As a result of economic development in the post-reform period (especially the industrial boom of the 90s of the 19th century, which ended by 1880-1890), the system of Russian capitalism finally took shape. This was expressed in the growth of entrepreneurship and capital, the improvement of production, its technological re-equipment, an increase in the number of hired labor in all areas. National economy. Simultaneously with other capitalist countries, a second technical revolution took place in Russia (acceleration of the production of means of production, widespread use of electricity and other achievements of modern science), which coincided with. From a backward agrarian country, Russia by the beginning of the 20th century. became an agrarian-industrial power (82% employed in agriculture). In terms of industrial output, it entered the top five countries (England, France, the USA and Germany) and was increasingly drawn into world system economy.
AT modern science There are three stages of modernization:
1. Countries with high level development of capitalism (England, France, USA).
2. Countries with an average (Germany, Japan) and weak-average (Russia, Austria-Hungary) level of development of capitalism.
3. Countries of weak development of capitalism (countries of Latin America, Africa, Asia).
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. capitalism has entered a new, monopolistic stage. Powerful industrial and financial associations (industrial monopolies and financial unions) were formed. Gradually there was a fusion of industrial and financial capital, industrial-financial groups took shape. They occupied a dominant position in the economy: they regulated the volume of production and sales, dictated prices, divided the world into spheres of influence. Their interests were increasingly subordinated to the domestic and foreign policies of the capitalist states. The system of monopoly capitalism, changing and adapting to new historical realities, persisted throughout the 20th century.
The special character of capitalism at the turn of the century was noted by many scientists and politicians, in particular the English economist John Hobson. According to his version (as well as according to V.I. Lenin), the characteristic features of imperialism are:
1. creation in the industry of large associations, enterprises - monopolies (to draw an analogy with modern TNCs - transnational corporations), dictating their own rules of the game in the market;
2. the formation, as a result of the merger of banking capital with industrial capital, of a new, more maneuverable and active type of capital, linking banks, enterprises, communications, the service sector into a single system - financial;
3. the export of capital to other countries begins to dominate over commodity exports, which allows you to get super profits through the exploitation of cheap labor, cheap raw materials and low land prices;
4. economic section peace between unions of monopolies;
5. political, territorial division of the world between leading countries, colonial wars.
Monopolies are large economic associations that have concentrated in their hands most of the production and marketing of goods.
The process of formation of monopoly capitalism was also characteristic of Russia. It affected her economic, social and political life. Along with the manifestation of general patterns in Russia, there were some peculiarities of monopoly capitalism. This was due to a number of factors:
First, historical: it passed to capitalism later than many European countries;
secondly, economic and geographical: an immense territory with various natural conditions and its uneven development;
thirdly, socio-political: the preservation of autocracy, landlordism, class inequality, political lack of rights of the broad masses, national oppression;
fourthly, national: the different level of economic and socio-cultural state of the numerous peoples of the empire also predetermined the originality of Russian monopoly capitalism.
There are four stages in the process of monopolization in Russia:
1880-1890s - the emergence of the first cartels on the basis of temporary agreements on joint prices and the division of sales markets, the strengthening of banks;
1900-1908 - creation of large syndicates, banking monopolies, concentration of banks;
1909-1913 - Creation of “vertical” syndicates, uniting enterprises for the purchase of raw materials, for their production and marketing; the emergence of trusts and concerns; coalescence of industrial "banking capital, the creation of financial capital;
1913-1917 - the emergence of state-monopoly capitalism; merging of financial capital, monopolies with the state apparatus.
Russia is usually attributed to the second echelon of modernization. There are different points of view of researchers on the question of the level of development of capitalism in Russia - medium or weak-medium. In addition, along with the opinion about the “catching up” nature of Russian modernization (formational approach), there is an opinion about the special path of Russia's development, about the uselessness and futility of the race for the leader (civilizational approach).
Peculiarities:
1. In Russia, railway construction unfolded before the industrial revolution, being a powerful incentive, on the one hand, industrial development country, on the other - the capitalist evolution of the entire national economy.
2. The system of Russian factory production in many industries developed without going through the previous stages - crafts and manufactory.
3. In a different sequence, the design took place in Russia credit system. By the beginning of the XX century. this system was represented primarily by large and largest joint-stock commercial banks, a explosive growth medium and small credit institutions accounted for only at the time of the pre-war industrial boom.
4. Observed fast growth various forms economic organization production - small-scale private capitalist, joint-stock, state-capitalist, monopoly, and then state-monopoly.
5. Russia was characterized not by the export, but by the import of capital.
6. A high degree of concentration of production and labor has been created.
7. An important feature of the capitalist evolution of Russia was that a huge role in economic life, the formation of the main elements of new relations played the autocratic state.
State intervention in economic life was expressed:
· in the creation of state-owned factories (military production), which were excluded from the sphere of free competition;
· in state control for railway transport and the construction of new roads (2/3 of the railway network belonged to the state);
the fact that the state owned a significant part of the land;
in the existence of a significant public sector in economics;
in the establishment of protectionist tariffs by the state, the provision of state loans and orders;
· in the creation by the state of conditions for attracting foreign investment (in 1897, a monetary reform was carried out (Witte), which eliminated bimetallism and established the gold backing of the ruble, its convertibility).
The state actively patronized the development of domestic industry, banking, transport, and communications. The country began to receive significant foreign investment. But the following factors negatively influenced the development of the Russian economy:
- the multistructural nature of the economy - along with the private capitalist, monopolistic and state-monopoly, small-scale (handicraft industry), semi-serfdom and natural-patriarchal (community) structures were preserved;
- uneven and deep disproportions in the development of individual industries;
- dependence on foreign grain markets and foreign investment, as a result of which Russia had a hard time going through the crises of 1898-1904 and 1907-1910;
- a combination of high rates of economic development with low labor productivity (2-3 times lower than in Europe), a lag in production per capita and technical equipment of labor;
- the Russian bourgeoisie did not have access to power and was not free to make decisions, it never left the class framework of the guild merchants;
- the presence of powerful bureaucratic capital, which was a huge state economy - colossal land and forest funds, mines and metallurgical plants in the Urals, Altai, Siberia, military factories, railways, a state bank, communications enterprises that belonged to the treasury and were not managed by bourgeois, but by feudal-bureaucratic methods.
