Economy during the reign of Alexander III. Economic development of Russia under Alexander III Economic development during the reign of Alexander 3
The desire of Alexander III to strengthen the greatness of the Russian Empire was unthinkable without the creation of a powerful economy. Under him, the government made energetic efforts aimed at developing domestic industry and capitalist principles in the organization of production. In May 1881 the post of Minister of Finance was taken by a prominent scientist - economist N.Kh. Bunge. He was a supporter of the acceleration of economic development, he was against the direct financing of industry by the state. Bunge reduced the redemption payments for the peasants and began the gradual abolition of the poll tax. He introduced excise taxes (excise - an indirect tax on consumer goods) on vodka, tobacco, sugar, oil; raised customs duties on goods imported from abroad.
In 1887 I.A. became the Minister of Finance. Vyshnegradsky - financier, inventor. The Ministry of Finance has accumulated large funds to participate in transactions on foreign exchanges. He was for the active participation of the state in economic activity and, especially, in creating favorable conditions for private entrepreneurship. Vyshnegradsky was in favor of attracting foreign capital to Russia, for introducing a wine monopoly.
In 1892, S.Yu. was appointed Minister of Finance. Witte. He developed an economic program in which he continued the work of his predecessors. This program included:
An increase in indirect taxes, the introduction of state. monopoly on vodka;
Further increase in customs duty;
Monetary reform in order to strengthen the ruble, the introduction of its free exchange for gold;
Widespread attraction of foreign capital to the country.
By 1887 there were - 2 metallurgical plants, by the 90s. there were 17 of them. In 1897. The monetary reform strengthened the position of the ruble, which made it possible to increase the inflow of money from abroad. Since the 90s the oil industry in the Caucasus experienced rapid growth. All enterprises created in the 90s. were new enterprises. They used advanced technology, introduced the latest forms of large-scale production.
Agriculture. The impoverishment of the peasants forced the landlords to switch to using their own equipment and hiring free workers. The landlords of the Baltic, western, southwestern parts of the country, as well as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl and Saratov provinces organized the cultivation of their lands in a new way. In the 80s. the specialization of agriculture in individual regions has noticeably increased. The Polish and Baltic provinces, as well as Pskov and St. Petersburg, switched to the cultivation of industrial crops and milk production. The center of the country's grain economy: the steppe regions of Ukraine, the Lower Volga region. In the Ryazan, Oryol, Tula and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, animal husbandry was developed. The sown area at that time increased by 25%, by 30% - the total harvest of grain.
The active economic policy of the government of Alexander III made it possible to significantly strengthen the country's finances and gave a new impetus to the growth of industry. At the same time, the development of agriculture was still hampered by serfdom remnants and technical backwardness.
Control questions and tasks:
1. Describe the socio-economic development of Russia in the first third of the 19th century.
2. List the causes of the economic crisis in this period.
3. What were the specific features of the industrial revolution in Russia in the first half of the 19th century?
4. How did the liberal reforms of Alexander II contribute to the socio-economic development of Russia?
5. What is the essence and significance of the counter-reforms of Alexander III?
Lecture 6. The political system of Russia in the 19th century: attempts at reform.
The main directions of economic development:
- The development of domestic industry and capitalist principles in the organization of production.
- Appointment to key economic positions of professionals in their field - N. Kh. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradsky, S. Yu. Witte.
- Improving the collection of taxes, the development of railway construction.
In May 1881, a prominent scientist-economist took the post of Minister of Finance N. X. Bunge. He was a supporter of the acceleration of economic development, but opposed the direct financing of industry by the state. Bunge saw the main task of the government in issuing and implementing laws favorable for the development of the economy.
In the first place he put reforming the tax collection system. Bunge was in favor of easing the taxation of peasants, conducted a reduction in redemption payments and began the gradual abolition of the poll tax.
