Britain
• population growth (25%?) = offsetting growth - not enough jobs

Question 26

Who was Sergei von Witte?

Answer 26

Minister of Finance 1892-1903

Question 27

What were some of Witte’s aims / beliefs?

Answer 27

• economic modernisation
• continuing protective tariffs, heavy taxation and forced exports to generate capital
• sought additional loans from abroad
• encouraged engineers, managers and workers from France, Belgium, Germany, Britain and Sweden to oversee industrial developments and advise on planning and techniques

Question 28

What were some of Witte’s reforms?

Answer 28

• increased foreign investment; 98m in 1880 to 215m in 1890 to 280m in 1895 (much of this went to mining, metal trades, oil and banking)
• introduced a new rouble backed by the value of gold (Jan 1897) to strengthen currency and encourage foreign confidence and investment
• the capital was used to fund public works / develop Russian infrastructure (railways, telegraph lines and electrical plants) + develop mines, oil fields and forests

Question 29

What was the impact of Witte’s reforms?

Answer 29

• huge expansion of railway network (virtually doubled)
• coal output jumped from 183m puds in 1890 to 671m in 1900
• foreign investment soared - France supplied 1/3 of foreign capital, Britain 23%, Germany 20%, Belgium 14% and US 5%
• Russia is world’s fourth largest industrial economy by 1897
• exports and foreign trade increased, though mostly in grain than industrial goods
• annual growth rate of more than 8% per annum from 1894 to 1913