Industry
Russia was characterized by cyclicity:
Crisis of 1900-1903 - falling prices, reduced production, mass unemployment.
1901 - steam locomotive building syndicate "Prodparovoz".
1902 - Syndicates "Prodamet" and "Pipe Sale".
1904-1908 - slowdown industrial production(depression).
Since 1909, an industrial boom associated with the growth of military orders, the extensive investment of financial (including foreign) funds. The share of domestic products in the world market has almost doubled.
2nd place in the world - oil production.
4th place - mechanical engineering.
5th - mining of coal, iron ore, steel smelting.
At the same time, Russia ranked 15th in the world in terms of electricity production, and some industries (automobile and aircraft construction) did not exist at all. In the production of industrial goods per capita, Russia lagged behind the leading capitalist countries by 5-10 times.
Agriculture
Despite the accelerated development of industry, the agricultural sector remained the leader in terms of share in the country's economy. 82% of its population was employed in this industry. It ranked first in the world in terms of production: it accounted for 50% of the world's rye harvest, 25% of the world's wheat exports. Peculiarities Agriculture:
- grain specialization of agriculture, which led to agrarian overpopulation and land depletion;
- dependence on grain prices in the foreign market in the face of increased competition from the United States, Argentina, Australia;
- the low capacity of the bulk of peasant farms, an increase in production was noted only in the landowners' farms and the farms of wealthy peasants (no more than 15-20% of all peasants);
- the location of Russia - the "zone of risky agriculture", which, with low agricultural technology, led to chronic crop failures and famine;
- Preservation of semi-serfdom and patriarchal survivals in the countryside. The agricultural sector was included in the modernization process only partially. It was the problems of agriculture that became the main core of the economic, social and political life of the country at the beginning of the century.
Thus, Russia embarked on the path of modernization lagging behind Western Europe. The contradictions in the development of the Russian economy were connected precisely with the insufficiency of drawing its individual sectors into modernization. Autocracy and the political dominance of the nobility were a serious brake on the path of economic development.
Finance
Under the conditions of monopoly capitalism, the financial system of Russia was determined by the state and private forms of banking capital. The main place was occupied by the State Bank, which performed two central functions - issue and credit. He provided support to banking monopolies, was engaged in state lending to industry and trade. The Noble Land and Peasant Land State Banks contributed to the strengthening of capitalist relations in agriculture. However, its credit policy they supported landlordism.
A significant role was played by the system of joint-stock commercial banks, which took an active part in the development of the credit system.
In Russia there was a concentration and centralization of capital by large joint-stock banks(Russian-Asian, St. Petersburg international, Russian for foreign trade, Azov-Don). They combined 47% of all assets. On their basis, a financial oligarchy was formed, closely connected with the bureaucracy and the big nobility. It penetrated into all spheres of the economy, had a strong influence on the socio-political life of the country.
At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. the state financial system was in a difficult position. Neither the establishment of a wine monopoly in 1895, nor the implementation of a monetary reform in 1897 helped. the state budget an unbearable burden fell on the costs of maintaining the bureaucratic and police apparatus, a huge army, conducting an aggressive foreign policy, and suppressing popular uprisings.
The crisis of 1900-1903 dealt a severe blow to public finances. The government treasury was actually devastated by attempts to rescue unprofitable industrial enterprises and support the crumbling banking system. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. and revolutions of 1905-1907. state debt Russia reached 4 billion rubles. The government tried to reduce the budget deficit by increasing direct and indirect taxes, reducing spending on economic, military and cultural reforms. Major government foreign loans temporarily supported the financial system, but annual payments on them on the eve of the First World War reached a huge figure of 405 million rubles.
Transport
Unlike other sectors of the national economy, the transport system at the beginning of the 20th century. has not undergone significant changes. Railway transport occupied a leading position in the domestic transportation of goods and passengers. However, the extensive state construction of railways was curtailed due to lack of funds. Attempts to organize private railway construction did not give positive results. In terms of the overall provision of rail tracks, Russia lagged far behind the countries of Western Europe and the USA. The vast territory was not easy to cover with an extensive railway network. Construction in the 80s of the XIX century. railway in Central Asia (from Krasnovodsk to Samarkand) and the Great Siberian Railway (from Chelyabinsk to Vladivostok) in 1891-1905. was a significant step in solving this transport problem.
Waterways continued to play an important role. The river fleet of Russia outnumbered the flotillas of other countries in its numbers and was well equipped. Own marine merchant navy was few. The bulk of Russian cargo was transported by foreign ships.
The road network has increased very little. Russia remained a country of highways and country roads, where horse-drawn carriage prevailed. The car at that time was a luxury item for the privileged classes.
In general, for the Russian economy at the beginning of the 20th century. characterized by the coincidence of the processes of industrialization and monopolization. The economic policy of the government was aimed at accelerated industrial development and was of a protectionist nature. In many respects, the state took the initiative in the development of capitalist relations, using the methods of economic recovery tested in other countries. At the beginning of the XX century. Russia's lag behind the leading capitalist powers was significantly reduced, its economic independence and the possibility of pursuing an active foreign policy were ensured. Russia has become a medium-developed capitalist country. Its progress was based on the powerful dynamics of economic development, which created a huge potential for further forward movement. It was interrupted by the First World War.
Reforms S.Yu. Witte
He had a significant influence on the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian government, actively contributed to the development of Russian capitalism and tried to combine this process with the strengthening of the monarchy. Witte made extensive use of scientific and statistical data in his work. On his initiative, major economic activities.
Under Witte, state intervention in the economy significantly expanded: in addition to customs and tariff activities in the field of foreign trade and legal support entrepreneurial activity, the state supported separate groups of entrepreneurs (primarily those associated with the highest state circles), softened conflicts between them; supported some areas of industry (mining and metallurgical industry, distillation, railway construction), and also actively developed the state economy. Witte paid special attention to personnel policy: he issued a circular on recruiting persons with higher education, sought the right to recruit personnel on the basis of practical work experience. The management of industry and trade was entrusted to V.I. Kovalevsky.
