AS History: The Russian Economy (1892-1911)

AS History: The Russian Economy (1892-1911)

1. Witte (1892-1903)

   • Problems Faced
     • More foreign investment needed
     • Need for larger business class
     • Peasants needed to work in factories
     • Bad Transport network
   • Successes
     • These points are limited to the essentials - there will not be enough time to write about all the successes he had! Especially as the Failures are probably more worthy of note, in my opinion.
     • Gained foreign investment (mainly from France) totalling 144m roubles
     • Increased production of coal and iron
       • More factories in main cities
     • More sophisticated weaponry
     • Trans-Siberian Railway
     • Working hours reduced to 11.5 a day
       • Was still exploited as no enforcment
   • Failures
     • Poor living conditions
     • Still behind Germany, France & Britain
       • More national debt than anyone else
     • Strikes became more common
     • Peasant anger due to taxes on them increased

2. Stolypin (1906-1911)

   • Problems Faced
     • Opposition from the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
     • The radical Dumas
     • Not enough Agrarian reform
   • Successes
     • Manipulated the Dumas to be less radical
       • Tsar Nicholas II dissolved first three, only upper classes could vote the third & fourth time.
     • Passed Land Reform Acts
       • 'Mir's abolished, 25% peasants left Mirs 1906-14
       • 20% of peasants owned land in 1905, 50% by 1915
       • Peasants owning land were more loyal to Tsar
     • Encouraged Peasant Land Bank to give more money
     • Agricultural production increased greatly
   • Failures
     • Still poor living conditions
     • Industrial Unrest
       • Lana Goldfield massacre, 1912
         • Police killed strikers
       • Moscow General Strike in 1914
     • Stolypin became reknown for having people hanged, "Stolypin's Neckties"
     • The Dumas were weakened
     • Land Reforms had little impact on cities
   • Assassinated in 1911 at Kiev Opera House

3. Problems

   • Famine in 1891-92 killing 1.5-2 million people
   • Still behind most other European powers economically

4. Who had the Biggest Economic Impact?

   • Stolypin arguably had more successes than Witte but still failed to address key issues such as living conditions and production increases. It can also be argued some of his successes were down to the pressure put on by the Dumas
   • Witte made good progress in terms of production, but through means of more hardship on the peasants. The Trans-Siberian Railway was an improvement for transport, but still proved not good enough during wartime Russia.