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While all the other big powers were already well underway with industrialization by the early 20th century, Russia choose to stay as an agrarian society, why? Why would they not want to take advantage of what it had to offer at the time? Sure Stalin eventually got around to it but it was certainly late compared to the U.S, Great Britain, etc.
Outside of Japan I am not certain you can find a nation successfully "choosing" to industrialize. It is usually the product of having existing surplus wealth at most levels of society, educated people outside the aristocracy, and a need for machines to do jobs people would otherwise do as human labor becomes too expensive. Serfdom persisted until very late and even then by the end of the Russian Empire most people in the cities were at most a generation removed from the countryside. So you had a large mass of poor, uneducated peasants who were better suited to being farm and factory machinery than building and maintaining it.
While France, Great Britain, and the United States chose democracy in one form or another, the Russian Empire maintained its ancient autocratic government, headed by the Tsar. Russia also chose not to reform its economy, and enjoy the economic prosperity that industrialization had to offer. Instead of industrialization, Russia chose to continue its agricultural economy at the expense of the peasants who still remained 80 percent of the population and all but tied to the land, like the former serfs.
Huh? Where did you get that impression from? One of those propaganda history books custom tailored to present Russia as backward country with bears in the streets and always drunk population?
End of 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries Russian empire was as advanced as any other top tier industrialized country and much more advanced than then USA, which was a basically 3rd world country. Powerful industry. Powerful navy. Who built the largest bomber and tank in the world? Germans? Or Russians? Ever heard of Russo-Balt cars?
This thing had wheels 30 meters tall:
And you build something like this, or all of this, in "agrarian" country?
You know, Cherepanov brothers built the world 1st steam train?
And ad hoc, be it noted, that Russian Empire was winning WWI loud and clear, until it was brought down to its knees by 167 men sent by the financial elite, and fed by "British" and German gold.
And ad hoc, be it noted, that Russian Empire was winning WWI loud and clear, until it was brought down to its knees by 167 men sent by the financial elite, and fed by "British" and German gold.
I call B.S. Russia was consistently getting pushed back from 1915 onwards by the combined German/Austrian forces. The Russians put up stiff resistance in the Brusilov Offensive, but things deteriorated thereafter.
I do agree that Russia was ultimately brought down by internal strife, but lets not pretend that their military performed great. Russia had their moments of success in WW1, but more disappointments than successes.
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@Auburn & PeaceAndLove: Good posts!
I'd only add the follow-up to the question "while Europe and North America industrialized rapidly, why did Russia remained in the feudal age?".
It goes back to the 13th century, when the Mongols invaded Russia, and remained its de facto rulers until the Battle of Kulikove in 1380.
While Galileo and Copernicus were explaining the Universe, Guttenberg inventing the press and Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, the russian society, choked by the Mongols, remained fully entrenched in the stone age mentality, culture and the overall civilizational progress.
The Mongol rule haunts Russia till today. Rule of the fist is the only societal principle understood in Russia - a country that voluntarily elects a KGB thug as its leader. Three times!
@ukrkoz:
your posts are such a mix of misinterpretation of facts, stalinist-putinist progaganda and overall sheer nonsense, that it can only be explained by the following:
English translation by google (slightly imperfect - the automated translation software is still work in progress):
Quote:
Jadwiga Rogoża : At the turn of 2011 and 2012 the Russian authorities seriously interested in the internet , I realized that there was discontent manifests itself part of social groups [ then Moscow and other cities swept huge demonstrations against the rigged parliamentary elections and against the return of Vladimir Putin for president ] . In social networks on a massive scale appeared criticism of the authorities - not just its political projects , but also corruption , disastrous state of the roads , kindergartens and health care . From the point of view of the ruling is a dangerous phenomenon , because about 40 percent . Russian society daily use of the network. That's tens of millions of people.
Therefore, the Kremlin began to interact with the Internet. Monitor him special services, and Roskomnadzor decide on the issuing of licenses to operate in the network and leads so . black list of banned sites . Since December, prosecutors and Roskomnadzor can no court order to block pages that they deem extremist . Already used in the practice of this opportunity.