In general, on the initiative of Witte, major economic measures were carried out:
Strengthening the role of the state in the economy:
introduction of uniform tariffs for railways;
· state regulation domestic and foreign trade through the first system of taxes;
· the concentration of most of the railways in the hands of the state;
· Expansion of the public sector in industry;
revitalization of the activities of the State Bank;
introduction of a state monopoly on the sale of alcohol;
Strengthening private enterprise:
flexible tax law;
fight against the budget deficit;
strengthening national currency(the monetary reform of 1897 abolished bimetallism and introduced the gold equivalent of the ruble);
· Moderate protectionism towards foreign investors.
Witte proposed a number of measures aimed at the destruction of the community and the transformation of the peasant into the owner of the land, as well as at improving the situation of the workers. Witte's program did not find proper support in the tsar's inner circle.
Despite the far from complete implementation of his plans, Witte did a lot to turn Russia into a industrial country. Under him, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the CER was started, finances were significantly strengthened, and the budget deficit was reduced. The authorities did not have enough foresight to follow the path of reforms "from above" and carry out the political modernization of the country. The next attempt to change the face of Russia was made "from below", during the revolution of 1905-1907.
Taxes and duties of the peoples of Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century
The uneven distribution of taxes and taxes, their high amounts gave rise to persistent and numerous arrears, noted among all categories of indigenous people. For 5 years (1895-1900), the settled foreigners of the Yenisei province had an average of 62% of arrears for state zemstvo duties, and 71.4% for private zemstvo duties. Among nomadic foreigners, these figures were 19.5 and 32.8%, respectively. The discrepancy between the size of taxes and the level of solvency of the rural aboriginal population gave rise to arrears in other types of tax payments. Sources note chronic arrears in the payment of poll and quitrent taxes - the main type of taxation of settled aborigines. In the Yenisei province, arrears in per capita taxes amounted to 15.7%, quitrent - 7.5%. A certain reduction in salary arrears, which is noticed from time to time, is by no means explained by an increase in the solvency of the natives, but by the shameless extortion of them by the tsarist authorities, especially when collecting local taxes. At the same time, the confiscation of property and its sale at auction, the arrest of the ancestors and village foremen, and other forms of administrative coercion, up to the sending of military teams, were widely practiced. But, despite these measures, arrears constantly increased. In the Tobolsk province, for example, after the transfer of part of the nomads to the category of settled, the tax system fell even more heavily on foreigners. In 1891, arrears were estimated at 87,566 rubles, which was 140% of the annual salary. In 1901 - already 98,023 rubles. In the Yakutsk region in 1892, arrears in zemstvo payments amounted to 187,664 rubles. By 1900, thanks to the efforts of the administration, their amount was reduced to 116,589 rubles, but further collection of arrears remained problematic for the local administration.
As a result, we note that in the period under review, taxes and duties of the indigenous population of Siberia were of a mixed nature in form and content. In the total taxation of the peoples of the region, the share of local and personal duties accounted for at least 50% of cash payments. The taxes and duties of the settled aborigines in practice did not differ in any way from the tax obligations of the Russian peasantry. However, the most characteristic form of tax duties for nomadic and wandering foreigners - the absolute majority of the indigenous population - was yasak.
This text is an unedited version of the transcript, which will be edited later.
Story. Grade 9
Topic 1. Russia in 1900-1916
Lesson 2 Economic development Russia at the beginning of the 20th century
Kobba D.V., Ph.D., teacher of Gymnasium 1579
Economic development of Russia - agriculture, Witte's monetary reform, monopoly capitalism in the post-reform period
The topic of our today's lesson is “Economic development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century”, the monetary reform of Witte S.Yu., capitalism at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the monopolization of Russia, the Russian industry at the beginning of the 20th century and the economic development of Russia in the post-reform period. The unsuccessful, if not worse, Crimean War revealed the perniciousness of Russia's economic backwardness from the developed capitalist countries of Western Europe. The reforms of Alexander II that followed gave impetus to entrepreneurial activity. Russian state, but a genuine impetus to economic growth was the beginning of the construction of the railway network in 1893. From 1895 to 1899, the annual increase in the railway track in Russia was up to 3,000 kilometers, and in the following years it was not less than 2,000 kilometers per year. Such rapid construction, of course, dragged other industries along with it. The most striking event in the construction of railways in Russia during this period of time was the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The growth of industrial production during this period in Russia was the highest in the world: 8.1 percent - no other developed capitalist country had such indicators. At the same time, Russia lagged far behind the leading capitalist powers in terms of key indicators, as labor productivity, social guarantees, and a number of other economic indicators.
An essential feature of the Russian economic system of that period of time is the presence of a significant public sector. The so-called state-owned enterprises, engaged in the production of exclusively military products, such as the Obukhov plant, the Tula plant, the Sestroretsk plant, had exceptional competitive advantages over other manufacturers. In addition, the state lobbied for the interests of a number of large enterprises and entrepreneurs, or placed their orders with private enterprises close to the government or any ruling circles.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, foreign capital began to actively penetrate the Russian economy. At the same time, there is even some specificity in the allocation of capital by investor countries. So, in particular, French capital, as a rule, was placed in banks, and in total, the French placed up to two billion gold francs in Russia before the First World War. German capital, as a rule, was machine-building: the Germans built industrial enterprises here, and many of these enterprises are still operating. British capital, as a rule, was placed in the mining industry, primarily coal and oil.
At the same time, the main forms of capitalist enterprises, such as the cartel, trust, and syndicate, began to take shape in Russia. By the way, don't forget to look up what these terms mean. However, the main form of monopoly in Russia was a syndicate, that is, an agreement on the joint sale of goods. In Russia, such large monopoly enterprises as Prodomet, Prodvagon, Prodsakhar, Gvozd or the Nobel syndicate were organized.