Bunge introduced indirect and income taxes. Were installed excise taxes on vodka, tobacco, sugar, oil; new taxes were imposed on city houses, trade, crafts, income from money capital; increased customs duties on goods imported from abroad. Only from 1882 to 1885 did the duties increase by more than 30%.
The government helped the growth of Russian industry, also based on the need to strengthen military power. At the same time, it carried out a significant reduction in the army, which brought an additional 23 million rubles a year.
After N. X. Bunge retired in 1887, his chair was taken by Professor I. A. Vyshnegradsky, a major inventor and successful financier. His He considered the main task to be the rapid improvement of the state of monetary circulation in the country. To this end, the Ministry of Finance accumulated large reserves of money, and then took an active part in transactions on foreign exchanges. As a result, the purchasing power of the ruble increased.
In customs policy, the government began to move with new energy along the path an increase in duties, which reached their highest point under Vyshnegradsky. In 1891 a new customs tariff was established. If in the previous period, increased fees were imposed mainly on raw materials imported into Russia, now they have begun to be imposed on engineering products as well.
Vyshnegradsky more energetically than Bunge advocated the direct participation of the state in economic activity and especially in creating favorable conditions for private entrepreneurship. In addition, Vyshnegradsky's economic program provided for the attraction of foreign capital to Russia, the revision of rail transportation fees, and the introduction of a wine monopoly. Some of these measures were implemented by his successor as finance minister.
In 1892, S. Yu. Witte was appointed Minister of Finance. He developed an economic program in which he continued the work of his predecessors. This program included:
Carrying out a strict tax policy, increasing indirect taxes, introducing a state monopoly on the production and sale of vodka;
Further increase in customs duties, designed to protect the developing Russian industry from foreign competition;
Monetary reform in order to strengthen the ruble, the introduction of its free exchange for gold;
Widespread attraction of foreign capital to the country.
Most of this approved Alexander III Witte implemented programs after his death.
The 1990s were a period of unprecedented rise in Russian industry. Over the decade, industrial production in the country has doubled, and the output of heavy industry has increased 3 times. The sectors of the national economy associated with new types of fuel - coal and oil - developed especially rapidly. In the Donetsk basin, where until 1887 there were only 2 metallurgical plants, by the end of the 90s. 17 were already in operation. Moreover, only 2 of them were built by domestic entrepreneurs. All the rest belonged in whole or in part to foreigners - the Belgians, the French, the British.
The influx of money from abroad especially increased after the successful completion of in 1897, the monetary reform, which ensured the stability of the ruble. The increase in customs fees also made it more profitable for foreign entrepreneurs not to import industrial goods, but to produce them in Russia itself.
Since the 90s the oil industry concentrated in the Caucasus experienced rapid growth.
All enterprises created in the 1990s, primarily in the locomotive and carriage building, rail, copper rolling, cement, and rubber industries, were enterprises of the “new formation”. They used advanced technology, introduced the latest forms of large-scale production. Given the low cost of labor and the wealth of natural resources in Russia, this has become the main source of ultra-high incomes for entrepreneurs.
In foreign markets, the shares of the new Russian giants, which brought huge profits, were valued very highly.
In 1893, after several years of relative calm, a new, even more powerful rise in railway construction began. The increase in the length of railways averaged over 2.7 thousand km per year. The construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway from Europe to the shores of the Pacific Ocean began. At the same time, the government was actively buying up private railways, creating a unified transport network for the country.
Agriculture.
Agriculture developed outside state control and was deprived of state support. However, there is also a lot of new stuff here.
The impoverishment of the peasants forced the landowners to switch to using their own equipment and hiring free workers. The landlords of the Baltic, western, southwestern, southern parts of the country, as well as St. Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl and Saratov provinces organized the cultivation of their lands in a new way. At the same time, the landowners' lands of the Central Chernozem and Middle Volga provinces, as well as the lands of most provinces of the non-chernozem zone, were still cultivated by peasants with their livestock and implements as payment for plots rented from landlords (cultivation).
