Sources on Industrialisation

Peasants and Workers
Russia in the early 1900s had made significant advances towards industrialisation. The Industrial Revolution had not started in Russia until the 1880s but by 1900 Russia had the fifth largest economy in the world. It produced more oil than any other nation and some of its factories were the largest in the world. However, in certain respects Russia was still living in the past. Eighty per cent of the population were peasants still living in villages and farming using out of date methods. About 50% of the population were illiterate until 1861; peasants had not even been free. Their conditions had not improved much with Emancipation a rapidly growing population. Low agricultural productivity and the increasing sub-division of their land meant that increasing numbers of peasants could not support themselves. Most taxes were levied on goods not income and this made life even harder for the poor. Many peasants began to move to the cities and towns in search of work.

Life was hard for the workers in the overcrowded slums of the cities. Their wages were so low that few could afford decent housing. Many workers and their families lived in shared accommodation. Many lived in cold, unhealthy, overcrowded barracks provided by the employer. In smaller factories the workers slept by their workbenches. The workers also had to bear the burden of heavy taxation on food and goods. They were not allowed to form trade unions and strikes were not uncommon but these were not successful because there were always workers so poor that they would work under any conditions. Because the government was aware of the growing discontent among the workers and was worried about so many living so close together special police were sent to spy on the workers.

Source analysis of life for the workers and peasants

Picture of a workers' boarding house in Moscow around 1900

Statistics on Education
Urban Literacy Rates, Moscow

1897	Men: 66.9%	Women: 42.3%
1912	Men: 74.6%	Women: 52.3%

There was a 77.3% growth in the number of pupils in primary schools between 1905 and 1914.

Russian industrial production 1861 - 1901
In David Christian, 1988, Powr and Privilege, Pitman, p 294

Year	Railways, '000kms	Iron, Million Tonnes	Steel, Million Tonnes	Coal, Million Tonnes	Oil, Million Tonnes
1861	2.2	0.3	0.002	0.3	0.004
1871	13.6	0.4	0.007	0.8	0.300
1881	23.1	0.5	0.300	3.5	0.700
1891	30.7	1.0	0.400	6.2	4.600
1896	39.5	1.6	1.000	9.4	7.100
1901	56.4	2.9	2.200	16.5	12.000

Exercise 3.6: Graph Study Use the above tables to answer the following questions: Why would education be important to industrialisation? How many kilometres of railways were there in 1896? In 1891 was there more iron or steel produced? What was the total production of iron and steel in 1901? By how much did coal production increase (in tonnes) from 1861 to 1901? Between 1891 and 1901 the amount of oil produced increased by more than the amount of coal increased. True or false? What was the percentage increase in the production of iron between 1881 and 1891? Email your answers to your teacher or print and send them in by mail.

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