Let's summarize. We see that capitalist relations are developing in Russia, but at the same time, Russian capitalism had significant specifics. The first is a significant share of the state in Russian economy. Well, the second is the active development of monopolistic forms of management, which were convenient for the autocracy.
The twentieth century has become one of the most turbulent and dynamic periods in the history of mankind, many important events and cardinal changes (almost revolutionary) have occurred in politics, science, and society. It is natural that economic history of the 20th century was no less turbulent and was characterized by huge achievements and no less loud falls.
At the beginning of the century, the economies of most countries experienced rapid industrial growth, which was a continuation of the recent industrial revolution. Various technical innovations were actively introduced, such as cars, assembly line production, etc. No less actively developed and international trade, the volumes of which grew, due to which various stock markets, in fact, the foundation of the modern world stock market was laid.
During the First World War, a number of new states stood out - leaders in the world economy, one of which was the United States, there was a new wave of migration to this country, the economy and all other areas of activity of which experienced tremendous growth.
At the same time, the former leaders, such as Great Britain, Germany, were losing their positions as a result of wars and other factors. The most important event was the revolution in Russia and the formation of the USSR, which marked the beginning of a 70-year attempt to create an ideal communist society and a global confrontation between the two economic models- capitalist and communist.
It should also be noted that the Great Depression of the 30s, which became one of the first and largest economic crises in history. An equally important role in economic history of the 20th century played the second World War, which caused enormous damage to the global economy, but served to some extent as a stimulating factor. As a result, the current political and economic system world, which, although it changed in the future, but already in an evolutionary way, without any special global upheavals.
It should also be noted the increasing impact on the economy of the fruits of technological progress, the emergence of new means of communication, a sharp reduction in the cost of international transportation and other factors played a significant role in the history of the economy of the 20th century.
Also, among the important events, it is worth noting the rejection of the gold standard in the second half of the century, the beginning of free currency conversion and, accordingly, the emergence of the Forex market.
One of the most important events of the end of the century was the collapse of the USSR, the formation of new states and their transition to the capitalist path of development. The events of 1991, as a result of which the USSR ceased to exist, played a big role, since a huge market, previously practically not integrated into the world economy, became available to world capital.
At the same time, naturally, the collapse of a huge union state, a complete change in its economic, political and ideological development model was accompanied by many negative consequences, many of which have not yet been overcome and a number of countries former USSR, including Ukraine, have not been able to fully switch to free market relations, that is, their economies are in the nature of transitional and unstable, with all the ensuing consequences.
In addition to the collapse of the USSR, in parallel in the Western countries, there was a transition to a post-industrial economy, which was led by a number of factors, including the development of information technology and a sharp increase in labor productivity due to automation.
What are the events in economic history of the 20th century do you think are the most important?
Andrey Malakhov, professional investor, financial consultant
By the 20th century in Russia there was a large public sector of the economy - this was one of the main features of economic development within the country. This sector included "state" factories, which were necessary primarily for the military needs of the state. At that time, there were more than 30 large factories in the country, they, as a rule, were financed by the state and belonged to various departments.
The state owned over 2/3 of the railways in the country, a huge area of land and forest areas, as well as telegraph and postal communications.
The economy of the state was rapidly gaining growth.
On the part of the state, active control was exercised over the activities of private enterprises, over the construction of railways. The development of ferrous metallurgy and the coal industry was especially carefully controlled.
were set high customs duties, which protected the Russian industry from competition. The government followed the regulation of prices.
In 1897, in order to create favorable conditions for attracting foreign capital into the country, a financial reform was carried out. This reform introduced the gold backing of the ruble, its free convertibility.
With the participation of foreign capital, industries developed that were the face of industrialization. Despite this, foreign firms and banks could not conduct their own independent business in Russia. economic policy, they could not influence the adoption of political decisions.
Russia has real prerequisites for the inclusion of the country in the world economic system.
At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. in Europe there was an economic crisis, which also affected Russia. Getting out of it was difficult. To save the country's economy, monopolistic associations began to be created.
At the same time in Russia there was a process of monopolization of banks.
After a decline due to a decrease in the price of bread on the world market in the mid-1890s. agricultural production begins in the country. And by the beginning of the 20th century. Russia was in first place in the world in terms of agricultural production. products.
The situation in agriculture caused the government concern because of the poverty of the bulk of peasant farms. The following factors were of particular concern:
The inability to raise taxes and the growth of arrears on already existing taxes and payments;
Endless peasant unrest.
The peasants demanded that part of the landowner's land be transferred to them. Soon more than 20 million peasant farms and 130 thousand landowners' estates were formed.
Based on this, we can conclude that the main problem of the Russian economy is the expansion of the modernization space by connecting the agricultural sector to it. Delaying the solution of this situation threatened with a revolutionary explosion.
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In 1893-1899. a rapid rise took place in the branches of heavy industry. The extraction of oil and coal has more than doubled, the production of pig iron and engineering products has tripled. Russia has taken third place in the world in iron production, and in oil production - in first place. In 1900-1908, in the Russian economy, iron smelting decreased by 3%, while steel production increased by 24%, oil production fell by a quarter, but coal production increased 1.5 times, the number of workers employed in industry increased by 21%, and the total industrial output - by 37%. In general, during the period from 1890 to 1913, labor productivity in industry quadrupled.
In 1909-1913, a new economic upsurge began, covering the entire national economy of the country. In terms of growth rates of industrial production, Russia was ahead of England, France, Germany, and the USA. During this period, the average annual increase in industrial output amounted to 9%, iron production increased by 64%, steel - by 82%. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the degree of concentration of production and capital and, in connection with this, monopolistic associations in industry has increased significantly. By 1912, approximately 75% of all pig iron in the South was produced at 9 metallurgical plants, which employed up to 80% of all steam engines and workers of the entire metallurgy of the southern region of the country, 65% of oil products were produced at 6 large plants. In Russia there were only 8 factories for the production of steam locomotives, 15 factories for the production of wagons. In 1907, the Prodparovoz syndicate was organized; in 1902, the largest syndicate was founded - the Society for the Sale of Products of Russian Metallurgical Plants (Prodamet), which initially united 14 metallurgical plants. After he consolidated 30 factories, including the production of railroad rails, the syndicate took over almost 90% of the entire metallurgical production of the Southern Region; "Nail" (1903); "Prodvagon" (1904), which covered up to 90% of all orders for ■ railway cars; "Produgol" (1904), which in 1909 accounted for 60% of coal production in the Donbass.