In the 80s. the specialization of agriculture in individual regions has noticeably increased. The Polish and Baltic provinces, as well as Pskov and St. Petersburg, switched to the cultivation of industrial crops and milk production. The center of grain farming moved to the steppe regions of Ukraine, the South-East and the Lower Volga region. In some areas of the Ryazan, Orel, Tula and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, animal husbandry has been developed.
In the country as a whole, grain farming was predominant. Moreover, about 36% of arable land was under crops of rye, 18% - oats, 17% - wheat, 7% - barley. Cultivation areas grew. For 30 years after the reform of 1861 they increased by 25%. The total grain harvest increased by almost 30%.
Nonetheless productivity increased very slowly.
The main reason for this was that the vast majority of peasants worked the fields in the old ways, i.e. plow and wooden harrow, without applying enough fertilizer.
In these conditions serious weather problems- drought, cooling, prolonged rains - could lead to dire consequences. So, in 1891 - 1892. Russia survived the famine, as a result of which more than 600 thousand people died.
The active economic policy of the government of Alexander III made it possible to significantly strengthen the country's finances and gave a new impetus to the growth of industry. At the same time, the development of agriculture was hindered by serfdom survivals and technical backwardness.
It was aimed at solving two most important tasks: accelerating the economic development of the country and supporting and strengthening the positions of the nobility. In solving the first task, the head of the Ministry of Finance N.Kh. Bunge was guided by the expansion of the domestic market, the simultaneous rise of agriculture and industry, and the strengthening of the position of the middle strata of the population.
On May 9, 1881, a law was passed to reduce the size of redemption payments and write off arrears on them for previous years. The losses incurred as a result of the treasury were called upon to be covered by an increase in land tax by 1.5 times, a tax on urban real estate, as well as excise rates on tobacco, alcohol and sugar.
The gradual abolition of the poll tax (1882-1886) was accompanied by development other forms of taxation: income from cash deposits increased, excises increased, commercial and industrial taxation was transformed, customs duties were significantly increased (almost doubled).
Burdensome for the country's budget was the system of state guarantees of income for private railways. Under N.Kh. Bunge introduced control over the railway sector and the state began to buy private and finance the construction of state-owned railways.
In 1883, the creation of joint-stock private banks resumed. In 1885, the Noble Land Bank was created, designed to support landownership (N.Kh. Bunte objected to its creation).
In January 1887, under pressure from conservatives who accused him of being unable to overcome the state budget deficit, Bunge resigned.
I.V., who replaced him. Vyshnegradsky (1887-1892), a well-known mathematician and a major stock exchange dealer, retained the general direction of the economic and financial policy of his predecessor, but focused on the accumulation of funds and the appreciation of the ruble through financial and exchange transactions. Vyshnegradsky increased protectionism in customs policy.
In general, for 1880-1890. the increase in import duties brought about an increase in revenue of almost 50%. In 1891, a general revision of the customs tariff was carried out with the aim of its centralization and the elimination of local tariffs. Thanks to the protectionist customs policy, imports to Russia foreign capitals. In the late 1980s, the state budget deficit was overcome.
industrial development Russia
in the 80s - early 90s.
In most major industries Russia by the 80s of the XIX century. completed the industrial revolution. Economic politics finance ministers Bunge and Vyshnegradsky contributed to the accelerated development of industrial production.
Russia
ranked first in the world in terms of growth in oil and coal production.
The 1990s were marked by active construction of industrial enterprises.
Despite the rapid growth Russian industry, its lagging behind the developed countries of the West (USA, England, Germany, etc.) both in terms of technical equipment and power supply, and in terms of coal, oil production, metal and machinery production per capita remained very significant.
Total production of heavy industry Russia by 1896 was less than 1/4 of all manufactured products. The leading place in the economy was retained by the light industry. Only textile production gave products 1.5 times more than the extraction of coal, oil, minerals, metalworking and metallurgical industry combined.