And how does the Kremlin propaganda in the Russian Internet?
- By means of various power structures army launches anonymous users who throw the contents Kremlin or trolling websites and blogs opponents of the authorities. From the beginning it was coordinated by the Presidential Administration and chief political strategist Vladislav Surkov , among others, through the agency Rosmołodioż and Youth " Our " . One of their leaders Kristina Potupczik personally coordinated the work of multitudes of online " barkers" who wrote indiscriminate comments on blogs activists anti-kremlin.
Today that is changing. Kremlin this massive , though primitive propaganda - the " Komsomol loyalism " - considered inefficient . Hired pseudo-bloggers getting ready instructions and messages that mechanically thrown into the Internet. As a result, the network flooded mass of identical comments posted at the same times on different pages . This these demonstrations ceased to yield results , and the costs of maintaining its been significant. Finally the Kremlin political strategist , responsible , inter alia, for Internet projects - Vyacheslav Volodin replaced Surkov and his men .
Now the Kremlin began to put more on allies who will do it subtly . Recruit them from popular bloggers or obtains people with pro-Kremlin views. It is difficult to measure the scale of the phenomenon , but there are thousands of people. An example is the popular blogger and photographer Ilya Varlamov , who writes under the nickname " zyalt ," which expresses the views of moderate opposition , but in fact a double game . Two years ago, a group of hackers Anonymous hacked into your account Kristina Potupczik and revealed her correspondence with people who had paid for doing the campaign for the Kremlin . Among them was also Varlamov .
The second area of activity of the authorities are attacks on popular bloggers opposition . Against the mos popular of them Rustemowi Adagamowowi , is writing under the nickname " drugoi ", initiated in 2012 a campaign of accusations of pedophilia . The whole " pay " internet threw at him. As a result , even though the allegations were not confirmed , first blogger turned off comments under their texts , and then for a long time retired from writing .
Huh? Where did you get that impression from? One of those propaganda history books custom tailored to present Russia as backward country with bears in the streets and always drunk population?
End of 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries Russian empire was as advanced as any other top tier industrialized country and much more advanced than then USA, which was a basically 3rd world country. Powerful industry. Powerful navy. Who built the largest bomber and tank in the world? Germans? Or Russians? Ever heard of Russo-Balt cars?
Powerful Navy? Really. The Russian Navy had its clock cleaned, and by a non-European power which was unheard of at the time, at the battle of Tsushima. The Russo-Japanese war clearly demonstrated that Russian navel power was severely wanting especially against a modern navy with British-influenced officers and tactics.
And ad hoc, be it noted, that Russian Empire was winning WWI loud and clear, until it was brought down to its knees by 167 men sent by the financial elite, and fed by "British" and German gold.
Russia was sending men to advance on German positions with no rifles. They were instructed to pick up rifles from comrades sure to be hit by enemy gun fire. If that is winning a war I hate to see what losing a war is.
While all the other big powers were already well underway with industrialization by the early 20th century, Russia choose to stay as an agrarian society, why? Why would they not want to take advantage of what it had to offer at the time? Sure Stalin eventually got around to it but it was certainly late compared to the U.S, Great Britain, etc.
It didn't stay as completely and entirely "agrarian society" of course - it did rapidly industrialize at the end of the 19th century, however the two reasons I can think of why Russia was lagging behind Western European countries/US in this respect, were;
reason #1 - Russia didn't accept the ideas of liberalism that became popular in Western Europe around the 17th century, during the Age of Enlightenment, preferring to remain stubbornly monarchist and conservative, which, in its turn hindered the development of a new, burgeoise formation in the country ( more advanced comparably with Feudalism, a step ahead that promotes rapid industrialization)
and reason #2 - Russian upper class ( at least part of it) believed in a unique, special way of Russia's development comparably to the West, and traditional peasant commune was a big part of it, that they were not in a hurry to dismantle or reform, ( ditto the serfdom that lasted up until 1864,) and this, again, was hindering the process of sending the free labor to the cities, which is again one of the important factors for rapid industrialization.
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