AT oil industry characteristic companies were trusts: the partnership of the Nobel brothers, which was engaged in the extraction, processing, transportation and other end products; in 1912, the Russian General Oil Corporation was founded, which managed to cover 27% of oil production in Russia. (It was created by the Russian-Jiata and International commercial Bank and with a board in London). In the food industry, several monopolies were formed (the Yeast syndicate, the Price Agreement between flour millers, the Sugar Factory Society, the salt monopoly, the Tobacco Trust (which controlled 80% of the capital in this industry). 20 monopoly associations were created in sea and river transport.
By the beginning of the 20th century, foreign capital began to play a significant role in many sectors of the national economy of Russia. In 1888, there were 16 foreign firms in Russia, and in 1909 there were already 269. Foreign investments were mainly directed to the extractive industries: coal, oil, iron ore, metallurgy and railway construction. In the mining industry: in 1900, up to 70% of the share capital was owned by foreigners.
Up to 96% of all foreign capital came from France, England, Germany and Belgium. Their relative share for France was 31% in the total volume of foreign capital, for England - 24%, for Germany - 20%, for Belgium - 13%. According to economists' estimates, the total volume of foreign capital in Russian industry in 1893-1913 amounted to about half of domestic investment. During the years of economic growth (1909-1913), the volume of domestic trade increased by about 1.5 times, and the volume of exports confidently exceeded the volume of imports - 1.5 and 1.1 billion rubles, respectively. The structure of exports was traditional: raw materials and agricultural products, and imports - from industrial goods: machinery, equipment, semi-finished products, as well as raw cotton and luxury goods, raw silk, tea, coffee, etc.
Before the First World War, Russia was one of the leading grain exporters in the world, mainly to Germany and England. The process of formation of monopolies covered from the beginning of the century and banking. The three largest commercial banks - Russian-Asian, St. Petersburg International and Azov-Donskoy, in 1914 concentrated almost half of all the country's banking assets.
Banks actively intervened in the activities of enterprises in various industries. The Russian-Asian Bank controlled the activities of a number of military enterprises, railways, including the Moscow-Kazan, Tobacco Trust, Russian General Oil Corporation, etc. The St. Petersburg International Bank controlled the Russud and Naval shipbuilding companies in Nikolaev, over the enterprises of the metallurgical, mining, glass, textile industries, railway companies, the salt monopoly "Ocean". The International Bank was closely associated with the Nobel Brothers Trust and the Anglo-Dutch Oil Trust. The Azov-Don Commercial Bank influenced Prodamet and Produgol, financed some Ural metallurgical enterprises, the Sulinsky metallurgical plant and the mining of mercury in the Donbass, railway companies, and textile enterprises.
At the beginning of the 20th century, despite the economic recovery of 1903-1913, in many respects, the Russian economy lagged behind the industrialized countries of Europe and the USA. Domestic mechanical engineering accounted for only 7% of the total volume of industrial production. Russia imported a large amount of industrial equipment, almost half of the agricultural equipment consumed. In terms of labor productivity in industry, Russia lagged behind the United States by 10 times. A particularly large gap in favor of Western countries was in terms of the level of power available.
The social structure of the Russian population has noticeably changed, which has grown by 40 million people in 20 years - from 125 to! 165 million, that is, by 32% (excluding Poland and Finland). Urban population increased from 16.8 to 26.5 million people, or! by 70%, and specific gravity- from 13.4 to 18%. The number of employees of wage labor increased from 10 to 18 million people, in | | including industrial workers - from 1.5 to 4.2 million people.! By 1913, the duration of the whole country had decreased! working day from 11-12 to 9.5-10 o'clock. Medium wage| in the manufacturing industry for 1904-1913 increased from 205 to 265 rubles. per year, and at the machine-building plant in St. Petersburg, it reached 511 rubles. per year, that is, an example of 43 rubles. per month with an average monthly living wage city working family in 25-30 rubles. Even in such areas of development as the level of education, Russia has been steadily moving forward. Thus, during the reign of Nicholas II, expenditures on education increased from 25.2 to 161.2 million rubles, that is, more than 6 times. Significant progress has been made in public education. In 1908, a law was passed to introduce compulsory elementary education.
The Second Peasant ("Stolypin") Reform in Russia (1906-1910)
After the revolution of 1905, the tsarist government headed for the violent destruction of the community. The inspirer and conductor of the new agrarian policy was P. A. Stolypin, Chairman of the Council of Ministers. On November 9, 1906, the government issued a decree: the peasants received the right to assign their communal allotment to personal property. In June 1910, this decree was adopted by the Duma and State Council and approved by the king as a law. All communal land was divided into two parts: the land where redistribution had not been made for 24 years, and the land where redistributions had been made. In the first case, all allotment lands became the personal property of the peasants. In the second, the peasant could demand that the land he used after the redistribution be assigned to him. In addition, everyone who separated from the community could, in the event of a striped land, demand a plot in one place. If the householder moved to a new allocated plot, then such a plot was called a farm. If all the buildings remained in the village, then the allocated area was called a cut.