Since 1881 in Russia the industrial crisis began. The consequences of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the fall in world grain prices, as well as the general slowdown in the development of the domestic market due to a sharp decrease in the purchasing power of the peasantry, had a particularly acute effect on the economy. In 1883-1887. the crisis gave way to a long depression, but at the end of 1887 there was a revival, first in heavy and then in light industry.
Transport.
The government paid great attention to the development of railway transport, which was given not only economic, but also strategic importance. Since the 1980s, the construction of new railways and the redemption of private railways to the treasury began. By the mid-90s, 60% of the entire railway network was in the hands of the state. The total length of the state railways in 1894 amounted to 18,776 versts; in total, by 1896, 34,088 versts had been built. In the 80s, a network of railway lines was developed along the western borders Russia.
Developed river and sea shipping. By 1895, the number of river steamships was 2,539, an increase of more than 6 times compared to the pre-reform 1860 year.
The development of domestic and foreign trade was directly related to the development of transport. The number of shops, shops, commodity exchanges (especially near railway stations) is increasing. Domestic trade in Russia(without petty trade) in 1895 amounted to 8.2 billion rubles, an increase of 3.5 times compared to 1873.
The external market developed rapidly. In the early 1990s, exports exceeded imports by 150-230 million rubles. annually. The active foreign trade balance was achieved mainly due to the protectionist tariff policy of the state. In the 1880s, import duties on coal were raised three times, in 1885 duties on imports of iron were raised, and in 1887 on imports of cast iron. In the second half of the 1980s, between Germany and Russia the customs war began: to restrict the import of agricultural products into Germany Russia
responded by raising import rates on German manufactured products.
The first place in export was firmly occupied by bread.
In second place, displacing wool, came the forest.
The export of industrial goods grew rapidly, reaching 25% of all exports. In the mid-1990s, cars took the first place in imports, and the import of raw cotton was in second place. Then came metal, coal, tea, oil.
Main foreign trade partner Russia was Germany (25% Russian exports, 32% imports). England moved into second place (20% of exports and 20% of imports). Third place in Russian exports were occupied by Holland (11%), in imports - by the USA (9%).
LECTURE XLI
(Start)
Financial policy in the second half of the reign of Emperor Alexander III. - I. A. Vyshnegradsky and his system. – Extreme development of protectionism in customs policy and in railway tariff legislation. – The results of this system.
In my last lecture, I described the development of that reactionary policy which, in the second half of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, successively spread to all branches of government activity and made itself felt sharply in all areas of popular and social life.
The only easing of the reactionary course that we saw back in the mid-80s, as I already told you, was felt in the Ministry of Finance, where until January 1, 1887, if not an unconditional liberal, then, in any case, a humane was at the head of the department , an honest and democratically minded person - N. H. Bunge. But at that time he was so persecuted by all sorts of intrigues and insinuations in court spheres and in the reactionary press that, being, moreover, already at an advanced age, he finally decided to leave the post of Minister of Finance and on January 1, 1887 was dismissed retired and replaced by a new minister, I. A. Vyshnegradsky. I. A. Vyshnegradsky was a man, undoubtedly, partly prepared for this position, but of a completely different type than Bunge. He was also a scientific professor, but not a theoretician-economist, but a scientific technologist and practitioner, undoubtedly very gifted, who showed his talents both in some inventions of a military-technical nature, and in very well-established academic courses, which he taught as a professor. students at the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology and at the Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy. In particular, his contact with the military spheres through the artillery academy gave him an important advantage for the Minister of Finance: he managed to become well acquainted with the military economy and the military budget, which is such an important part of the general state budget in our country.
