Industrial Transformation: Railways

Question 1

What was Russias annual economic growth rate from 1894-1913?

Answer 1

-annual growth rate of more than 8% per annum

Question 2

Who masterminded this impressive expansion and how?

Answer 2

-Sergei Witte finance minister 1892-1903
-built on policies est. by Vyshnegradsky 1880s

Question 3

What did Witte aim for with his economic developments?

Answer 3

-econ modernisation
-continued policy of state capitalism

Question 4

What happened to railways under Witte?

Answer 4

-railway trackage doubled

Question 5

What happened to foreign investment under Witte?

Answer 5

-foreign investment soared encouraging engineers, managers + workers from Fr, Be, Gr + Br oversee + help advise econ development in Rus
-Fr supplied 1/3 of foreign capital, Br 23%, Gr 20%, Be 14% + US 5%

Question 6

What happened to coal mining under Witte?

Answer 6

-coul output in southern Rus jumped from 183m puds 1890 to 671m 1900

Question 7

What did Witte introduce?

Answer 7

-new rouble backed by value of gold Jan 1897 to strengthen currency + encourage foreign confidence + investment

Question 8

Why did foreign investment decline early 20th C?

Answer 8

-Rus businessmen accumulated sufficient wealth to expand enterprises + found new ones

Question 9

What happened despite this?

Answer 9

-state involvement remained essential feature of econ goeth through period to 1914
-capital used fund public works, develop Rus infrastructure like railways, telegraph line + electrical plants

Question 10

What was state control like in the early 20th C?

Answer 10

-state controlled 70% Rus railways + helped extensive holdings in growing heavy Ind plant
-by turn of century state buying almost 2/3 of Rus metallurgical production

Question 11

What happened in the years 1903-1913?

Answer 11

-the gov received over 25% of its income from its Ind investments

Question 12

What did the state continue to do regarding railways?

Answer 12

-buy out smaller private railway companies extending lines
-by 1905 Rus had just over 59k km railway lines 66% state owned

Question 13

What did these railway lines help to do?

Answer 13

-open up Rus interior allowing for more extensive exploitation of Rus raw materials
-linked grain growing areas to Black Sea ports reinforcing export drive

Question 14

What was the building of the railway lines a stimulus for?

Answer 14

-stimulus for development of iron + coal inds
-this permitted development of new industries along length of expanding rail network

Question 15

What was the impact of this?

Answer 15

-transport costs fell bringing down price of goods
-gov made money firm freight charges + passenger fares

Question 16

What happened from 1908-13?

Answer 16

-rate of railway building slowed
-but by 1913 Rus second largest railway network with 62k km but short of USA’s 411k km

Question 17

What was the most acclaimed railway development?

Answer 17

-trans Siberian railway which cross’s Russia from west to east

Question 18

What did the building of the trans Siberian railway provide?

Answer 18

-huge Ind stimulus
-and psychological boost home + abroad even greater

Question 19

What was the trans Siberian railway?

Answer 19

-built 1891-92 at Witte’s instigation linking Central European Russia + Moscow