Stolypin's agrarian policy was promoted by the Peasants' Land Bank, established back in the 1980s to resell landowners' lands to peasants. The bank bought the land of the landowners, and then sold it to the peasants, who were allocated for farms and cuts. From 1907 to 1915 The Peasant Bank sold over 4 million acres of land, of which 3.25 million acres were purchased for farms and cuts. The Peasants' Bank credited Stolypin's resettlement policy, one of the foundations of the entire agrarian reform. With the help of resettlement, tsarism hoped to defuse the agrarian overpopulation and distract the peasants from revolutionary uprisings. Stolypin hoped to create a stratum of kulaks in the provinces of Asiatic Russia. Legislative provisions that encouraged the resettlement of peasants in remote regions of Russia were adopted in 1904-1906. Many peasants were drawn from the provinces of European Russia. In 1906, 140 thousand people moved to Siberia, in 1907 - 665 thousand, and in 1911 the resettlement began to decline (to 190 thousand people). In just five years, from 1906 to 1911, for 2 million 700 thousand peasants followed the Urals. Of these, 100 thousand died of starvation, about 800 thousand returned. Of the rest, only half managed to get a job. 700 thousand settlers became vagabonds. The resettlement policy of tsarism suffered a complete collapse.
The reform of 1861 robbed the peasants in favor of the landowners, the reform of 1906 robbed the peasants in favor of the kulaks. As a result of the reforms from 1906 to 1916. 2.5 million householders emerged from the community. 17 million acres of land passed into private ownership. In 1915, the kulaks provided 50% of all marketable grain in the country. As a result of the Stolypin reform, the capitalist development of the countryside took a step forward. But the reform did not change the semi-feudal agrarian system of Russia. She left the semi-serf landlord farms, she did not destroy the peasant community either - 75% of the peasants still remained in it. IN AND. Lenin, evaluating the Stolypin reform, pointed out that this was the last reprieve given to landownership, the medieval agrarian system in Russia.
Military-feudal imperialism of Russia
The growth of concentration and centralization of production and capital, the formation of monopoly associations in Russia contributed to economic crisis 1900-1903 It was during these years that the largest and most important monopolies arose. In Russia, they were monopolistic unions for the sale of products at monopoly prices.
The difference between these unions and syndicates created in other countries was that in Russia syndication did not concern the entire range of products, but only those that provided the highest excess profits.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the largest syndicates in Russia were founded: Prodamet (1902), Gvozd (1903), Produgol (1904), Prodvagon (1906) and others. The Prodamet syndicate united the metallurgical industry of the South, part of the plants in Poland, the Baltic States and the Urals, controlling 60% of all metallurgical products in Russia. Coal mining in the Donbass was 75% united by the Produgol syndicate. In total, in Russia before the revolution of 1905-1907. There were more than 30 officially legalized monopolies. The concentration also covered banking capital. “As banking develops,” V.I. Lenin, - and its concentration in a few institutions, banks are growing from a modest role of intermediaries into omnipotent monopolists ... ". Small banks are turning into branches of the largest banks. In 1901-1904. Petersburg-Azov, Minsk and Kiev commercial banks converged into the Azov-Don Bank. In 1908, the United Bank was formed from the Moscow International, Oryol Commercial and South Russian Industrial.
At the beginning of 1900, the share of nine St. Petersburg banks in the balance sheet of joint-stock commercial banks of the country was 46.7%, and at the end of 1905, the share of ten St. Petersburg banks reached 64.4%. Monopoly banks are gradually turning into owners of the fixed capital of industry through the buying up of shares by banks. Among the largest magnates of Russian financial capital were Putilov, chairman of the board of the Putilov plant, head of Proda-met and the largest oil trust Oil, as well as the Russian-Chinese, and then the Russian-Asian Bank; the coal king Avdakov, the head of the southern metallurgy, Yasyukovich, the largest oilmen Nobel, Montashev, Lianozov, the sugar refiners Brodsky, Bobrinsky, Tereshchenko, and others. A system of financial oligarchy has matured in Russia.
Russia exported capital mainly to China, Manchuria, Persia, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Turkey and the Balkan countries. She herself was the object of capital investment of Western European countries. In 1900, foreign investments accounted for 45% of the total share capital in the country. British, French, Belgian monopolies have seized the main branches of Russia's heavy industry. More than half - 54.7% of all foreign investments, amounting to about 2.2 billion rubles by 1917 - were placed in the mining and metallurgical industries. During the period from the reform of 1861 to the beginning of the First World War, industrial production increased 12.5 times (in Germany - 7, and in France - only 3 times). The total size of the working class increased over the years 1860-1913. about 4 times.
However, Russia's lag behind the capitalist countries of the West was not eliminated. In 1913, Russia ranked fifth in the world in industrial production and steelmaking, sixth in coal mining, and eighth in electricity production. The country produced industrial output only 12.5% of the US level, much less than Germany, England, France. On the eve of the war, Russia more than half covered its needs for cars through imports.
Outstanding achievements of domestic scientific and technical thought in the field of aircraft construction - N. E. Zhukovsky, S. A. Chaplygin, synthetic chemistry - A. M. Butlerov, A. E. Favorsky, S. V. Lebedev, rocket science - K. E. Tsiolkovsky, aluminum electrolysis - P. P. Fedotiev and in many other areas were almost not introduced into production.
In the first decade of the XX century. with the active role of foreign, especially French, capital, large trade monopoly associations are formed (trade in bread, meat, and a number of manufactured goods). Along with barges, stationary trade enterprises patriarchal forms of trade - fairs - have also been preserved in Russia.
As before, in the structure of exports, 90% were food products and raw materials, with bread accounting for 40%. Industrial exports - fabrics, oil, sugar, metals - accounted for only 10% of exports. The government gave entrepreneurs special export bonuses, refunded them taxes on goods intended for export, etc. With the help of the state, Russian foreign trade firms successfully pushed out Western European competitors in Iran. Russian positions were strong - in China, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Turkey. Transport was the bottleneck of the Russian economy. More than 3/4 of all railway tracks were single-track, there were not enough locomotives and wagons. There were 11 times less rail tracks per unit of space than in Germany, 7 times less than in Austria-Hungary. There were also few highways. In Russia, all the contradictions inherent in imperialism were intertwined and manifested with particular acuteness. They were reinforced by feudal remnants in the economic and political life of the country. The autocratic system, the dominant position of the nobility in the state apparatus and the army, the unresolved agrarian question - all this made Russian imperialism military-feudal.
