Economic development of Russia under Alexander III. Economy during the reign of Alexander III Economic development during the reign of Alexander 3
Question 1. Give a general description of the economic policy of Alexander III. What were its main goals and results?
Answer. Alexander III understood that without economic power, Russia would not be able to finally regain its position as one of the leading powers in Europe. Therefore, he entrusted economic development to professionals in their field. In the economic sphere, constant bold reforms were carried out. In doing so, the following goals were set:
1) to develop the industry of Russia;
2) to transform Russia from an agrarian into an industrial power;
3) thanks to the development of industry, strengthen the army of Russia;
4) switch to gold money circulation.
Question 2. Compare economic programs Η. X. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradsky and S. Yu. Witte. What ways of raising the national economy did each of them offer?
Answer. H.X. Bunge was a classical liberal in economics. He opposed government intervention in the economy, including direct financing. Instead, the state should, in his opinion, only create the most favorable conditions for business, and then the economy would be able, in his opinion, to regulate itself. As part of his program, he began to cut taxes. It was then that Russia abandoned the poll tax. To keep government spending from falling, the minister raised indirect taxes such as excise duties as well as customs duties.
I.A. Vyshnegradsky managed the treasury partly as a private enterprise. He accumulated capital, for which he increased customs duties even more, and then invested in foreign exchanges. He also invested part of the funds received in the development of Russian industry: he did not consider government intervention in this area unacceptable. The minister began to encourage the arrival of foreign capital in Russia.
S.Yu. Witte used the same means to replenish the treasury as his predecessors: indirect taxes (especially excises on alcohol) and customs duties. However, he relied on international trade. Foreign capital was attracted much more actively. Developed primarily those industries whose products were exported, such as oil production. To facilitate international trade, S.Yu. Witte used the accumulated money of the treasury to carry out monetary reform. The ruble stabilized, the gold standard was introduced. Thus, the famous chervonets appeared, which were highly valued long after the Russian Empire itself had already ceased to exist.
Question 3. Compare the economic policy of Alexander II and Alexander III. What was the continuity of economic policy, and what was the difference?
Answer. Alexander II pursued only a moderately liberal policy in the economy, which can be seen, in particular, from the peasant reform. He was afraid of offending the landowners too much. But by the time of the reign of Alexander III, those who did not accept liberalism in the economy were completely ruined, therefore they no longer posed a serious danger. At the same time, the successes of the leading European countries, such as Great Britain and Germany, showed the advantages of developing their own industry in the country. Therefore, the policy of Alexander III in the field of economy was even more innovative and liberal than the policy of his predecessor.
Question 4. What were the main problems of the country's agriculture?
Answer. Problems:
1) the lack of land of the peasants, despite the fact that they, and not the landowners who owned most of the land, remained the main producers;
2) little use of new agricultural technologies, advanced machinery and fertilizers.
Question 5. Compare the activities of the government in the field of economics and domestic policy. What conclusions can be drawn from this comparison?
Answer. The activities of the government in these areas were completely opposite, to use the terms of theorists. Because the domestic policy of Alexander III was quite conservative, and the economic policy was liberal. But for the emperor himself, I think there was no contradiction in this. He tried to make Russia a strong power, one of the leading in Europe. Moreover, at that time military-political blocs had already begun to take shape (Russia took a lively part in this process), things gradually went to a world war. In order to make Russia strong, she needed internal peace, which was achieved by internal politics, as well as a strong army, which in the conditions of that time was not possible without a well-developed industry.
On March 1, 1881, Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich died at the hands of the Narodnaya Volya, and his second son Alexander ascended the throne. At first he was preparing for a military career, because. the heir to power was his elder brother Nikolai, but in 1865 he died.
In 1868, during a severe crop failure, Alexander Alexandrovich was appointed chairman of the committee for the collection and distribution of benefits to the starving. When he was before accession to the throne, he was the ataman of the Cossack troops, chancellor of the University of Helsingfors. In 1877 he took part in the Russian-Turkish war as a detachment commander.
The historical portrait of Alexander III was more like a mighty Russian peasant than the sovereign of the empire. He possessed heroic strength, but did not differ in mental abilities. Despite this characteristic, Alexander III was very fond of theater, music, painting, and studied Russian history.
In 1866 he married the Danish princess Dagmar, in Orthodoxy Maria Feodorovna. She was smart, educated, and in many ways complemented her husband. Alexander and Maria Feodorovna had 5 children.
