Conditions during the Russian revolution and World War One.
.Over three-quarters of the Russian population were unhappy with their
position in the Empire.
.Peasants and workers alike suffered horrendous living and working
conditions and hence posed a threat to the Tsar’s regime.
.Russia had no form of income tax. The Tsar taxed the produce of
the peasant farmers to raise money to maintain his executive lifestyle. The
burden of taxation was so great that riots would regularly break out amongst
peasants. Famine was a common occurrence at the turn of the
century. There was widespread famine in 1901
.The Russian famine of 1891-92 affected an
area of around 900,000 square miles in the Volga and central agricultural
areas. Ironically, these were once the most fertile and productive parts of
Russia.. It affected between fourteen to twenty million people, of which
375,000 to 400,000 died, mostly of disease. Due to malnutrition caused by the
famine, people were more susceptible to infection. Even though they did not have enough
to feed themselves, peasants were expected to produce surplus grain for export.
Despite the poor harvest of 1891, there was
enough food available to feed the population, but this would only have been
possible if the harvest was rightly distributed. This was almost impossible
because government economic policies encouraged the sale of Russian grain
abroad to strengthen the national economy. Making hunger a major issue in the
rural countryside populations. Even though the crops were diminishing yearly,
exports remained the same; the grain reserves were thereby reduced. The
peasants were also burdened by their own backward methods of farming which
dated back to the Dark Ages. They used primitive methods and medieval
implements, such as wooden ploughs that were incapable of ploughing deep
enough. They were also ignorant of new fertilizers such as phosphates unlike
the western part of the work which was slowly modernizing.
.With the rapid industrialisation in cities, came increased urbanisation.
The population of Russia’s towns and cities multiplied by four. However working
conditions were terrible and trade unionism was banned. There was little to
protect the pay or safety of workers. Laws protecting workers brought in under
Alexander III and Nicholas II did little to improve the situation. Living
conditions were horrendous as developers struggled to deal with the demand for
accommodation. Many lived in communal houses similar to army quarters, where
kitchens, toilets and washrooms were shared. Others were forced to sleep in the
factories where they worked, with little in terms of bedding. There was limited
sanitation and running water in the cities and the mortality rate was high.
There was an economic downturn in the early 1900s, leading to a lack of jobs
and regular income.
The most valuable
commodity throughout the war was grain, and kulaks understood this with
absolute clarity: food prices climbed higher than any other commodity during
the war. In 1916, food prices accelerated three times higher than wages,
despite bumper harvests in both 1915 and 1916. The price of grain in 1916,
already at two and a half rubles per pud, was anticipated to raise up to twenty five rubles per pud. Hoping to
raise prices, the kulaks hoarded their food surplus.
When Russia entered the First World War they had the largest army in the world,
standing at 1,400,000 soldiers; when fully mobilized the Russian army expanded
to over 5,000,000 soldiers. However the loses Russia suffered in the world war were
catastrophic. Between 900,000 and 2,500,000 Russians were killed. At least
1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were
wounded. Nearly 4,000,000 Russian soldiers were held as Prisoners of war (Britain,
France and Germany had 1.3 million POWs combined).
.The Russian famine of 1891-92 affected an
area of around 900,000 square miles in the Volga and central agricultural
areas. Ironically, these were once the most fertile and productive parts of
Russia.. It affected between fourteen to twenty million people, of which
375,000 to 400,000 died, mostly of disease. Due to malnutrition caused by the
famine, people were more susceptible to infection. Even though they did not have enough
to feed themselves, peasants were expected to produce surplus grain for export.
Despite the poor harvest of 1891, there was
enough food available to feed the population, but this would only have been
possible if the harvest was rightly distributed. This was almost impossible
because government economic policies encouraged the sale of Russian grain
abroad to strengthen the national economy. Making hunger a major issue in the
rural countryside populations. Even though the crops were diminishing yearly,
exports remained the same; the grain reserves were thereby reduced. The
peasants were also burdened by their own backward methods of farming which
dated back to the Dark Ages. They used primitive methods and medieval
implements, such as wooden ploughs that were incapable of ploughing deep
enough. They were also ignorant of new fertilizers such as phosphates unlike
the western part of the work which was slowly modernizing.
.The majority of poorer peasants were landless. They had no way of
improving their situation. Protests and strikes were on the increase in the
early 1900s. By 1905 they were severe and widespread.
.With the rapid industrialisation in cities, came increased urbanisation.
The population of Russia’s towns and cities multiplied by four. However working
conditions were terrible and trade unionism was banned. There was little to
protect the pay or safety of workers. Laws protecting workers brought in under
Alexander III and Nicholas II did little to improve the situation. Living
conditions were horrendous as developers struggled to deal with the demand for
accommodation. Many lived in communal houses similar to army quarters, where
kitchens, toilets and washrooms were shared. Others were forced to sleep in the
factories where they worked, with little in terms of bedding. There was limited
sanitation and running water in the cities and the mortality rate was high.
There was an economic downturn in the early 1900s, leading to a lack of jobs
and regular income.
.As well as this ethnic minority’s like people of colour and the Jewish
population where greatly mistreated and oppressed while having very few rights.
This a documentary about the Russian revolution the a detailed analysis of what happened, how the public reacted and the after math of the decision made by leaders like Starling and Trotsky.
During ww1
The Russians
that prospered the most during the war were peasant land-owners: Kulaks. Cunning muzhiks bribed local officials to prevent
conscription and saw a field of opportunity open up during the war. While more
and more peasants were sent to their deaths on the front lines, kulaks grabbed
up their land in a free-for-all. By 1917, kulaks owned more than 90% of the
arable land in European Russia, where once the majority or arable land had been
in the hands of peasant communes.
The most valuable
commodity throughout the war was grain, and kulaks understood this with
absolute clarity: food prices climbed higher than any other commodity during
the war. In 1916, food prices accelerated three times higher than wages,
despite bumper harvests in both 1915 and 1916. The price of grain in 1916,
already at two and a half rubles per pud, was anticipated to raise up to twenty five rubles per pud. Hoping to
raise prices, the kulaks hoarded their food surplus.
Throughout 1916, the
average urban laborers ate between 200 and 300 grams of food a day.
In 1917, the urban
populations of Russia were allowed to buy only one pound of bread per adult,
per day. In practice, workers sometimes went days without food. As a result of
the Land Decree of October 26, 1917,
when the peasants took back their land from the kulaks, food slowly came back
into the cities again. Though the Kulaks were overwhelmed by the peasants at
home and those returning from the front, many responded later in the year,
during the coming Civil War.
When Russia entered the First World War they had the largest army in the world,
standing at 1,400,000 soldiers; when fully mobilized the Russian army expanded
to over 5,000,000 soldiers. However the loses Russia suffered in the world war were
catastrophic. Between 900,000 and 2,500,000 Russians were killed. At least
1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were
wounded. Nearly 4,000,000 Russian soldiers were held as Prisoners of war (Britain,
France and Germany had 1.3 million POWs combined).
Economically
Russia was devastated. 8,000,000,000 rubles in war debts were outstanding,
strangling the national economy of its breath. Inflation soared; the gold
reserves (then backing the currency) were nearly empty, revenues were
exceedingly low while reconstruction costs were huge. Russia was on the verge
of complete collapse.
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