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Russia Economy and Society > Industrialisation > Flashcards

Industrialisation Flashcards

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1
Q

What did Alexander II introduce?

A
  • He introduced the ‘New Work Discipline’ whereby factory owners introduced strict rules and regulations that were required for employees to work safely and efficiently with machines.
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2
Q

Who was Finance Minister under Alexander II in the period 1862-1878?

A
  • Mikhail Reutern
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3
Q

What approach did Reutern adopt to industry?

A
  • Revolved around railway construction
  • The attraction of foreign expertise
  • Employment of foreign direct investment
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4
Q

Give some examples of the modernisation that occurred under Reutern?

A
  • The Nobel Brothers were responsible for the growth of the oil industry around Baku
  • Ludwig Loop developed the Russian textile industry
  • JJ Hughes was responsible for the transformation of iron and steel production.
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5
Q

To what extent did Reutern build upon the railway under Nicholas I? What were the impacts of this?

A
  • There was a seven fold increase in the amount of railway track opened, from 2200 miles in 1862, to 14,000 miles in 1878.
  • This allowed for railways to ‘break bulk’ at speed, which gave a boost to the industrial sector.
  • Subsequently, there was a doubling of industrial output, and an average annual growth rate of 7%
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6
Q

How did Reutern improve trade and investment?

A
  • The issuing of government bonds, taxation exemptions and monopoly concessions(being given the right to be the only seller of a product)
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7
Q

What were the downsides to the railway construction under Reutern?

A
  • Wherever possible construction was placed in the hands of private contractors, and to secure their services, the government made a promise to bail out projects which encountered financial difficulties. This inevitably led to corruption.
  • Due to the very high costs of construction and operation, 94% of the railway was private by 1880.
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8
Q

How were Reutern’s efforts cut short?

A
  • Russo Turkish War 1877-1878
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9
Q

Who was the first finance minister under Alexander III?

A
  • Nikolay Bunge (1882-1886)
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10
Q

How did Bunge reform industry?

A
  • Fiscal amendments eg - the abolition of salt tax in 1881, and in 1886 poll tax.
  • Creation of the Peasant Land Bank in 1883
  • Move towards a greater state ownership of the railway
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11
Q

What percentage of the railway was publically controlled under Alexander III?

A
  • 69% by 1911.
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12
Q

Why did Bunge fall from power?

A
  • Alexander III blamed Bunge’s liberal reforms for the dramatic fall in the value of the rouble and was replaced with Ivan Vyshnegradskii
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13
Q

How did Vyshnegradskii balance the government budget and make a surplus of income?

A
  • Achieved through a more efficient utilisation of income from taxes, railways, crown properties, the state bank and treasury.
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14
Q

What is the significance of the Medele’ev tariff of 1891?

A
  • Vyshnegradskii raised revenue from this tariff and income gained by exporting large amounts of grain even when there was a prospect of starvation and domestic shortage.
  • The 1891 famine was seen partly as a result of Vyshnegradskii’s policies, and was forced to give way to Sergie Witte (1893-1903)
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15
Q

Who was the finance minister under Nicholas II?

A
  • Sergie Witte (1893-1903)
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16
Q

How was Witte different to previous finance ministers?

A
  • Witte showed full commitment to industry in an attempt to compete with other industrialised nations and to improve Russian military capability.
    This was mainly achieved through the expense of agriculture - ‘substitution effect’.
17
Q

What were the 5 main strands of Witte’s Great Spurt?

A
  • The placement of the rouble on the gold standard in 1897 which gave confidence to potential investors of the Russian currency
  • Took out foreign loans, raised taxes and interest rates to boost available capital for industry
  • Encouraged foreign expertise like Reutern did.
  • Most investment should go on heavy industry and the railways
  • Further industrialisation was to be planned and managed mainly by the state, with a move away from private enterprise.
18
Q

What was the impact of the Great Spurt?

A
  • Coal production doubled and iron and steel increased seven fold.
  • A stimulus was provided to the development of new technologies in the oil and chemical industries
  • The total amount of railway track opened rose by 40% between 1891 and 1901.
19
Q

What were the criticism’s of Witte’s Great Spurt?

A
  • The encouragement of foreign expertise halted domestic talent
  • Although the railway track expanded, it was still very costly and not as impressive as European tracks.
  • The reliance on foreign capital had been criticised as dangerous as loans could be recalled at short notice
20
Q

Why was Sergie Witte dismissed from post?

A
  • Witte opposed Nicholas II’s expansionist foreign policy, mainly on the grounds of cost.
21
Q

Following his dismissal from finance minister, why/how did Witte become prime minister?

