Social Change 1894-1914 Flashcards
1
Q
Positives for workers 1894-1914
A
- health insurance from 1912
- industrial wage rose from 245 to 264 roubles per month
- electric street lighting, cinemas, theatre (opera & ballet), museums, department stores and a popular press by 1914
- huge industrial factories and many small workshops
- literacy rate rose: 57.8% in 1898 to 64% in 1914; 75% for skilled workers
- 1900 - workers 2.5% of population, 1914 - 4%
- 25% workers are women by 1900 (even higher in textile around St P and M)
- TU fought for higher wages, shorter work hours, better conditions and educational opportunities, + eliminating sexual harassment (esp for women)
2
Q
Negatives for workers 1894-1914
A
- inflation rose by 40%
- unions mainly remained powerless + calls for more by Duma = dismissed
- 3 million took part in strikes between 1912-14 (incl Lena Goldfields, 500 killed)
- poor living conditions - barrack-like buildings, overcrowded + unsanitary
- 1908-9 = 30,000 died of cholera outbreak in St P; 1/3 overall deaths = diseases
- St P = most expensive and unhealthiest city in the world
- by 1914, only 74 towns = electricity, 35 = gas, 200 = piped water, 38 = sewage
3
Q
More negatives for workers 1894-1914
A
- the guarantee to have TU by Fundamental Laws undermined; 1906-10 = 497 closed down; mainly confined to St P - 3/4 strikes happened there
- no attempt to improve conditions by govt, regardless of booming econ after 1908
- long hours for low pay - less than 1/3 of west Europe’s; hours increased after 1905 in some workplaces
- little to no support for old age, occupational disease and unemployment
- housing shortage due to dramatic increase of workforce + strain on public services
4
Q
Positives for peasants 1894-1914
A
- extension of health services by zemstva
- Siberia developed for agricultural production; 3.5m relocated there
- social mobility improved - some peasants became m/c
- increased education spending; 77% growth in pupils, 85% schools 1905-14
- literacy rate increased; under 30% in 1900 to over 40% by 1914
- 1890 - over 2/3 St P population born outside it (even higher in Moscow)
5
Q
More positives for peasants 1894-1914
A
- 90% Moscow printers sent money back to relatives + 1/2 kept village farms in 1907
- peasants who came from same regions often lived & worked together —> creation of informal worker organisations; rental of communal apartments and woman cook
- 1905 - creation of co-operative movement —> sense of community; purchased co-operatives, buying goods cheaper in bulk; biggest - Kooperatsiya in M, 1000s people
- savings bank movement - Moscow Narody Bank, 85% owned by co-operatives
6
Q
Negatives for peasants 1894-1914
A
- growth of kulaks = gap between poorest and richest widened
- 3.5m relocating to Siberia was small in comparison to 97m peasant population
- large proportion of peasants deemed unfit for military service in 1914
- strip farming on 90% land —> rife rural poverty
- generally education levels remained low
- 9m landless peasants by 1900
- traditional beliefs remained - Prince Lvov: “every single peasant believed … one day … the Squire’s land would belong to him” - remained true until 1917
7
Q
Positives for nobility 1894-1914
A
- still had influence through zemstva and regularly appointed to provisional governorships by Tsar
- some adapted to modern agriculture successfully, developed estates, used modern agricultural methods and machines, achieved high yields
- 1000 out of 1400 highest ranking civil servants were nobles in 1897 + significant number moved into medical, legal and educational professions
- some became investors in land, bonds or shares in new companies; Nobles Lank Bank lent money at low interest rates
8
Q
More positives for nobility 1894-1914
A
- some got involved in business, commerce and finance
- still played an influential role in local affairs and dominated the zemstva
- regained some control over peasantry during office of land captain, est 1889
- many felt threatened after 1905 —> created All Russian Union of Landowners to represent own interests and oppose Stolypin’s reforms
- had access to elite circles and employment, investment opportunities (due to title)
9
Q
Negatives for nobility 1894-1914
A
- 1/3 land transferred to townsmen or peasants between 1861-1905
- many fell into debt
- compensated by Tsar for loss of serfs, but not land + most of this money was used to pay off debts and mortgages
- owned 80% of land on 1861, halved by 1905 (most sold to peasants)
- could not maintain traditional lifestyles
10
Q
Positives for middle class 1894-1914
A
- continued to grow (physically) and influence through zemstva and Duma
- around 2000 successful entrepreneurs by 1914
- 1m professionals by 1914; 17,000 to 28,000 doctors from 1897 vs 1914, almost double the amount of teachers between 1906 and 1914 (to over 20,000)
- professional associations created; 1892 All Russian Teachers Congress, 1881 the Pirogov Medical Society
- many professionals worked for zemstva, viewed as representative of the nation
- pushed for further political reform; 1904 - ninth Congress of Pirogov medical society ended with demands for parliament and cries of ‘down with the monarchy’
11
Q
More positives for middle class 1894-1914
A
- growing number of female teachers, doctors and architects in 1900 (+ in zemstva)
- 1908 - first All Russian Congress of Women in St P; half of delegates earned their living; women’s movement campaigned for sexual and educational equality
- over 600 voluntary organisations in M,1912; m/c deeply involved in public sphere
- could enjoy a music hall, tea drinking clubs, dances and lectures on self-help
- the number of primary schools quadrupled 1878-1911; 1/2 school age children enrolled by 1911; literacy rose from 21% in 1897 to 40% in 1914
- Association of Industry and Trade formed in 1906 (pressure group for business interests) - had considerable political influence
12
Q
Negatives for middle class 1894-1914
A
- didn’t fit well into the social structure shaped by the autocratic paradigm
- small in number - around 2m or 1.5% of population
