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Economy of the Russian Empire
Prior to the establishment to the Soviet Union, the impression I get from the Russian Empire was that it was, following the abolishment of serfdom in 1861, a mixture of capitalism and feudal practices. I may be entirely off on this assumption and so I want to know what Russia was before socialism. I've been interested in the subject mainly because it is relevant to how the Soviet government handled issues in the economy and transformed it from a land of peasantry and argriculture to a fully industrialized nation.
Thank you.
Last edited by Chapter 24; 20th June 2008 at 01:08.
Most people seem to regard it as "semi-Feudal".
I have read somewhere that before the Great War the Russian Empire's population was split as such: 10% urban Proletariat, 80% rural peasants and 10% for the nobility of all levels, church and the local administrators etc.
The best way i would describe Russia during the time between the abolshing serfdom and the revolution is "inbetween Feudalism and Capitalism".
What that means i myself dont know.
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The development of capitalism in Russia
by VI LEnin.
That will help you if you are really interested on the topic
Yes, this is my understanding, with the concentration of factories and the proletariat mainly restricted to St. Petersburg -- perhaps 10-15% of the entire population.
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Trotsky's Permanent Revolution is also a very good book to study from on this question.
i think it was about 10% proles and the rest peasants practically tied to the land, before the revolution there was massive calls for land reforms,
percentage wise under the last Tsar Russias economy, industry did grow impressively however this is down to its poor starting point, plus they relied heavily on industrial imports rather than even trying to be able to establish such facilities in their own nation
Not entirely accurate. The Russian Empire relied heavily on foreign capital but was not tied into any real trade dependency loop
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It should be noted that the illiteracy rate was around 80% prior to 1917. Also, the abolishment of serfdom in 1861 didn't result in any significant changes. For the most part, the former serfs (i.e., slaves) remained on the property of their masters for lack of anywhere else to go. Heavy foreign capital investments helped fuel the nascent "industrial revolution" in the Russian Empire.
In effect, the country was at the beginning stages of the capitalist industrialization process that Western Europe underwent in the 19th century.
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Mikhail
In the countryside, semi-feudal capitalism existed. That is, feudal roles (serf, landlord, etc.) adapted to capitalist property relations. In the city, capitalism on par with development in the United States and Germany existed.
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This reminds me of the "sharecropping" that occurred in the South at the end of slavery (Also similar systems in Puerto Rico, etc).
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Also important is the fact that most oppressed nationalities of Tsarist Russia (Ukrainians, Fins, ..., etc.) had a more developed agriculture than that of the Russians, which made it hard to surpres their national identities (*).Prior to the establishment to the Soviet Union, the impression I get from the Russian Empire was that it was, following the abolishment of serfdom in 1861, a mixture of capitalism and feudal practices. I may be entirely off on this assumption and so I want to know what Russia was before socialism. I've been interested in the subject mainly because it is relevant to how the Soviet government handled issues in the economy and transformed it from a land of peasantry and argriculture to a fully industrialized nation.
Thank you.
Russia had in it's capital cities (St-Petersburg and Moscow) a very modern proletariat born out of advanced industry and the slow degeneration of serfdom (because 3A CCCP is right: law and reality differed). They were a small minority though. The social groups in between the Tsar and the populace where also small in numbers and the devasting influence of European imperialism made it almost impossible for the newly born bourgeosie to develop proper interests. The tight connection between the tsar and the European bourgeoisie made the Russian bourgeoisie dependant of the tsar. The nobility had already lost ground to the tsar, but this process is the same as in Europe (yet two centuries behind).
So no wonder that the Bolsheviks had to recognise the fact that this revolution would be rather socialist than bourgeois and that it had to support the right of self determination (*).
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