Thus, Vyshnegradsky appeared as Minister of Finance as a man, undoubtedly, to some extent prepared and informed - this cannot be denied to him. In addition, having early managed to make a certain fortune for himself thanks to his technical inventions, he then participated very successfully in various stock speculations and stock exchange affairs, and this area, therefore, was also well known to him. But, at the same time, it is impossible not to admit that in his management of the Ministry of Finance, and especially in his financial and economic policy, Vyshnegradsky revealed a complete absence of any broad views and far-sightedness; for him, the most important and even the only, apparently, task was a visible improvement in Russian finances in the near future. In his financial policy, he set himself the same goal that Reitern once set himself, namely, the goal of restoring the exchange rate of the credit ruble, that is, the goal that, as you know, to a large extent, all finance ministers in Russia in the 19th century But not all of them pursued her with the same measures, and not all of them considered her their only task.
Whatever it was, the course of the Ministry of Finance with the replacement of Bunge by Vyshnegradsky changed quite dramatically. Under Vyshnegradsky, the main and immediate task of the ministry became the accumulation of large cash reserves in the cash departments of the state treasury and wide participation with the help of these reserves in foreign exchange transactions in order to put pressure on the foreign money market and in this way raise our exchange rate. At the same time, in customs policy, the Russian government began to move with new energy along the path of protectionism, which reached its climax under Vyshnegradsky. In 1891 a new customs tariff was issued, in which this system was taken to an extreme. At the same time, considering the strengthening of the Russian manufacturing industry to be a very important matter for the success of its measures, the Ministry of Finance begins to listen with extreme attention to all complaints and wishes of representatives of large-scale factory industry and undertakes, on their initiative, to revise what is, in fact, still very little developed factory industry. legislation that was worked out in the interests of the workers under Bunga. Under Vyshnegradsky, the rights of factory inspectors established under Bunga are extremely diminished not so much by new legislative norms as by means of circular explanations, which very soon affect the composition of the factory inspectorate, because under these conditions the most devoted and independent representatives of this inspectorate, seeing the complete impossibility of acting in accordance with their conscience, and even in accordance with the exact meaning of the law, retire. Thus the institution of factory inspection is greatly changed for the worse. Russian large-scale industry, thanks to a number of protective measures - and in particular the careful attitude of the Ministry of Finance to the question of the direction of railway lines beneficial for the domestic manufacturing industry and of such railway tariffs that would strictly correspond to the interests of large-scale industry, especially the central, Moscow region, is becoming in this time in especially favorable conditions. It can be said that these favorable conditions are artificially created for it; it becomes a favorite brainchild of the Ministry of Finance, often contrary to the interests of other segments of the population and especially contrary to the interests of all agriculture, the state of which was especially unfavorably affected by the protective customs tariff of 1891, which extremely increased the price of such important items in agricultural life as, for example, iron and Agreecultural machines. Agreecultural equipment.
Meanwhile, at this time, we not only do not see an improvement in the condition of the masses of the people, despite all the palliative measures taken under Bunga, but, on the contrary, we observe the continuing ruin of the peasantry, which I described to you in one of my previous lectures. In the end, however, this undermines the conditions for the domestic sale of products of the manufacturing industry, which satisfies the needs of the broad masses of the people, for example, the conditions for the sale of products of the paper-weaving industry. The impoverished domestic market soon becomes cramped for her. To some extent, compensation for it is the external market in the east, acquired by the conquests in Central Asia, but it soon turns out that this is not enough, and now we see that towards the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, a new idea is gradually being created - to promote the sale of our products. industries as far east as possible. In connection with this is the idea of building the Siberian railway - an idea that is being developed very widely; is the question of access to the Eastern Sea, of acquiring an ice-free port in the Far East, and in the end, all this policy, already before our eyes, leads to the emergence and development of those enterprises in the Far East, which are already in the ministry of S. Yu. Witte in at the very beginning of the 20th century. led to the Japanese war and the collapse that followed.