As a result of economic development in the post-reform period (especially the industrial boom of the 90s of the 19th century, which ended by 1880-1890), the system of Russian capitalism finally took shape. This was expressed in the growth of entrepreneurship and capital, the improvement of production, its technological re-equipment, and the increase in the number of hired labor in all spheres of the national economy. Simultaneously with other capitalist countries, a second technical revolution was taking place in Russia (acceleration of the production of means of production, widespread use of electricity and other achievements of modern science), which coincided with industrialization. From a backward agrarian country, Russia by the beginning of the 20th century. became an agrarian-industrial power (82% employed in agriculture). In terms of industrial output, it entered the top five countries (England, France, the USA and Germany) and was increasingly drawn into the world economic system.
In modern science, there are three echelons of modernization:
At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. capitalism has entered a new, monopolistic stage. Powerful industrial and financial associations (industrial monopolies and financial unions) were formed. Gradually there was a fusion of industrial and financial capital, industrial-financial groups took shape. They occupied a dominant position in the economy - they regulated the volume of production and sales, dictated prices, divided the world into spheres of influence. Their interests were increasingly subordinated to the domestic and foreign policies of the capitalist states. The system of monopoly capitalism, changing and adapting to new historical realities, persisted throughout the 20th century.
The special character of capitalism at the turn of the century was noted by many scientists and politicians, in particular the English economist John Hobson. According to his version (and also according to V.I. Lenin), the characteristic features of imperialism are:
Monopolies: large economic associations, which concentrated in their hands most of the production and marketing of goods. The main forms of monopolies:
Cartel: participants retain their production independence, while jointly solving issues of production volume, sales of products, profit is distributed according to the share of participation;
Syndicate: production and legal independence of enterprises is preserved, the volume of products, prices, terms of sale are determined; sales are centralized;
Trust: participants lose their production, and often legal viability; most often arise in industries that produce homogeneous products;
Concern: diversified association with independence in management, but with complete financial dependence
The process of formation of monopoly capitalism was also characteristic of Russia. It affected her economic, social and political life. Along with the manifestation of general patterns in Russia, there were some peculiarities of monopoly capitalism. This was due to a number of factors.
First, historical - it switched to capitalism later than many European countries.
Secondly, economic and geographical - an immense territory with various natural conditions and its uneven development.
Thirdly, socio-political - the preservation of autocracy, landlordism, class inequality, political lack of rights of the broad masses, national oppression.
Fourth, national - the different level of economic and socio-cultural state of the numerous peoples of the empire also predetermined the originality of Russian monopoly capitalism.
There are four stages in the process of monopolization in Russia:
1880-1890s - the emergence of the first cartels on the basis of temporary agreements on joint prices and the division of sales markets, the strengthening of banks;
1900-1908 - creation of large syndicates, banking monopolies, concentration of banks; 3. 1909-1913 - Creation of “vertical” syndicates, uniting enterprises for the purchase of raw materials, for their production and marketing; the emergence of trusts and concerns; coalescence of industrial "banking capital, the creation of financial capital;
1913-1917 - the emergence of state-monopoly capitalism; merging of financial capital, monopolies with the state apparatus.
Russia is usually attributed to the second echelon of modernization. There are different points of view of researchers on the question of the level of development of capitalism in Russia: average or weak-medium. In addition, along with the opinion about the “catching up” nature of Russian modernization (formational approach), there is an opinion about the special path of Russia's development, about the uselessness and futility of the “race for the leader” (civilizational approach).
The state actively patronized the development of domestic industry, banking, transport, and communications. Significant foreign investment began to flow into the country. But the following factors negatively influenced the development of the Russian economy:
Russia was characterized by cyclicity.
Crisis of 1900-1903 - Falling prices, reduced production, mass unemployment.
1901 - steam locomotive building syndicate "Prodparovoz"
1902 - syndicates "Prodamet" and "Pipe Sale"
1904-1908 - Decline in the rate of industrial production (depression).
Since 1909, an industrial boom associated with the growth of military orders, the extensive investment of financial (including foreign) funds. The share of domestic products in the world market has almost doubled.
2nd place in the world - oil production
4th - mechanical engineering
5th - mining of coal, iron ore, steel smelting
At the same time, Russia ranked 15th in the world in terms of electricity production, and some industries (automobile and aircraft construction) did not exist at all. In the production of industrial goods per capita, Russia lagged behind the leading capitalist countries by 5-10 times.
Despite the accelerated development of industry, the agricultural sector remained the leader in terms of share in the country's economy. 82% of its population was employed in this industry. It ranked first in the world in terms of production: it accounted for 50% of the world's rye harvest, 25% of the world's wheat exports. Agriculture features:
Thus, Russia embarked on the path of modernization lagging behind Western Europe. The contradictions in the development of the Russian economy were connected precisely with the insufficiency of drawing its individual sectors into modernization. Autocracy and the political dominance of the nobility were a serious brake on the path of economic development.
Under the conditions of monopoly capitalism, the financial system of Russia was determined by the state and private forms of banking capital. The main place was occupied by the State Bank, which performed two central functions: issue and credit. He provided support to banking monopolies, was engaged in state lending to industry and trade. The Noble Land and Peasant Land State Banks contributed to the strengthening of capitalist relations in agriculture. At the same time, with their credit policy, they supported landownership.
A significant role was played by the system of joint-stock commercial banks, which took an active part in the development of the credit system.
In Russia, there was a concentration and centralization of capital by large joint-stock banks (Russian-Asian, St. Petersburg International, Russian for Foreign Trade, Azov-Don). They combined 47% of all assets. On their basis, a financial oligarchy was formed, closely connected with the bureaucracy and the big nobility. It penetrated into all spheres of the economy, had a strong influence on the socio-political life of the country.
At the end of XIX - beginning of XX century. the state financial system was in a difficult position. Neither the establishment of a wine monopoly in 1895, nor the monetary reform of 1897 helped. The state budget was burdened by the cost of maintaining the bureaucratic and police apparatus, a huge army, conducting an aggressive foreign policy, and suppressing popular uprisings.
