Social Changes Flashcards
(29 cards)
Impact of Emancipation & Urbanisation
-peter Waldron
-Emancipation of serfs destroyed traditional social structures (landed nobility’s dominance, control over peasantry).
-Industrialisation & urbanisation unknit rural society as peasants moved to cities.
-Rural society exposed to new ideas through migrants maintaining ties with villages.
- Education spread, increasing literacy & access to information.
- By 1914, Russian society was changing too fast for the state to regulate. PETER WALDRON
Urban growth
-Urban population: 7 million (1867) → 28 million (1917)
-¾ of St. Petersburg’s population (1914) were of peasant origin, a huge increase on 1/3 1864.
-Population of st Petersburg had more than doubled in 20 years
Overcrowding in urban areas
-Barrack-style factory housing lacked sanitation.
-40% of St. Petersburg homes had no running water/sewage.
-Cholera outbreak (1908-09) killed 30,000 people
Housing problems in urban areas
-High rents took up half of workers’ wages.
-Some workers slept in factories or on the streets.
Wages for the proletariat
-Varied by skill, job, overtime, fines.
-1885-1914: Wage increases (245 → 264 roubles) did not keep pace with 40% inflation.
-The worst working conditions occurred during the industrial depression (1900–08), and recovery didn’t improve real wages
Kostroma Katrina on the factory conditions
-Female workers aged prematurely; after 30 years of factory work, 50-year-old women looked 70.
-Suffered poor vision, hearing, trembling, hunched shoulders.
-No pension — often ended up as latrine attendants.
Urban reforms in the 1900s
-Reduced to 10 hrs/day by 1914 (factories), but not enforced in workshops, which were more common.
Worker Legislation (1885–1912):
-1892: Children under 12 banned from working; women banned in mines.
- 1912: Accident & sickness insurance introduced.
Cultural change for proletariat
-Workers mostly visited taverns; others joined Sunday schools promoting a sense of community
-1905 onwards: Rise of newspapers (1,767 by 1914), reading rooms, and libraries.
-Growth of popular literature promoting self-betterment.
-Expansion of theatre and political discussion events.
Developementin education between 1905-1914
-85% rise in primary schools (1905–1914).
-Only 55% of children were enrolled by 1914.
-Investment in education far lower than railways.
Rise in proletariat unrest
-Pre-1905, political activism was low (due to job insecurity, effective Secret Police).
-Post-1905: Trade unions legalized, leading to increased strikes.
-1914: Massive unrest — 3,574 strikes recorded
LenaGoldfields massacre
-Cause: Protest over rotten food (horsemeat).
-Result: Troops fired on strikers — ~270 killed, 250 injured.
-Sparked further sympathy strikes across Russia.
Land and farming for the peasantry in the 1900s
-90% of land still under inefficient strip farming.
-Widespread poverty remained.
-Kulaks (wealthy peasants) exploited poor neighbours, buying land via peasant banks
Peasentmigeration to Siberia
-Encouraged by state (1896 onward) via Trans-Siberian Railway.
-Only 3.5 million moved out of 97 million peasants — scheme largely failed
Living standards for the peasantry
-Varied by region — some prosperity in Baltics, Ukraine, western Siberia.
-Heartland remained backward and poor
- FIges noted there in the heartland were the later supporters of the Bolshevik revolution
- communes STILL held 60% of land
Peasrentry life
-Many peasants rejected as unfit for service
-Families lived in wooden huts, ate basic diets, few possessions beyond tools and icons.
-Strong loyalty to Orthodox Church and Tsar.
-Still poor education and 60% illiteracy rate
Nobilityafter emancipation
-MOST prospered either via land redistribution, others via industry or speculation.
-Lost land: ⅓ sold to peasants/townsmen (1861–1905).
- some struggled with the loss of land and adjusting for the future
-Still retained status and influence — no redistributive taxes.
Political dominance of the upper class
-Dominated zemstva, appointed governors.
-Created United Nobility (1906) to defend traditional rights.
Emergence of the middle class
-Industrialisation & education created a new professional class — managers, engineers, civil servants, pharmacists, teachers.
-the number of teachers doubled to over 20k between 1906 and 1914
- professional and political societies became dominated by the middle class
-Social Mobility: Some peasants rose into management; some nobles moved into business.
Influence of the middle class
-began to play more key role in local gov eg the zemstva Dumas
- formed political and social lobbying groups
- formed the association of industry and trade in 1906
Change in the peasantry’s ideas
- Political activism among peasants was growing slowly before 1914 but accelerated by WWI.
-Traditional grievances (e.g. poor harvests, unfair land distribution) sparked most pre-1914 protests.
Historian David Moon (from The Russian Peasantry 1500–1930) argues:
Legal ties to land remained strong—redemption payments allowed land purchase.
Industrialisation introduced wage labour, challenging village norms.
However, only a small number left villages—change was slow and limited.
Importance of the proletariat
-Mostly former peasants who lost traditional ties and identity after moving to cities.
-Formed new communities around shared working and living conditions.
-Easily influenced by political agitators due to growing discontent.
-One of the tsarist regime’s major failures was not addressing urban social changes.
-The discontented urban working class played a major role in the 1917 revolution.
Changes to education and literacy
-Funding rose from 5 million (1896) to 82 million roubles (1914).
-By 1911: 6.5 million children in school (44% of 8–11-year-olds)
Secondary & Higher Education:
-University students rose from 5,000 (1860) to 69,000 (1914); 45% women.
-Only 30,000 peasants in secondary school.