To put an end to financial and economic relations during the period under review, I will say a few more words about the expansion of our railway network, which has played an extremely important role here. By the end of the reign of Alexander II, the railway network did not exceed 22.5 thousand versts, and during the thirteen-year period of the reign of Alexander III it had already developed to 36,662 versts, of which 34,600 were broad-gauge. In the matter of building railroads, the old policy of Reitern was supported in the sense that these railroads, as before, were directed in such a way as to, on the one hand, facilitate the transport of raw materials to the ports and thus, precisely by increasing exports, create a favorable moment for our balance of trade and for improving exchange rate, and on the other hand, as I mentioned, the ministry sought, through the establishment of differential railway tariffs, to create the most favorable conditions for the transportation of products of the factory industry of the central provinces. To this end, even a special institution was created within the Ministry of Finance - the Tariff Department, headed by S. Yu. in a wider arena, in solving the common political problems of our time.
Another feature of the new railway policy, a feature opposite to Reitern's policy, was the construction of roads by the treasury and the purchase of the old private railway lines into the treasury. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the length of state-owned railways increased by 22,000 versts, while the length of private roads, despite the construction of new private lines, decreased by 7,600 versts due to the redemption of old lines to the treasury.
These are the general features of the financial policy, which undoubtedly prepared and deepened a new aggravation of Russian socio-economic conditions at the beginning of the 20th century. These conditions developed hand in hand with the crisis that the Russian population had to endure after the crop failure of 1891-1892, which caused extreme poverty and even famine in as many as twenty, mostly black earth, provinces. This crisis was, so to speak, the final touch in the general picture of Russia that we see at the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, and at the same time was a powerful factor in those changes in subsequent years that will, perhaps someday, form the subject of the next part of my course on the final period of the history of Russia in the 19th century.
The strength of the government rests on the ignorance of the people, and it knows this and therefore will always fight against enlightenment.
Lev Tolstoy
Alexander 3 set the task of making Russia the largest world power. It is impossible to achieve this goal without economic development. Therefore, many steps were taken, but the economic policy of Alexander 3, as well as the overall socio-economic policy of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, did not have great success. No matter how much we are told today that the Russian Empire was the most beautiful country in the world, this is far from being the case.
Major changes in the country
In any textbook on the history of Russia, we will see that the first undertaking of Alexander 3 in terms of economic transformations in the country is an invitation to economists. The most authoritative of them are Witte, Bunge and Vyshnegradsky. We have already considered the peculiarity of Witte's reforms. The policy of Bunge and Vyshnegradsky was based on the massive attraction of foreign capital. Modern economists will tell you that this is great, but imagine: you have a plant, they sent you equipment for it, you pay rent for this equipment, but at any moment it can be taken away from you. Therefore, the dominance of foreign capital is evil for any country.
The main changes in the country's economy are characterized by an attempt to combine capitalism, but with the preservation of the former estate system. The problem is that things are incompatible, and as a result, the contradictions in society have only increased. The main changes in the development of the economy under Alexander 3 are as follows:
- Combination of hired and serf labor. No one canceled corvée and dues, but peasants could be employed in factories for a salary.
- Completion of the industrial revolution. Only a few used his results.
- Formation of a single Russian market.
- Land use crisis.
- Capitalism did not rise from below, but was imposed by the state.
The result is an ugly form of capitalism that could not lead to anything good. It is noteworthy that both attempts to build capitalism in Russia developed in ugly forms. We are talking about the first attempt today, and we saw the second attempt in the 90s, after the collapse of the USSR.
At the end of the 19th century, the main changes in the economy affected agriculture and industry. We will consider them further.
The situation in the village
Russia during the reign of Alexander 3 continues to be an agrarian country. Its population reaches 126 million people, of which 103 million live in the European part of the country. The population structure is as follows:
- Peasants - 70%
- Philistines (urban population) - 11%
- Foreigners (non-Russians) - 7%
- Cossacks - 3%
- Nobles - 1.5%
- Merchants - 0.5%
There are attempts to create an agrarian-industrial system in the country. In many respects for these purposes there is a division and specialization of the economy.
