Russia unit 1 opps

Question 1

Russian economy

Answer 1

• Reutern introduced reforms
• Treasury was reformed tax collection no more tax farming and instead state controlled collection and more indirect taxation.
• auditing gov departments.
• Publishing tax budgets.
• state banks 1860 , municipal banks 1862 and saving banks 1869. Provide loans and centralised gov finance.
• Reduction on import duties in 1863.
• Gove subsidies provided to priv entrepeneurs developing railways.
• Gov provided annual dividend to encourage foreign investment.
• Join stock companies were allowed to encourage safe investment.
• Tax farmers forced to invest elsewhere
• in 1871 Oil extraction began in the Caspian sea ports of Baku.
  1879 Naptha extraction company began in 1879.
• Industrial out put from 352 million roubles in 1863 to 909 million rubbles in 1879.

LIMITATIONS.
- 1/3 of all gov expenditure went to paying debts.
- 66 percent of gov income came from indirect taxation keeping peasantry poor.
- Tariff reduction meant a decrease in gov expenditure in 1878.

Question 2

Vyshnegradsky

Answer 2

• Took over in 1887
• Prohibitive import tariffs of 30 percent increased home production and helped the iron industry of southern Russia. EG 26.1 million rubles in 1878–1887 to 161.2 million rubles in 1893–1897
• Balance the budget while financing enterprise by negotiating loans eg french loan in 1888.
• increased indirect tax eg tabaco tax rasied by 100 percent.
• Increase export drive by 18 percent between 1881 and 1891 and by 1892 the Russian budget was in surplus.

LIMITATIONS
- “we shall not eat, but we shall export” The serfs had no reserve stores for the winter so during times of bad harvest in 1891 - 92 bad harvest brough widespread famine in which thousands died.
- Great famine in 1891 - 92 affected 17 Russian provinces and 350000 died.

Question 3

Witte

Answer 3

• increased state spending trans-Siberian Railway, launched in 1891 and mostly completed by 1904.
• Protective tarrifs and forced exports
• encouraged foreign investment and private enterprise, especially in heavy industries like coal, steel, and oil.
  From 1890 to 1895, foreign investment went from 215 rouble to 280 rouble.
• By 1897 Russia was the world 4th leading industrial economy.

Question 4

Economy for peasants

Answer 4

• Quantity of ploughland reduced.
• agricultural change limited due to high tax , traditional farming EG in 1870s 50 percent of peasant income went to tax and dues.
• redemption payments took 25 to 40 percent of peasant income with low 6 percent interest.
• yields were low in comparison to western Europe.
• Land banks increased landownership between 1877 and 1905 over 26 million hectares passed into peasants hands, but it increased debt.
• Russia produced 45 puds of grain meanwhile Uk and Germany produced 146 puds.
• average lif expactacy for peasnat was 27 male and 29 female.

Question 5

Landed elite

Answer 5

• • Landed elites personal land owning greatly declined after emacippation and they sold theri land to pay debts and went to other fields.
• 1/5 of uni profs came from hereditery nobles.
• in 1882 700 nobles ownded their own businesses in Moscow .
• 2500 found jobs in commerce, trasnport or industry.
  they retained their wealth.

Question 6

Middle class

Answer 6

• oppertunities to be doctors, bankers gov contractors to build railways and gain state loans to set up factories gave enterprising oppertunities but the middel class was no more than half a million in 1897.

Question 7

urban working class

Answer 7

• 2 percent of population
• By 1864 1 in 3 workers were peasants
• In 1882 - 90 series of reforms to the grim conditions of factories appointing inspectors stopping excessive fines and payment in kinds and child labour regulations and reduction in working hours.
• 33 strikes per year between 1886 and 1894.