Russia, 1881-1905, Part II

1. Why was modernisation needed?

Modernization was needed in Russia because in order for Russia to be a great power they had to industrialize and they were poor. If Russia industrialized they would have a powerful military because the industries would make all the weapons, therefore if they had a strong military because of the industrial work they could be a strong world power. Also, Russia needed to modernize it's agriculture because the peasants were still using old, traditional ways to harvest their crops. Harvest season was very short and because they had no modern methods or technology they harvested little crops, which gave them little money and much of the population wasn't able to be fed. Since there would be hungry, low-payed peasants they might revolt, but if Russia modernized its agriculture they could prevent revolting and rebelling.

2. Why was modernization dangerous to the Tsar?

Modernization was dangerous to the Tsar because it would be more difficult for the tsarist regime to rule an industrialized country, it created social tensions between classes, the need for more educated people would make it more likely for them to challenge the government, and the growth of the middle class would call for a more fair government. The Tsar wanted to keep all his power, but if Russia industrialized he wouldn't be able to. The Tsar saw other industrialized countries as an example, which were all had some form of democracies where the citizens had more power than the monarchs, the Tsar didn't want that at all. Also, industrialization created more job opportunities in the cities, which would bring more people from the countryside to the cities. This would create tension because if the cities became overcrowded the working class could think that they could take action. Since industrialized jobs needed more educated people, people would have to get smarter. If people became smarter than they would realize how much they didn't like the Tsarist government and would probably revolt. Lastly, with more educated and working people there would be a larger middle class, therefore the middle class would want political change and the government would be put under pressure by the largest class (the middle class).

3. How did Witte try to build up industry?

Witte tried to build up industry by taking all the resources from the peasants to pay for industrialization. He would do this by taking out huge foreign loans, mostly from the French, and increasing the state taxes and taxes on everyday items. He planned to use the grain from harvests to sell abroad to help pay off the interest on foreign loans and to buy more capital equipment.

4. How successful was Witte's economic policy?

Witte's economic policy was not successful because Russian products couldn't be sold, the peasants were squeezed so much that they didn't have enough money to spend on manufactured goods, and the peasants were pushed to starvation. At this point the peasants were beyond breaking point, and riots erupted everywhere and violence came with it. For example, the homes of landowners were looted and burnt to the ground because of the riots of the peasants.