In this period Russia takes 1st place in the world in grain sales. This is probably the most famous fact about the Russian economy of that era, which today is actively speculated by all and sundry. On the one hand, it is very good that the country was making money, but on the other hand, it was at the expense of damage to its own population. In particular, with these volumes of grain exports, in Russia in 1891-1892 there was a terrible famine.
Famine of 1891-1892
During the reign of Alexander 3 in Russia, the first mass famine in the history of the country occurred. Before that, there were also famine years, but famine arose only in other regions, and now it was a famine within the country. In the processes that then took place in the countryside, the entire economic policy of Alexander 3 is perfectly reflected. Why did such a massive famine become possible? There are only 2 reasons:
- The possibilities for extensive development of agriculture have run out. All the lands were developed and there was nowhere to expand new lands for agriculture. After the end of the extensive path of development, the path of intensive development must begin. This did not happen at the end of the 19th century. There were very few landowners who were ready to develop the economy. The reasons for this will be discussed below.
- The development of factories actually killed the village industry (artels). Previously, villagers actively went to fish in the city. This is what today is called a side job. They came to the city, did simple work, received money and returned to the village. Even if there was a crop failure in the village, the peasant had money to feed himself. The factories were destroyed.
![](https://i2.wp.com/istoriarusi.ru/img/golod-1891-1892-godov.jpg)
As a result, there were no new lands, and economic phenomena made it impossible for the peasants to earn extra money. To this we can add that the Russian Empire had existing contracts for the supply of grain, and they had to be fulfilled. As a result - the first mass famine in national history.
Land and landowners
During the reign of Alexander 3, the trend towards the reduction of landowners' lands continued. The amount of land owned by landowners decreased by 27%. The estates of the landlords were reduced to an average value of 17 hectares. The landowners leased half of the land to the peasants.
The landowners did not develop agriculture. Only a few have reorganized themselves into a modern way of doing business and have adopted the rules of capitalism. Most of the landowners "eat away the future" by mortgaging their property. Until the abolition of serfdom in 1861, they mortgaged peasants and then began to mortgage estates. Indicative figures: in 1870 - 2.2% of estates were pledged, and in 1895 - 40%. Other figures are also eloquent: in 1886, 166 estates of landowners were sold for debts, and in 1893 - 2400. No other figures underline how unhealthy Russian society was at the end of the 19th century. The development of the economy and the economic policy of Emperor Alexander 3 did not solve this issue, but exacerbated it. After all, pay attention to how this emperor is perceived today - successes in foreign policy. As a rule, no one says anything about the internal. But in vain ... All this resulted in 1905, and then in 1917.
Industry development
Features of the economic policy of Alexander 3 in the field of industry was that the worker did not go to the factory, but the factory went to the worker. Industry moved to the countryside. At the same time, by the end of the 70s, the process of forming factory production was actually completed.
Under Alexander 3, the final formation of industrial regions in Russia takes place. Two more regions were added to the already existing industrial regions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltic states and Ukraine: Donbass and the Caucasus.
Industry under Alexander 3 developed in strides, especially heavy industry. This was facilitated by the completion of the industrial revolution, as well as the real need and need. The fact is that over the years from 1820 to 1850 Russia lagged far behind the leading world powers in terms of industrial development. It was necessary to catch up. And it was done. It is enough to cite the figures for the amount of iron smelting to prove this.
All industrial centers developed in the European part of Russia. The reason lies in the fact that approximately 85% of the population lived west of the Urals. Moreover, under Alexander 3, they were built mainly in 2 regions: Donbass and the Caucasus (primarily Baku oil). Moreover, the industry was built on foreign capital!
Results
The economic policy of Alexander 3 led to the following results:
- Continued increase in urban population
- End of the industrial revolution
- There are many unresolved issues in the village, which promises a crisis
- Russia remains an agrarian country, and the makings of an agrarian-industrial society remain only on paper
- Capitalism in the country was severely deformed