In the second half of the XIX century, in post-reform Russia, the formation of the territory continued due to the accession of Asian lands. The population grew, which by the end of the century approached 128 million people. The inhabitants of the village prevailed.
Features of Russian capitalism
The reforms carried out in the country by Alexander II opened up the possibility of the development of capitalist relations in Russia. Since 1861, capitalism has gradually become established as the leading mode of production. True, he had a number of features that distinguished him from the European version.
In the socio-political sphere and in the country's economy, the following traditional structures have been preserved:
- landowner ownership of land;
- peasant community;
- division into estates, their inequality;
- tsarism, which defended the interests of the landowners.
Society in all its layers has not yet “matured” for capitalist relations. This was especially true for rural residents, and therefore the state was forced to influence the economy and the evolution of political processes.
The pace of development of capitalism in post-reform Russia was very high. The path that it has traveled over several decades, European states have mastered for centuries. The process of modernization of industry and rural labor dragged on for a long time, and Russia “caught up” with the capitalist countries of that time, which went far ahead in their development.
Agriculture. Types of management
The post-reform development of the dominant agricultural sector in Russia was proceeding at the slowest pace. Of the 280 million acres of land, 102 were private, with 2/3 of them owned by the landlords. At this time, three types of landlord management were formed: developmental, capitalist, and mixed.
The developmental, semi-serfdom system remained the difficult legacy of centuries-old slavery of the peasants. Looted after the “granting” of freedom, low-land, poor, they went to the same landlord with tenants of land, in fact - in bondage. It would be unrealistic to expect highly productive labor from the semi-serf form of exploitation of the peasant. Developments were distributed in the central regions and in the Volga region.
The use of civilian labor of peasants, the use of modern tools of labor belonging to the landowner in work are signs of a capitalist agricultural system. There was a widespread adoption of machinery, equipment, quickly mastered new methods of agricultural technology. Accordingly, they achieved high indicators both in labor productivity and in the final result. This is how landowners worked in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states.
The mixed system was distributed in Eastern Ukraine, Eastern Belarus and in some western Russian provinces.
The evolution of agriculture
In the post-reform period in Russia, the ongoing changes were of a rapid nature. By the beginning of the 80s of the XIX century, the capitalist system began to supplant the mining system throughout the country. Those landowners who could not rebuild their economy in a new way went bankrupt, sold their possessions. The redistribution of land has begun.
The peasants at that time were even more difficult than the landlords to understand the essence of what was happening. Lack of land, lack of money for taxes and redemption payments, redistribution of land within the community, illiteracy - these problems worried the peasants primarily, forcing them to literally fight for life. Most peasant farms were close to complete ruin.
In general, agriculture developed along the capitalist path. Product growth occurred mainly due to an increase in arable land, although the use of technology in advanced farms increased labor productivity. There was a separation of regions for the production of certain products, which also gave good results: the black regions of Russia, the Volga region and the south of Ukraine became grain regions, dairy cattle breeding went well in the central regions, beef cattle were raised in the south-east of the country. A Russian agricultural market has formed.
Preserved in a sharp confrontation from the previous time, unfinished by capitalist transformations, relations between the landlords and peasants remained sharp, ready for revolutionary upheavals.
Features of the development of capitalism in industry
The abolition of serfdom gave an impetus to the development of capitalism in industry: labor appeared from landless peasants, capital began to accumulate in concrete hands, an internal market was formed, and international relations appeared.
But the passage of all phases of development in a short period of time introduced its Russian features into the evolution of industry. It was characterized by:
- The neighborhood of large enterprises with manufactory, handicraft production.
- A combination of developed industrial areas (Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltic states, Ukraine) with the distant, undeveloped outskirts of the country (Siberia, Central Asia, the Far East).
- The unequal development of industries. Textile enterprises were actively developing, where half of all workers were employed. The food industry has developed quite well. Enterprises of these industries were characterized by the highest percentage of use of equipment. Heavy industry (mining, metallurgy, oil), moved slower than light, but still gaining momentum. Poorly developed domestic engineering.
- State intervention in industry issues, pushing it forward with subsidies, loans, government orders, which later gave rise to state capitalism.
- The development of the capitalist industry of certain industries based on foreign capital. European states, evaluating the size of the benefits, subsidized funds in Russian capitalism.
