To What Extent Did the Russian Economy Improve in the Period 1894-1942?

1894; industry and agriculture
• Less economic growth compared to G, B, USA   in 19th cent
• Less urban workers
• Iron,textile,smelting,flaxen goods were main industry that were supplementary to agriculture
• Less transport system= couldn’t have an industrial expansion
• Ineffective banking system= less capital+ entrepreneurialism
• Inefficient pattern of agriculture- north couldn’t grow crops- restricted to black earth region fertile
• 80% peasants- not enough fertile land to go around
• Peasants thought land was too expensive- borrow from government loans- large mortgages that took generations to pay
Great spurt
• 1890’s industry grew rapidly- especially coal in Ukraine and Oil in Caucasus
• Witte- Minister of Finance: 1892-1903
• State capitalism
• European countries saw R as inferior- had to be seen as equal- large loans from abroad
• High tariffs to import- help with balance of payments
• Russian currency under gold standard
• Trans Siberian railway- connected to remote areas where migration was needed into cities= more investments from abroad because impressed
• GDP growth 96.8% from 1898-1913
Limitations
• Made R dependent on foreign loans
• Neglected light engineering areas e.g. machine tool production- help modernise manufacturing
• Neglected agricultural needs
• Great spurt had also been down to a world wide boom- recession= less demand for goods
• Unemployment and less GDP per capita
How accurate is it to describe the constutional and land reforms of the years 1906-14 in Russia as significant?
Land reforms
• Outstanding repayments cancelled- de-revolutionaising the peasants
• Land bank- replace inefficient strip system with fence fields like west-voluntary resettlement of peasants to repopulate remote areas e.g. Siberia to turn them into food growing areas
• Conservatism- resitsted- mir was more confortable to stay- offered security
• Increased taxes than in 1890’s = more production BUT minority
• Stolypin had said this...