Industrialisation within Russia (1855-1964) Part II Flashcards
Name the five strands to Witte’s ‘Great Spurt’
- Witte went back to the ideas of taking out foreign loans, raising taxes & interest rates. (To boost capital)
- Push to encourage more foreign experts to come to Russia.
- 1897 saw the rouble placed on the Gold Standard (This would have secured more investment into the Russian Currency, like the dollar or the British Pound)
- Greater push into investment on heavy industry & the railways.
- Steps taken to move away from private enterprise and into state ownership (especially railways)
What happened to coal production during the Great Spurt?
What happened to steel production during the Great Spurt?
Coal: Doubled
Steel: 7x Increase
How did railway construction develop during the Great Spurt?
1891 - 17,264 Miles
1901 - 31,125 Miles
Name one criticism of Witte’s achievements
- Witte focused too heavily on Heavy Industry (He neglected sectors such as engineering & textiles - This was short sighted demand for metals came from these industries)
- Reliance on Foreign Loans made Russia too reliable on others - What if the loans were recalled!
- While Railways infrastructure increased it was never as impressive or developed as other nations.
- Witte paid very little attention to agriculture, as a result this led to rural discontent and uprisings in the countryside
What happened to Witte in 1903 & why?
Witte was dismissed from his post in 1903. He was blamed for:
- The dip in the economy
- Fall of the rouble
- Disagreeing with the Tsars Expansionist Policies.
Who replaced Witte?
Pytor Stolypin
What is GNP and how was Russia’s GNP from 1909-1913?
It stands for Gross National Product (The total value of goods and services in a country)
It increased on average by 3.5% a Year
What was the issue at the heart of Industrialization up until 1914?
“Productivity had not increased as Production had”
(Factories were employing more and more labour/workers than actually developing the technology and equipment to make productivity faster)
How did the start of WW1 affect the drive to Industrialise?
- Industry struggled to meet the demands of war
- The Railway Network struggled to meet the dual demands; transporting soldiers, supplies to the front and to the home front.
- Inflation resulted
- Taxes increased
- Gold Standard abandoned
Leninist Era: What was State Capitalism?
- This was an economic policy that involved taking complete control of the economy until it could be safely handed over to the working classes.
NB: This was not a planned policy but done as a reaction to a crisis - ie. Build a powerbase after claiming it in the 1917 October Revolution
Leninist Era: What were the two decrees issued in November 1917 that impacted on the economy/Industrialisation of Russia?
- Decree on Land - This was the division or private landholdings to the peasantry
- Decree on Workers - Greater powers were given to workers committees to run the factories.
Leninist Era: What was the purpose of the Supreme Economic Council (SEC)?
They were formed to nationalise the key industries within the economy.
Leninist Era: What was the problem with the SEC in its initial days of implementation?
At local level Nationalisation occurred at local level too fast and too quick (Remember this goes against State Capitalism)
Leninist Era: How did Lenin deal with flaws in State Capitalism & Nationalisation?
He tightened this with two further decrees in 1918 & 1919 and resulted in more Nationalisation from the top.
This led to 30,000 Nationalised Economic Entities by 1920 - This included windmills & Huge Steel Plants.
Leninist Era: What event could be argued to have nullified any positive impact from State Capitalism?
The Russian Civil War (1918-1921)
(eg. Inflation got out of hand, Coal production fell drastically, bartering in kind resulted rather than reliance on currency)
Leninist Era: Name three features of Lenin’s policy of War Communism?
- Nationalisation of larger enterprises and a state monopoly for markets and goods.
- Partial Mobilisation of Labour - Using citizens as workers & soldiers during the Civil War
- Forced Requisitioning - For the benefit of the war effort grain was taken from the countryside by the secret police (Cheka).
Leninist Era: Why was War Communism abandoned by 1921?
- 5 million people died between 1918-1921 due to famine and this was causing resentment and opposition to Lenin & the Communist Party.
- There was a growth of opposition within the Communist Party at the harsh measures.
- War Communism was a temporary measure and as such Lenin could not justify continuing such a policy after the war had concluded in 1921.
Leninist Era: What replaced War Communism from 1921?
NEP - The New Economic Policy
Leninist Era: What NEW things were addressed by the NEP?
- Rejuvenation of Trade/End of Grain Requisitioning - The peasantry were allowed an element of selling their goods on the open market.
- Return to Foreign Trade - This included the encouragement to import foreign expertise from the USA/UK
- Denationalisation of small-scale enterprise - This allowed small workshops to produce consumer items.
Leninist Era: What things were RETAINED by the NEP?
- The continuation of state control of Heavy Industry
