Russias Economy And Society Flashcards
Alexander II
Society; abolished serfdom. Serfs able to marry who ever, own property and businesses. Had 20% less land than before and worse soil.
Juries were introduced in criminal cases which reduced the amount of bribery as they were well paid. They enjoyed great freedom of expression, and intelligentsia found a new and exciting career in law.
He created zemstva which represented the peasants, townspeople and the gentry. Peasants could be representatives. Gave them a say. However, this was restricted to public health, prisons, roads, agriculture and more.
Censorship was reduced; editors didn’t have to get prior approval for their texts, the ministry of interior could suspend and close publications and find their publishers. And in 1873 given the power to forbid topics being discussed. Censors made some mistakes by allowing some seditious books to be published.
Economy: no serfdom meant redemption tax 49 yrs, so peasants didn’t have much money to spend on food and luxuries so less money going into the economy.
The zemstva were always short of money to attend to the problems.
Industrial development was slow, new industrial areas were beginning but mainly due to foreign investment. There was a growing market for manufactured goods
Alexander III
Economy; wittes great spurt. He became minister of finance in 1893. He increased foreign investment from 98 million roubles in 1880 to 911 million roubles in 1900 which increased annual production.
Social: millions of peasants moved into the developing industries. By 1913, the working class had reached 11 million in the cities. Workers from the countryside moved into slums and some lived and slept by their factory machines. In 1904, the average St Petersburg apartment housed 16 people. Living conditions were awful. Wages low and employment insecure.
Provisional government
Pg granted freedom of speech and the right to strike. Everyone could vote in local councils and zemstva. But political meetings happened everywhere.
The Bolsheviks; Lenin
Social: civil marriage and divorce was introduced and made easier.
Economic: peasants had little incentive to sell as there were few products in the shops so economy was suffering.
War communism: gov decided to take direct control of economic life and nationalised all industries but production fell by more than a half. Shortage of food due to peasants refusing to sell. INFLATION: workers paid in goods.
NEP: allowed small businesses I run independently, ended requisitioning. Industrial output increased rapidly, ended rationing and stimulated trade. Encouraged foreign investment. Similar to wittes
Stalin
The five year plans demanded more rapid industrialisation, setting high targets for industry to achieve. In the coal and iron industries, production levels doubled.
Collectivisation 1929, smaller farms were brought together to form bigger farms and were put under state control to make sure food production increased to serve the needs of the proletariat. By 1941 98% of all peasant households worked on collectives. Poor working and living conditions. Still food shortages due to the famine 1932/34. Maybe due to collectivisation. Those who opposed collectivisation were eradicated.
Khrushchev
Social: he promoted free education for everyone. Living conditions increased, communal living was abandoned.
