Question by Cassandra: What is a good website where I can learn about the economy of Russia in 1868?
I am writing a paper on Crime and Punishment and need to know a bit about the economy of St. Petersburg Russia during that time to help with the paper. The economic side would help but any history information would be well appreciated
Answers and Views:
Answer by Spellbound
The Russian economy in 1868 was coming to terms with the effects of the Emancipation of the serfs, which happened in 1861. The economy was still based n economic output, not industrial, and there was only a small middle class.
They were emancipated as a direct result of the Crimean War. The Russians were humiliated in the war, as the British and French were able to get their troops to the Crimea and to re-supply them quicker than the Russians were – and the Crimea was Russian territory. Alexander realised that the reason Russia lost the war was because it did not have an industrial base, it had very few railway lines and their peasant army was poorly trained, equip ed and motivated.
In order to modernise the economy Alexander decided to emancipate the Serfs, but it was not a straight-forward freeing. The serfs had to buy their freedom, the redemption payments were spread out over 50years, and many did could not afford it. It was also resisted by the landlords in the productive areas, as they wanted to retain their (free) workforce. It was these areas that Alexander wanted emancipation to work – as he wanted to free up labour to work in the new mines, factories and mills that he was planning.
The long-term result was that it disaffected much of the aristocracy, but amongst the peasants, it helped to further alienate them, because the emancipation did not free everyone.
See:
Russia People & Empire 1552 – 1917 – Geoffrey Hoskings
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/rus185581ec.html
Here are a collection of photographs from Russia from the 19th Century
St Petersburg
http://englishrussia.com/2008/08/19/st-petersburg-19th-century/
Russian Empire
http://englishrussia.com/2007/09/20/russian-empire-in-the-xix-century/
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