Railway development
The emergence of rail transport played a very large role in the post-reform economic development of Russia. Railways helped solve many economic issues, strategic and social, to an unprecedented level before in the country. The development of roads led to the further development of industrial and agricultural sectors.
The road network began in the central part of the country. Developing at a tremendous pace, by the end of the century it had already covered the outlying regions of Transcaucasia, Central Asia, the Urals and Siberia. For comparison: the length of the railway line in the early 60s was only two thousand miles, and by the end of the century - 53 thousand. Europe and Russia turned out to be closer to each other.
But in the development of railway transport, Russia was different from other states. The industry was financed by private, sometimes foreign capital. But very soon the railways became state property.
Water transport in Russia
The use of waterways by Russian industrialists was more familiar than the development of railways. River transport in the post-reform period of the development of Russia also did not remain in place.
Steam ships went along the Volga. Shipping developed on the Dnieper, Ob, Don, Yenisei. By the end of the century, there were already 2.5 thousand ships. The number of sea vessels increased 10 times.
Trade under capitalism
The economic development of Russia in the post-reform period made it possible for the domestic market to form. The final commodity character acquired both production and consumption.
The main demand, of course, was enjoyed by agricultural products, primarily bread. The country consumed 50% of its grain production. The rest went to the foreign market. They began to buy industrial products not only in the city, but also in the countryside. Iron ore, oil, timber and other raw materials also became high-demand goods.
The situation on the world market was getting stronger, but the bulk of the exported goods fell to bread so far. But they imported not only luxurious, colonial products, as they did at the beginning of the 19th century. Now, the import items are machinery, equipment, and metals.
Banking activity
The socio-economic development of post-reform Russia has made changes in financial relations. Finally, the State Bank was created, which received the right to print banknotes. The sole manager of public funds was the Ministry of Finance.
Measures were taken to strengthen the ruble. A major role in this was played by the reform of 1897, which was carried out by Minister of Finance S. Yu. Witte. Sergey Yulievich brought the ruble to the gold equivalent, which immediately increased its attractiveness in the world market.
A new credit system has developed, commercial banks have appeared. Foreign capital has revised its attitude to the business qualities of Russian entrepreneurs, and by the end of the century its participation reached 900 million rubles.
Social change society
The social development of post-reform Russia, like all the areas considered, was distinguished by its originality. The society has kept the estate division with the clear possibilities and prohibitions of each layer. Life went to the point that only two classes of capitalist society should remain: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, but the old layers of the social system were also "confused" in the Russian structure. That is why the social structure of this period was distinguished by complexity and branching. It was attended by nobles, peasants, merchants, petty bourgeois, clergy, as well as the bourgeoisie and the proletariat.
Social strata of society
The nobles still enjoyed the support of the supreme power, held key posts, resolved government issues, and were leaders in public life. The autocracy, in turn, also relied on this layer of the population. Some of the nobles, adapting to new conditions, began to engage in industrial or financial activities.
The class of the bourgeoisie was formed from merchants, philistines, wealthy peasants. The layer grew quite quickly, differed in business acumen and ability to conduct business. Noticeable in resolving economic issues, the bourgeoisie did not participate at all in the state and public life of the country. All her political views came down to the thought: “The king-priest knows best.” And the king, in turn, provided her with the opportunity to exploit the working people.
The peasants remained in post-reform Russia the most numerous stratum of society. They are most difficult to get used to the new rules of existence after the reform of 1861. They had the most meager rights and the greatest restrictions in all spheres of life.
United in communities, they could not develop independently, and the community, like chains, restrained their growth. At a slow pace, capitalist relations nevertheless began to penetrate the countryside, stratifying society into fists and the poor.
The birth of the proletariat
The greatest historical achievement of post-reform Russia, in short, was the emergence of the proletariat. The class was formed from the poor peasantry, from the urban poor.
The position of the working class in Russia also did not repeat the European options. Nowhere were there such difficult working conditions as in our country. Living conditions were also the lowest, and there were no trade union organizations that could defend the interests of the worker.
The revolutionaries met with understanding among the working people and directed hatred towards the exploiting class. In post-reform Russia, dissatisfaction was accumulating with a rigid system that would splash out in popular unrest at the beginning of the 20th century.