Social Divisions: Nobles, Landowners + Peasantry Flashcards
What happened as industrialisation spread?
-land based society moving to one focussed on money, capital + wages
-was slow procedure + until 1895 society strongly divided
-emergence of new middle class + urban working class
-these changes had profound impact on stability of the state
Who was the landed elite?
-small but diverse group of mainly noble status
-some sold out to pay debts + others abandoned farming
-1880 nearly 1/5 uni professors came from hereditary nobility + 1882 over 700 nobles owned business in Moscow
-nearly 2500 employed in commerce, transport or industry
-most former serf owners retained previous wealth + society remained highly stratified according to wealth
Who was the middle class?
-bankers, doctors, teachers + administrators in greater demand after urban + Ind expansion
-but small amounts — under half a million in 1897 consensus
-govt contracts build railways + state loans set up factories provided opportunities for enterpisers
-more opportunities take up management or set up as traders
How did the urban working class develop?
-expansion in Ind led to growth in urban population
-but only made up no more then 11%
Who became urban workers?
-peasants moved to towns to work temp + returned to villages for peak times like harvest
-some peasants sold land + left countryside to join migrant groups building railways or became urban workers
-1864 consensus 1/3 in St P were peasants by birth
What were conditions like for urban workers?
-grim + factories laid little to heed workers welfare despite reforms
-poor sanitation + workplace dangers
What were the reforms in 1882-92?
-regulation of child labour
-reduction in working hours
-appointment of inspectors to check on working + living conditions
What was the impact of these reforms?
-contributed little to improving growing working class
-around 33 illegal strikes per year 1886-94
What was the position of the peasantry?
-was divided
-at the top was the kulaks
-at the bottom were the peasants who found life getting harder as turned into landless labourers
-zemstvo survey — 1880s 2/3 former serfs in Tambov unable feed household without debt
What did the kulaks do?
-bought land from poorer peasants some aided by land banks
-employed labour + acted as ‘pawn brokers’ to less fortunate by buying their grain in autumn to provide them with money for winter
How did living standards vary?
-areas former sate peasants better than the emancipated privately owned serfs as granted more land
-despite health improvements large proportion turned down for military service as mortality rates higher than in Europe
-economic change failed improve lot of peasantry + affected them for the worse