Domestic policy of Alexander III
The beginning of the reign of Alexander III fell on the period of the struggle of two parties: the liberal (desiring the reforms initiated by Alexander II) and the monarchist. Alexander III abolished the idea of the constitutionality of Russia and set a course for strengthening the autocracy.
On August 14, 1881, the government adopted a special law "Regulations on Measures to Protect State Order and Public Peace." To combat unrest and terror, states of emergency were introduced, punitive measures were used, and in 1882 the secret police appeared.
Alexander III believed that all the troubles in the country come from the freethinking of subjects and the excessive education of the lower class, which was caused by his father's reforms. Therefore, he began a policy of counter-reforms.
Universities were considered the main center of terror. The new university charter of 1884 sharply limited their autonomy, student associations and student courts were banned, access to education for representatives of the lower classes and Jews was limited, and strict censorship was introduced in the country.
changes in the Zemstvo reform under Alexander III:
In April 1881, the Manifesto on the independence of the autocracy was published, compiled by K.M. Pobedonostsev. The rights of the zemstvos were severely curtailed, and their work was taken under the strict control of the governors. Merchants and officials sat in the city dumas, and only wealthy local nobles sat in the zemstvos. Peasants lost the right to participate in elections.
Changes in judicial reform under Alexander III:
In 1890, a new regulation on zemstvos was adopted. Judges became dependent on the authorities, the competence of the jury was reduced, the world courts were practically eliminated.
Changes in the peasant reform under Alexander III:
The poll tax and communal land tenure were abolished, and compulsory redemption of land was introduced, but redemption payments were reduced. In 1882, the Peasants' Bank was established, designed to issue loans to peasants for the purchase of land and private property.
Changes in the military reform under Alexander III:
The defense capability of border districts and fortresses was strengthened.
Alexander III knew the importance of army reserves, so infantry battalions were created, reserve regiments were formed. A cavalry division was created, capable of fighting both on horseback and on foot.
To conduct combat in mountainous areas, batteries of mountain artillery were created, mortar regiments, siege artillery battalions were formed. A special railway brigade was created to deliver troops and army reserves.
In 1892, mine river companies, serf telegraphs, aeronautic detachments, and military pigeon houses appeared.
Military gymnasiums were transformed into cadet corps, for the first time non-commissioned officer training battalions were created, which trained junior commanders.
A new three-line rifle was adopted, a smokeless type of gunpowder was invented. The military uniform has been changed to a more comfortable one. The order of appointment to command positions in the army was changed: only by seniority.
Social policy of Alexander III
"Russia for the Russians" is the emperor's favorite slogan. Only the Orthodox Church is considered truly Russian, all other religions were officially defined as "non-denominational confessions."
The policy of anti-Semitism was officially proclaimed, and the persecution of Jews began.
Foreign policy of Alexander III
The reign of Emperor Alexander III was the most peaceful. Only once did Russian troops clash with Afghan troops on the Kushka River. Alexander III protected his country from wars, and also helped to extinguish hostility between other countries, for which he received the nickname "Peacemaker".
Economic policy of Alexander III
Under Alexander III, cities, factories and plants grew, domestic and foreign trade grew, the length of railways increased, and the construction of the great Siberian Railway began. In order to develop new lands, peasant families were resettled in Siberia and Central Asia.
In the late 1980s, the state budget deficit was overcome, and revenues exceeded expenditures.
The results of the reign of Alexander III
Emperor Alexander III was called "the most Russian Tsar." He defended the Russian population with all his might, especially on the outskirts, which contributed to the strengthening of state unity.
As a result of the measures taken in Russia, a rapid industrial boom took place, the exchange rate of the Russian ruble grew and strengthened, and the well-being of the population improved.
Alexander III and his counter-reforms provided Russia with a peaceful and calm era without wars and internal unrest, but also engendered in the Russians a revolutionary spirit that would break out under his son Nicholas II.
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
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.
Under Alexander III, cities, factories and plants grew, domestic and foreign trade grew, the length of railways increased, and the construction of the great Siberian Railway began. In order to develop new lands, peasant families were resettled in Siberia and Central Asia.
In the late 1980s, the state budget deficit was overcome, and revenues exceeded expenditures.
The results of the reign of Alexander III
Emperor Alexander III was called "the most Russian Tsar." He defended the Russian population with all his might, especially on the outskirts, which contributed to the strengthening of state unity.
As a result of the measures taken in Russia, a rapid industrial boom took place, the exchange rate of the Russian ruble grew and strengthened, and the well-being of the population improved.