The crisis of 1900-1903 dealt a severe blow to public finances. The government treasury was effectively devastated by attempts to save money-losing industrial enterprises and prop up a crumbling banking system. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. and revolutions of 1905-1907. Russia's public debt reached 4 billion rubles. The government tried to reduce the budget deficit by increasing direct and indirect taxes, reducing spending on economic, military and cultural reforms. Large government foreign loans temporarily supported the financial system, but the annual payments on them on the eve of the First World War reached a huge figure of 405 million rubles.
Unlike other sectors of the national economy, the transport system at the beginning of the 20th century. has not undergone significant changes. Rail transport occupied a leading position in the domestic transportation of goods and passengers. However, the extensive state construction of railways was curtailed due to lack of funds. Attempts to organize private railway construction did not give positive results. In terms of the overall provision of rail tracks, Russia lagged far behind the countries of Western Europe and the USA. The vast territory was not easy to cover with an extensive railway network. Construction in the 80s of the XIX century. railway in Central Asia (from Krasnovodsk to Samarkand) and the Great Siberian Railway (from Chelyabinsk to Vladivostok) in 1891-1905. was a significant step in solving this transport problem.
Waterways continued to play an important role. The river fleet of Russia outnumbered the flotillas of other countries in its numbers and was well equipped. Own merchant marine fleet was small. The bulk of Russian cargo was transported by foreign ships.
The road network has increased very little. Russia remained a country of highways and country roads, where horse-drawn carriage prevailed. The car at that time was a luxury item for the privileged classes.
In general, for the Russian economy at the beginning of the 20th century. characterized by the coincidence of the processes of industrialization and monopolization. The economic policy of the government was aimed at accelerated industrial development and was of a protectionist nature. In many respects, the state took the initiative in the development of capitalist relations, using the methods of economic recovery tested in other countries. At the beginning of the XX century. Russia's lag behind the leading capitalist powers was significantly reduced, its economic independence and the possibility of pursuing an active foreign policy were ensured. Russia has become a medium-developed capitalist country. Its progress was based on the powerful dynamics of economic development, which created a huge potential for further forward movement. It was interrupted by the First World War.
He had a significant influence on the domestic and foreign policy of the Russian government, actively contributed to the development of Russian capitalism and tried to combine this process with the strengthening of the monarchy. Witte made extensive use of scientific and statistical data in his work. On his initiative, major economic events were carried out.
Under Witte, state intervention in the economy significantly expanded: in addition to customs and tariff activities in the field of foreign trade and legal support for entrepreneurial activity, the state supported certain groups of entrepreneurs (primarily those associated with the highest government circles), softened conflicts between them; supported some areas of industry (mining and metallurgical industry, distillation, railway construction), and also actively developed the state economy. Witte paid special attention to personnel policy: he issued a circular on the recruitment of persons with higher education, sought the right to recruit personnel on the basis of practical work experience. The management of industry and trade was entrusted to V. I. Kovalevsky.
In general, on the initiative of Witte, major economic measures were carried out:
strengthening the role of the state in the economy:
Introduction of uniform tariffs for railways;
State regulation of domestic and foreign trade through the first system of taxes;
The concentration of most of the railways in the hands of the state;
Expansion of the public sector in industry;
Activation of the activities of the State Bank;
Introduction of a state monopoly on the alcohol trade; 2) strengthening private enterprise:
Flexible tax legislation;
Fighting the budget deficit;
Strengthening of the national currency (the monetary reform of 1897 abolished bimetallism and introduced the gold equivalent of the ruble);
Moderate protectionism towards foreign investors.
Witte proposed a number of measures aimed at the destruction of the community and the transformation of the peasant into the owner of the land, as well as at improving the situation of the workers. Witte's program did not find proper support in the immediate environment of the guy.
Despite the far from complete implementation of his plans, Witte did a lot to turn Russia into an industrial country. Under him, the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the CER was started, finances were significantly strengthened, and the budget deficit was reduced. The authorities did not have enough foresight to follow the path of reforms "from above" and carry out the political modernization of the country. The next attempt to change the face of Russia was made "from below", during the revolution of 1905-1907.
The uneven distribution of taxes and taxes, their high amounts gave rise to persistent and numerous arrears, noted among all categories of indigenous people. For 5 years (1895 - 1900), the settled “foreigners” of the Yenisei province had an average of 62% arrears in state zemstvo duties, and 71.4% in private zemstvo duties. Among the nomadic "foreigners" these figures were 19.5 and 32.8%, respectively. The discrepancy between the size of taxes and the level of solvency of the rural aboriginal population gave rise to arrears in other types of tax payments. Sources note chronic arrears in the payment of poll and quitrent taxes, the main type of taxation of settled aborigines. In the Yenisei province, arrears in per capita taxes amounted to 15.7, quitrent - 7.5%. A certain reduction in salary arrears, which is noticed from time to time, is by no means explained by an increase in the solvency of the natives, but by the shameless extortion of them by the tsarist authorities, especially when collecting local taxes. At the same time, the confiscation of property and its sale at auction, the arrest of the ancestors and village foremen, and other forms of administrative coercion, up to the sending of military teams, were widely practiced. But, despite these measures, arrears constantly increased. In the Tobolsk province, for example, after the transfer of part of the nomads to the category of settled, the tax system fell even more heavily on foreigners. In 1891, arrears were calculated at 87,566 rubles, which was 140% of the annual salary, in 1901 - already 98,023 rubles. In the Yakutsk region in 1892, arrears in zemstvo payments amounted to 187,664 rubles. By 1900, thanks to the "efforts of the administration," their amount was reduced to 116,589 rubles, but further collection of arrears remained problematic for the local administration.
As a result, we note that in the period under review, taxes and duties of the indigenous population of Siberia were of a mixed nature in form and content. In the total taxation of the peoples of the region, the share of local and personal duties accounted for less than 50% of monetary payments. The taxes and duties of the settled aborigines in practice did not differ in any way from the tax obligations of the Russian peasantry. However, the most characteristic form of tax duties for nomadic and wandering "foreigners" - the absolute majority of the indigenous population - was yasak.
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