4. How to improve living standards of the peasants/workers
Consider:
Are any of these issues ever successfully resolved?
Do things improve or do they actually get worse?
WHY are some leaders more successful in solving these issues than others?
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Agriculture/Peasants
Were the peasants better off under Tsars or Communists?
How successful were leaders agricultural policies?
How far did leaders manage to modernise?
Key Events:
Emancipation of the Serfs: 1861
Famine (1891): 500,000 deaths
Stolypin reforms
NEP
War Communism
Famine (1921): 5 million deaths
Collectivisation (99% of land)
Forced Grain requisitioning (also in Ukraine)
Famine (1928)
Famine (1932-34): up to 8 million deaths
Virgin Land Schemes
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Industy/Workers
Were the workers better off under the Tsars or Communists?
How successful were leaders industrialisation policies
How far did leaders manage to modernise?
Key Events:
Trans-Siberian railways
Witte's Great Spurt
Miners strike at Lena Goldfields (200 killed by army)
Putilov works (February revolution)
NEP
5 Year Plans (Gosplan)
Banning of trade unions
Riots over living standards
7 year plans
Novocherkask riots (20 workers killed and ringleaders executed)
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Overall Judgement of the Economy
Each leader seemed to have a "big idea" to deal with Russia's economic problems (e.g. emancipation, NEP, 5 Year Plans)
Each leader benefitted from the groundwork of their predecessors; they built on previous achievements
The same issues (to modernise and catch up with industrial nations) plagued all leaders
Industrialisation seemed to be more successful when it was state led and there was a concerted effort made (e.g. Gosplan/Witte's Great Spurt)
Peasants had a raw deal throughout the period but suffered particularly when a leader focused on industrialisation as a priority (e.g. Alex III or Stalin)
There were food shortages at the start, middle and end of the period. NO ONE SOLVED THIS PROBLEM
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