A
  • After a disastrous war against Japan(1904-1905) and the social unrest of 1905, Witte was appointed as Prime Minister
  • Stolypin was put as Finance Minister and their joint efforts resulted in a revival of the economy.
  • From 1909 to 1913, industrial output increased at a rate of 7% a year.
22
Q

What was the industry like at the start of WW1?

A
  • Coal production was 10% of British capacity
  • There were small scale enterprises and a lack of modern technology
  • Witte’s reforms were abandoned
23
Q

How did Lenin change industry in 1917?

A
  • Introduced State Capitalism; involved taking control of the economy until it could be handed over to the proletariat.
24
Q

How did Lenin introduce State Capitalism?

A
  • November 1917 decree on land - The division of private land that was then handed to peasants
  • November 1918 Decree on Workers Control - worker committees given extra powers to run factories
  • December 1917 SEC(Supreme Economic Council) The SEC was formed to manage key industries that were nationalised by the Bolsheviks.
25
Q

How was Lenin’s State Capitalism affected by Civil War?

A
  • Production of coal fell from 29 million tons in 1913 to 9 million tons in 1921.
  • Inflation had got out of hand; the rouble was worth 1% of its 1917 value
  • As a result, 90% of wages were ‘in kind’ (payment other than using money)
26
Q

How did Lenin change his approach during the Civil War?

A
  • Lenin used State Capitalism and Grain requisitioning to create War Communism
27
Q

What was War Communism?

A
  • Nationalisation of larger enterprises
  • Partial militarisation of Labour
  • Forced requisitioning of agricultural produce
28
Q

After State Capitalism and War communism, what did Lenin introduce?

A
  • Lenin introduced NEP(New Economic Policy)
    Features are as follows;
  • Return to private ownership
  • The continuation of state control of heavy industry
  • Removal of trade restrictions
  • Encouragement of foreign trade
  • End to grain requisitioning
29
Q

What was the impact of Lenin’s NEP?

A
  • Industrial output increased rapidly and this was reflected in a greater number of consumer goods found in shops and markets.
    This was heavily linked to the emergence of the NEPMEN. By 1923, NEPMEN were responsible for 60% of retail trade.
  • The NEPMEN had started to annoy people with their underhand dealing
  • Another cause for concern was the emergence of the Scissors Crisis whereby the supply of food increased at a faster rate than it was demanded, resulting in a swift fall in prices.
30
Q

What were Stalin’s aims based on?

A
  • Launch a war against Russia’s Tsarist past
  • To prepare for potential conflict with Russia’s capitalist enemies
  • The development of heavy industry was the key to expansion and modernisation of the armed forces.
  • These aims were also linked to the wish for economic autarky(self sufficient)
31
Q

What did Stalin replace the NEP with?

A
  • Replaced with a policy that revolved around strict control and centralised planning
  • Industrialisation was to be stimulated through the setting of production targets.
  • From 1929 to 1964, there were seven 5 year plans
32
Q

How were the 5 year plans corrupt?

A
  • Targets were set by the ruling elite and were often based on flimsy research.
  • Managers at local level were ordered to achieve them and were in constant fear of failing.
33
Q

in theory, what was the structure of the 5 year plans?

A
  • Initial targets were stipulated by key officials in the party. Gosplan was given the task of researching and calculating figures needed for target setting.
  • Targets were then passed on to commissariats to frame a plan for clearly defined areas of economic activity
  • The plans were then passed on to regional managers to implement. In reality, the plans were little more than very detailed instructions
34
Q

What are the statistical achievements of the Five Year Plans?

A 
- From 1928 to 1960;
Electricity 5 to 292 
Oil 12 to 148 million tonnes
Coal 35 to 510 million tonnes
Clocks and watches 900,000 to 26 million
35
Q

How was Khrushchev different to Stalin in terms of industrialisation?

A
  • He continued with centralised planning which resulted in further economic growth and more diversification in what was produced.
  • But, his first plan was abandoned, and his second correlated with a slowdown in the economy, which makes Khrushchev’s achievements less impressive than Stalin’s.
36
Q

Give some successes of the 5 year plans

A
  • Significant increases in the output of heavy industry
  • New specialist industries emerged eg chemical
  • In the second 5 year plan, 4500 new enterprises were started.
  • Larger range of goods
37
Q

Give some limitations of the 5 year plans

A
  • Shortage of skilled workers
  • Targets were not met
  • Managers were forced to exaggerate achievements
  • Oil industry was very slow to expand in comparison to western industries
  • Entry into WW2 led to a shortage of raw materials and a slowdown in economic progress

Russia Economy and Society (5 decks)

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