Workers Flashcards
Under the Tsars how did communication with the West affect workers?
Spread political ideas
Why did the sudden influx of workers 1890-1900 cause discontent?
- not enough adequate services
- lack of accommodation
- lowered wages
What caused the depression in 1903?
Fall in trade and lower national income reduced the flow of capital from the state
What was the condition of workers in 1911?
- 11 hour days
- poor living conditions e.g. 2 story wooden shacks without drainage or water supplies
In later Tsarist times what did urban centres provide?
Markets with consumer goods
When was there a Cholera outbreak?
1896
What were disciplines like in factories under the Tsars?
Hard = fines and beatings
What was the late Tsarist period a golden age for?
literature, music, theatre and ballet
During WWI how much of the workforce were conscripted?
40%
By 1919 how many factor, building and railway workers were there?
Factory = 76% on the 1917 figure Building = 66% Railway = 63%
How much did the industrial population fall by from 1918-1920?
1918 = 3m 1920 = 1.2m
How did the FYP effect workers lives?
Created new disciplines, a new culture and an unprecedented level of disruption
How did the FYP effect workers conditions?
- changes in working practice e.g. piece work
- propaganda use to encourage production
- had to achieve targets
- growth in technology
How was the power of the state deployed more directly in 1928?
Punishments were harsher, failures could be seen to be a betrayal to socialism = pressures were greater
What was a new feature of industrialisation in Soviet times?
Slave labour
- e.g. Belomor Canal was constructed using mostly slave labour
How did rewards differ between S/T times?
Greater under the soviets
What were food supplies like under the FYP?
Workers suffered from severe food shortages
- By 1935 some basic foods were freed from rationing, prices fell and wages increased
How were there more opportunities for workers under the Soviets?
More cultural opportunity and chance for betterment through the party
What did the Moscow Metro show workers?
That their needs were being considered - workers were valued
What entertainment was there under the Soviets?
Arts and cinema
What was education like under the Soviets?
Workers became better educated and more skilled
How did protests differ in S/T times?
Political and economic protests that had been available before 1917 were not available under the Soviets
- no strikes
- workers control on factories not a reality