Alexander III and his counter-reforms provided Russia with a peaceful and calm era without wars and internal unrest, but also engendered in the Russians a revolutionary spirit that would break out under his son Nicholas II.
34. Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Politics of Nicholas 2
Russia at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is a medium-developed capitalist state. 2nd in the world in terms of territory (after the UK). 3rd place in terms of population (after the UK and China). In 1910, the population of Russia was 163 million people, of which 80 million were Russians. From the point of view of the military factor, Russia is a vulnerable state. Therefore, it had a large army - 5 million people.
The whole territory was divided into provinces, and the population into estates:
1) Nobles (hereditary and personal);
2) Officials are not from the nobility;
3) Philistines;
5) Peasants;
6) Troop Cossacks;
7) Foreigners.
All estates were divided into two groups:
1) Taxable (Peasants and urban dwellers);
2) Exempt (nobles and clergy).
Russia is a multinational country. More than 140 nations and nationalities were part of Russia on a voluntary basis, and some were annexed by force. Russia was a prison of the people, because there was national oppression. The tsarist government carried out assimilation (likening non-Russian peoples to itself): it was forbidden to teach in educational institutions in other languages, the national culture and social activities of other peoples were persecuted.
The Jewish people were especially exposed to national oppression; there were restrictions for the Jewish people: the Pale of Settlement, which meant living only in 15 western provinces; percentage rate in educational institutions; there was no equal voting rights.
Economic development.
Capitalism in Russia began to develop in the late 18th century after the abolition of serfdom in 1961. But the development of capitalism in Russia was ugly, since serfdom was abolished from above (the tsar and landlords), so the landowners left many profitable vestiges:
1) And the main thing is the presence of landownership and landlessness of the peasants.
2) Landless peasants were forced to go into bondage to the landowner or went to the city to replenish the army of the unemployed.
3) Therefore, Russia had the lowest salary and the longest working day.
4) Technological backwardness hindered the development of the country's productive forces.
5) Many industries did not exist at all.
6) In terms of electricity production, Russia ranked 15th in the world.
However, underdeveloped capitalism at the beginning of the century enters the stage of imperialism and there are 5 signs:
1) In terms of concentration of production, it occupied the 1st place in Europe, that is, the predominance of large enterprises with the number of workers from 500 and more. The form of monopolies is the simplest - a syndicate ("Prodmet", "Prodvagon", "Nail" and so on).
2) There was financial capital. 2 largest banks (St. Petersburg, Russian-Asian) concentrated the bulk of the country's capital.
3) Import of capital prevailed in Russia. Foreigners were attracted to Russia by cheap labor and cheap raw materials (profit at home 5%-6%, and in Russia 20%-30%).
4) Russia was part of the Entente.
5) Participated in World War 1.
Domestic and economic policy
The reign of Nicholas II was the period of the highest rates of economic growth in the history of Russia. During 1880-1910, the growth rate of industrial production exceeded 9% per year. According to this indicator, Russia came out on top in the world, ahead of even the rapidly developing North American United States, although quantitatively Russia lagged far behind: “By the time of the 1917 revolution, the total capital of industrial and commercial companies (excluding banks and railways) was approximately 2 billion dollars, which was one-ninth of the capital invested in the US only in railroads.
The capital of only one American "United Steel Corporation" was equal to the total capital of all industrial and commercial companies in Russia (the total capital of companies in England, a country with a population three times smaller than Russia, amounted to 12 billion dollars). In Russia on the eve of the revolution there were 2,000 joint-stock companies, while in England there were 56,000.”
In terms of the production of the main agricultural crops, Russia has taken the first place in the world, producing more than half of the world's rye, more than a quarter of wheat, oats and barley, and more than a third of potatoes. Russia became the main exporter of agricultural products, the first "breadbasket of Europe", it accounted for 2/5 of all world exports of agricultural products.
But at the same time, the level of agriculture was extremely low: “Grain yields were 3 times lower than English or German, potato yields were 2 times lower,” famine arose annually in several provinces. It should be noted that this lag behind these countries persisted throughout the 20th century, so in the USSR in the 1970s the grain yield was about 15 centners per hectare, in the UK, Germany or France - more than 40.
Successes in agricultural production were the result of historical events: the abolition of serfdom in 1861 by Alexander II and the Stolypin land reform during the reign of Nicholas II, as a result of which more than 80% of arable land was in the hands of the peasants, and in the Asian part - almost all. The area of landed estates has been steadily decreasing.
