This also meant that the land was not used to it full potential, all these factors lead to the famines and causing peasants to up rise using violence against government officials. This was on the verge of the revolution. The deep resentment from the peasantry towards the Tsar increased after the war as lots of money had being invested in the war and Russia had lost. Moreover, Sergei Witte had tried to improve the economy of Russia but it was to make sure that the Russian social order stayed the same. Due to industrialisation, factories were built which lead to rapid growth of population in the towns and cities for example from 98 million in 1885 to 125 million in 1905.
Wages rose how ever there were too few goods on which to spend money. Also the creation of collective farms essentially destroyed kulaks as a class and this disruption led to a famine. I think that over all the first five year plan was not a success in strengthening the soviet economy because a lot of the targets set were not achieved for example the production of coal were 35.4; oil was 11.7 and steel 4 million tonnes. The actual target of these was double the amount produced. I think it was successful in the sense it increased urbanisation, several gains were obtained in heavy industry and wages rose.
As there was a shortage of supplies, standard “supply and demand” went up and inflation occurred and because 80% of Russian people were peasants and already poor this meant that many people went without causing famine. Famine in the degree that Russia had experienced made the Russian people want a change and to be rid of war, which ironically enough the Bolsheviks were offering. Food was not the only thing in shortage, so was fuel. As an undeveloped nation, Russia used coal and fuel to do everything from lighting fires to stay warm and cook food to transporting soldiers to where they needed to be. Due to the huge infrastructure of Russia, transporting
Firstly the lack of agricultural workers and horses to tend the fields as well as the takeover of the transport system by the military, hindered the food production of Russia. While Moscow was receiving 2,200 rail-carts of grain, however by 1916, only 300 carts were able to enter the city. This means that there was little food to go around, and when rumours of food cuts to already strained rations, turn to riots, in which the February revolution started. Secondly , the war crippled the Russian economy. Taking loans from Britain and France, as well as dropping the gold standard so as to print money (Robles), inflation was bound to rise.
This was because 80% of the population lived in poverty and although the serfs were emancipated in 1861 they were still forced to pay redemption payments up until 1905. An increasing population meant that rural disturbances were growing as 1905 approached as a shortage of food and land became worse as higher taxes were put on those who could barely afford them in order to pay for the industrialisation of Russia. There were also disturbances from minorities who wanted an end to Russification, like Georgia and Poland who wanted autonomy and independence. As well as this, the growing industry in Russia meant more and more workers were moving to towns and cities in order to find a better life when in reality there was only low wages, poor living conditions and long hours. Due to this discontent began to grow in more densely populated areas and from the later part of the 1890s more and more strikes were happening.
Explain the economic and political effects of the First World War on Italy between 1915 and 1918 The war imposed serious strains on the Italian economy. The cost of keeping soldiers armed and fed led to a large budget deficit. So as a result they were forced to borrow heavily from abroad. Spiralling war debt ended up at 85 billion Iira, fivefold increase on 1914 figure. Due to this debt the government then resulted in printing money and this resulted in inflation.
For some peasants life did improve dramatically, Stolypin set up banks that would help peasants get loans and buy land. This was a huge improvement for peasants as they were getting more freedom, this may have been because they would murder their landlords. This lead to improvements in farming this therefore lead to an industrial boom and made Russia the world’s fourth largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel. Only 15% of peasants took up Stolypin’s idea though. As for the Dumas, they could not pass laws, could not appoint ministers and could not control finance.
Economically and industrially Russia was also falling far behind many other Western countries at the time, like Britain and Germany. When Count Witte became Minister of Finance in 1893, there was desperate need to decrease inflation, improve infrastructure and encourage foreign investment. This essay will discuss how successful he was at introducing policies that addressed these problems. A great success for Witte was the expansion of heavy industry in Russia. He linked industrial growth with a stronger nation politically and economically, and was inspired by the more developed nations in the west.
This could be because of two things: the war or the unsustainability of his policies. First of all, the war would have most definitely affected coal output as lots of workers would have been taken from their workstations and drafted into the army. On the other hand, it is more likely that the dip from 35.4 million tonnes to 33.8 million tonnes is a consequence of his loans from foreign investors, such as Britain. This is supported by the rate of industrial growth in Russia from 1890-99 the annual average growth rate was 8% an increase from 6.1% in the years 1885-89 but, 1900-06 it was 1.4% a severe decrease, which can
It was necessary for Henry to continue the war as it would have been disastrous to give up on the fight for French land, but war was expensive and it affected the income of many noble families. This caused distress at the home front which was not wholly Henry’s fault. The French were growing in military strength by 1931. With greatly superior resources in men and money, it is easy to conceive how the French managed to reverse the military situation during Henry’s reign. It was exceedingly difficult for Henry to live up to the immensely high standard of success