Nicholas II Economy 1894-1917 (Unit 3, Topic 1) Flashcards
What was Industrial Development like by 1894?
-Russia had started to industrialize and move away from a traditional agricultural economy under Reutern
-Under Bunge and Vyshengradsky there was continued railway construction and development of heavy industry (supported by high import tariffs)
-A budget surplus was achieved by 1892
Who was Sergei Witte?
In 1892 Sergei Witte became Finance Minister. His policies were a little different to his predecessors. He supported autocracy but also believed industrialization was necessary to preserve autocracy. His aims and drive caused there to be more economic progression in the 1890’s than there had been in the last decade
What was Witte’s Approach to Industry?
Witte had a ‘holy passion’ for the railways and knew they were the catalyst for industrial progress. They could link up vast spaces, people, farms and factories of the Empire. They can carry industry products to markets and raw materials. The railways also stimulated metallurgical, engineering and coal industries. He believed that once the industry took off private businessmen would run and develop it
What were the Policies Witte Continued for Railways and Heavy Industry Development?
These developments were supported by high tariffs on foreign industrial goods to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. By 1899, the state bought almost 2/3rds of all metallurgical production and controlled 70% of the railways and numerous oilfields and mines. Witte also offered loans and subsidies to guarantee profits to private companies. Witte also encouraged more foreign expertise from European countries to contribute to commercial and technological developments
What were the Actions Witte took that was Different to Previous Ministers of Finance?
-Witte negotiated huge loans, particularly from the French, and drew investors to put money into Russia’s joint-stock companies.
-By 1900, almost 45% of the capital had been invested in by foreigners.
-Russia built up its gold reserves in 1897 adopted the gold standard for the rouble.
-To get everyday money Witte raised indirect tax on kerosene, taxes and vodka.
-The indirect tax hit the peasants hard and they had to sell more exports to pay them allowing Witte to gain enough money to pay the high charged foreign loans
What were the Positive Impacts of Witte’s Great Spurt?
-Production in heavy industry increased with an annual growth of 8%
-Coal output tripled and Russia became a major world producer of iron, steel and oil
-Industrial areas in St. Petersburg had grown rapidly and Moscow now one of the biggest cities in the world
-Railways had significantly stimulated industry production with a railway boom in the 1890’s and track production doubling
-Trans-Siberian Railway connected supplies of raw materials, areas of production and markets
-A new class of Russian entrepreneurs, industrialists and businessman began to merge
What were the Negative Impacts of Witte’s Great Spurt?
-Neglected Light Industry, the prioritization of heavy industry meant smaller, sophisticated machine tool and electrical industries which would help modernisation were not sufficiently developed
-Over-reliance on foreign loans, with the interest rates being very high debt was inevitable and by 1900, 20% of the government budget was used to pay off loans (10x as what was spent on education)
-The rapid industrialization meant that living and working conditions were very poor for workers, wages were kept low and this created strikes and unrest
-Witte failed to make a consumer goods market for the ordinary people, high tariffs on foreign industrial commodities meant many were expensive to buy especially agriculture machinery
What was the Positives of the Position of Agriculture in 1906?
The emancipation had led to some improvement with former state-owned peasants being able to be hired for labour and buy land. Emancipation and Land Banks led to increased peasant ownership. The Kulaks were a growing class and were able to produce a surplus causing a gradual increase in productivity.
Landowners in the Baltic Region benefitted from access to Western Markets through the Trans Siberian Railway providing farms in West Siberia access to markets for cereals and livestock and dairy products. The government encouragement of peasant migration from 1896. New crop rotations, iron ploughs and fertilizers allowed for larger grain yields
What were the Problems still Present in Agriculture in 1906?
All the finance ministers prioritized heavy industry and largely ignored agriculture. The high tariffs made agriculture machinery expensive to buy from foreign sources.
Most farming was still small-scale and inefficient and Mir tied. Emancipation had failed to change agriculture practice and yields remained low. Inefficient strip farming continued. Land was sparse and poor quality.
Redemption payments and indirect tax meant most peasants were unable to invest in agriculture improvements. Wooden ploughs were still widely used.
Who was Pyotr Stolypin?
Pyotr Stolypin Governor of Saratov at the time of the rural violence in 1901 became the most influential member of the Commission of Agriculture, 1902. Stolypin was given Prime Minister and believed that peasant prosperity was key for political stability
What were the Aims of Stolypin’s Agrarian Reforms?
-Reduce the power of the Mir allowing peasants to leave their villages, consolidate strips of land into a single unit and be allowed to develop it as they see fit.
-Encourage enterprising peasants previously freed from the Mir to create larger more efficient farms. These peasants would be more than likely to be able to create a consumer market for the industry
What were Stolypin’s Agrarian Reforms?
1906, More state and crown land was available for peasants to buy
1906, Government subsidies to encourage migration to and settlement in Siberia increased
1906, Peasants given the right to leave their commune, withdraw their land and consolidate their strips into a compact farm
1906, New Peasants Land Bank established to support land purchases
1907, Redemption payments abolished
1910, All communes which had not re-distributed land since 1861 were to be abolished
What were the Successes of Stolypin’s Agrarian Reforms?
-The ownership of land by peasants increased from 20% in 1905 to nearly 50% by 1915.
-Grain production rose annually from 56 million tons in 1900 to 90 million by 1914. By, 1909 Russia was the world’s leading cereal exporter.
-Stolypin encouraged the migration of 3.5 million peasants away from the over-populated rural districts helping Siberia to develop into a major agricultural region.
What were the Limitations to Stolypin’s Agrarian Reforms?
-By 1914, only around 10% of land had been transferred from communal to private ownership. In 1914, 90% of peasants holding and were reluctant to give up traditional practices and the security of the Mir. Changers were seen as ‘Stolypin separators’
-Changes in the land tenure arrangements took a long time to process. As they wanted each household attained the equivalent land to their previous strips. By 1913, only 1.3 million out of 5 million had there applications dealt with