Giving peasants the right to freely dispose of their land and the abolition of communities was of great national importance, which is still ambiguously assessed by historians: the reform was not completed, the peasant did not become the owner of land throughout the country, the peasants left the community en masse and returned back. But the productivity of peasant labor has increased significantly, their material life and well-being have improved.
Foreign policy and the Russo-Japanese War
In 1898, the Russian emperor turned to the governments of Europe with proposals to sign agreements on the preservation of world peace and the establishment of limits on the constant growth of armaments. In 1899 and 1907, the Hague Peace Conferences were held, some decisions of which are still valid today. In 1899, Nicholas II initiated the first conference to discuss issues of maintaining peace and reducing armaments. After that, the Permanent Court of Arbitration was established - the first court in The Hague.
The lease of the Liaodong Peninsula by Russia, the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the founding of a naval base in Port Arthur, the growing influence of Russia in Manchuria caused an attack by Japan, which also laid claim to Manchuria. The Russo-Japanese War began. The border battle on the Yalu River was followed by battles near Liaoyang, on the Shahe River and near Sandepa. In 1905, after a major battle, the Russian army left Mukden. The outcome of the war was decided by the naval battle of Tsushima, which ended in the defeat of the Russian fleet. The war ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, under which Russia recognized Korea as a sphere of influence of Japan, ceded to Japan South Sakhalin and the rights to the Liaodong Peninsula with the cities of Port Arthur and Dalniy (Dalian).
Military reform
The military reforms of 1905-12 were carried out after the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, which revealed serious shortcomings in the central administration, organization, recruitment system, combat training and technical equipment of the army. In the first period of the Military Reforms (1905-08), the highest military administration was decentralized (the Main Directorate of the General Staff was established independent of the Military Ministry, the Council of State Defense was created, the inspector generals were directly subordinate to the emperor), the terms of active service were reduced (in the infantry and field artillery from 5 to 3 years, in other branches of the military from 5 to 4 years, in the Navy from 7 to 5 years), the officer corps has been rejuvenated; the life of soldiers and sailors (food and clothing allowance) and the financial situation of officers and conscripts have been improved.
During the period of military reforms (1909-12), the centralization of the highest administration was carried out (the Main Directorate of the General Staff was included in the Military Ministry, the Council of State Defense was abolished, inspector generals were subordinate to the Minister of War); at the expense of the militarily weak reserve and fortress troops, the field troops were strengthened (the number of army corps increased from 31 to 37), a reserve was created at the field units, which, during mobilization, was allocated for the deployment of secondary ones (including field artillery, engineering and railway troops, communications units) , machine-gun teams were created in the regiments and corps squadrons, cadet schools were transformed into military schools that received new programs, new charters and instructions were introduced. The Imperial Air Force was created in 1910.
World War I
Nicholas II, colorized photographIn the summer of 1914, Russia, on the side of the Entente against Germany, entered the First World War.
On July 20, 1914, he published a Manifesto, in which, "not recognizing it as possible, for reasons of a national nature, to now become the head of our land and sea forces intended for military operations," he appointed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich as Supreme Commander.
But since, according to the Basic State Laws of the Russian Empire (OGZRI), in the event of war, it was the emperor who was supposed to become the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the previously drawn up Regulations on the Field Command of the Troops provided for a significant reduction in the role of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief due to the expansion of the rights of the commanders-in-chief of the fronts.
This is the right position, if Nikolai himself, who did not have the talents of a military leader, held the post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief, when choosing Nikolai Nikolayevich, he immediately created enormous difficulties in command and control. After a series of heavy defeats of the Russian army, Nicholas II, not considering it possible for himself to remain aloof from hostilities and considering it necessary to assume full responsibility for the position of the army in these difficult conditions, on August 23, 1915, assumed the title of Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
At the same time, the overwhelming majority of members of the government, the high army command and public circles were categorically against this decision of the emperor, trying to convince him to leave Nikolai Nikolayevich at the head of the army. As a result of N.’s constant moves from Headquarters to St. Petersburg, as well as insufficient knowledge of the issues of leading the war, the command of the Russian army was concentrated in the hands of his chief of staff, General M. V. Alekseev, and General V. I. Gurko, who replaced him in late 1916 and early 1917.
By decree of the St. George Duma of the South-Western Front, on October 25, 1915, Nikolai assigned himself the Order of St. George, 4th degree. From 02/10/1916 honorary chairman of the St. George Committee.
In 1916, he was constantly under pressure both from public organizations and the State Duma, and from other groups, including many grand dukes, to limit his power and create a "ministry of trust" with the involvement of Duma leaders. However, the emperor rejected all proposals.