1855-1894, Economic and Social Developments Flashcards
(34 cards)
Who were the two Finance Ministers that oversaw the industrial takeoff?
Vyshnegradsky - 1887-1892
Witte - 1892-1903
Who was the Finance Minister 1862-1878?
Mikhail von Reutern
What were von Reuter’s reforms?
Treasury structure and tax collection reformed. Use of foreign technical experts and capital supported railway expansion.
Oil extraction in Baku in 1871 and developing oilfields in Donetsk in 1872.
What was the average economic growth rate 62-78?
6%/year
What was the Russian economy like 1862-1878?
Weak - 1/3 of all income went into debt repayment and the rouble varied hugely. The limitation of the emancipation edict was that it left 66% of government revenue from indirect taxation, freezing the social hierarchy as it was.
How did coal and crude oil production change under Vyshnegradsky?
Coal doubled and crude oil production increased by 8x.
How did Vysnegradsky try and boost home production?
He put a 30% import tax on goods, this also helped the iron industry and the mechanisation of industry.
Where did he secure a loan from in 1888?
France - this was accompanied by increased taxes and swelling grain exports.
What was the growth of grain export from 1881?
18%, as a share of total exports.
By what year was the BOP in surplus?
1892.
How was the surplus achieved?
Over-requisitioning - ‘we shall not eat, but we shall export’.
How many died during the Great Famine?
350,000 from starvation, typhoid or dysentery.
How did Witte want to curb revolutionary activity?
Economic modernisation - essentially appeasal.
How did Witte modernise the economy?
Protective tariffs, heavy taxation and forced export.
What was Witte’s main focus?
FDI, increased from 98m in 1880 to 280m in 1895.
What was the focus of the FDI?
Mining, metals, oil and banking. He also brought in managers from Europe to oversee huge railway expansion.
What was the growth rate under Witte, and where did Russia end up in the world industrial production?
8%, 4th largest industrial economy by 1897.
How much railway was built under Witte, and how much was state-owned?
1300km, 60% state owned.
How much did the Emancipation change agriculture?
It actually worsened the quality of it - without the structure and discipline of the landowning elite the quality of farming decreased The average peasant had less than 4 hectares of land, and high taxes, grain requisitioning, redemption payments and traditional agricultural practices produced limited social change.
What was established in 1883 to increase yields?
The Peasants Land Bank - peasants could take out a loan to buy more land, but this just increased debts.
Which group of people stepped up to produce overall agricultural growth during this period?
Kulaks.
What event showed that the peasants did not have enough land to survive?
1891-92 Great Famine.
What was the state of the landed elite by 1894?
They sold off their land in favour of professional activities, 1/5 of professors were nobles and 700 had businesses in Moscow. Most retained much of their previous wealth and stature.
Where did the middle class begin to emerge from by 1894?
They grew with industrial expansion and an increase in educational activities. There were still less than 500,000 by 1897 but workers could win government contracts for railways or housing construction, providing some enterprising opportunities.
