LECTURE XLI

(Start)

Financial policy in the second half of the reign of Emperor Alexander III. - IA Vyshnegradskiy and his system. - Extreme development of protectionism in customs policy and in railway tariff legislation. - The results of this system.

Ivan Alekseevich Vyshnegradskiy

In the last lecture, I described the development of the reactionary policy that in the second half of the reign of the emperor Alexander III consistently spread to all branches of government activity and sharply made itself felt in all areas of national and public life.

The only relaxation of the reactionary course that we saw back in the mid-1980s, as I already told you, was felt in the Ministry of Finance, where until January 1, 1887, the department was headed, if not an unconditional liberal, then at least a humane , an honest and democratically inclined person - N. H. Bunge. But at that time he was persecuted to such an extent by all sorts of intrigues and insinuations in the court spheres and in the reactionary press that he, being already at an advanced age, finally decided to leave the post of Minister of Finance and from January 1, 1887 was dismissed. resigned and replaced by a new minister, I. A. Vyshnegradskiy. IA Vyshnegradskiy was a man, undoubtedly, partly prepared for this position, but of a completely different type than Bunge. He was also a learned professor, but not a theoretical economist, but a scientific technologist and practitioner, undoubtedly very talented, who showed his talents both in some inventions of a military-technical nature, and in very well-delivered academic courses that he, as a professor, taught students at the St. Petersburg Technological Institute and the Mikhailovskaya Artillery Academy. In particular, his involvement in the military spheres through the artillery academy gave him an important advantage for the Minister of Finance: he managed to get to know well the military economy and the military budget, which is such an important part of our overall state budget.

Thus, Vyshnegradskiy appeared in the post of Minister of Finance as a man, undoubtedly, partly prepared and knowledgeable - this cannot be denied to him. In addition, having early managed to make himself some fortune thanks to his technical inventions, he then participated very successfully in various stock speculations and stock exchange affairs, and this area, thus, was also well known to him. But, at the same time, it must be admitted that in his management of the Ministry of Finance, and especially in his financial and economic policy, Vyshnegradskii revealed a complete absence of any broad views and foresight; for him the most important and even the only, apparently, task was the visible improvement of Russian finances in the near future. In his financial policy, he set himself the same goal that Reitern had once set for himself - namely, the goal of restoring the exchange rate of the credit ruble, that is, the goal that, to a large extent, as you know, all finance ministers in Russia of the XIX century. But not all of them pursued her with the same measures and not all considered her their only task.

Be that as it may, the course of the Ministry of Finance with the replacement of Bunge by Vyshnegradskiy changed quite sharply. Under Vyshnegradsky, the main and immediate task of the ministry became the accumulation of large cash reserves in the cash offices of the state treasury and wide participation with the help of these reserves in foreign exchange operations in order to put pressure on the foreign money market and in this way raise our exchange rate. At the same time, in customs policy, the Russian government began to move with renewed energy along the path of protectionism, which reached its apogee under Vyshnegradskiy. In 1891, a new customs tariff was issued, in which this system was taken to an extreme. At the same time, considering the strengthening of the Russian manufacturing industry to be a very important matter for the success of its measures, the Ministry of Finance begins to listen with extreme attention to all complaints and wishes of representatives of the large factory legislation that was developed in the interests of the workers under the Bunge. Under Vyshnegradsky, the rights of factory inspectors established under Bunge are extremely diminished not so much by new legislative norms as by means of circular explanations, which very soon are reflected in the composition of the factory inspection, because under these conditions the most dedicated and independent representatives of this inspection, seeing the complete impossibility of acting in accordance with their conscience and even in accordance with the exact meaning of the law, they resign. Thus, the institution of factory inspection is greatly changed for the worse. Russian large-scale industry, thanks to a number of protective measures - and in particular the caring attitude of the Ministry of Finance to the issue of the direction of railway lines that is beneficial for the domestic manufacturing industry and such railway tariffs that would strictly correspond to the interests of large industry, especially the central Moscow region, is becoming time in especially favorable conditions. We can say that these favorable conditions are created artificially for it; it becomes the favorite brainchild of the Ministry of Finance, often contrary to the interests of other strata of the population, and especially contrary to the interests of the whole of agriculture, the state of which was particularly unfavorably reflected in the protective customs tariff of 1891, which greatly increased the cost of such important items in agricultural life as, for example, iron and Agreecultural machines. Agreecultural equipment.

Meanwhile, at this time, we do not see not only an improvement in the situation of the masses, despite all the palliative measures taken under the Bunge, but, on the contrary, we observe the continuing ruin of the peasantry, which I described to you in one of my previous lectures. In the end, however, this undermines the conditions for the domestic sale of manufactured products that satisfy the needs of the broad masses, for example, the conditions for the sale of products of the paper industry. The depleted domestic market soon becomes cramped for her. To some extent, compensation is for her the foreign market in the east, acquired by the conquests in Central Asia, but soon it turns out that this is not enough, and so we see that by the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, little by little, a new idea is being created - to promote the sale of our products. industry as far east as possible. In this regard, the idea of ​​building the Siberian railway is an idea that is developing very widely; the question of access to the Eastern Sea, the acquisition of an ice-free port in the Far East, and in the end all this policy, already before our eyes, leads to the emergence and development of those enterprises in the Far East, which are already in the Ministry of S. Yu. Witte in the very beginning of the XX century. led to the Japanese war and the collapse that followed.

To do away with financial and economic relations during the period under review, I will say two more words about the expansion of our railway network, which has played an extremely important role here. By the end of the reign of Alexander II, the railway network did not exceed 22.5 thousand versts, and during the thirteen-year period of the reign of Alexander III it had already developed up to 36,662 versts, of which 34,600 were broad-gauge. In the matter of building railways, Reitern's old policy was supported in the sense that these railways were still guided in such a way as, on the one hand, to facilitate the supply of raw materials to the ports and thus, precisely by increasing exports, create a favorable moment for our balance of trade and for improving monetary exchange rate and on the other hand, as I mentioned, the ministry tried to create the most favorable transportation conditions for the products of the factory industry of the central provinces by means of the establishment of differential railway tariffs. For this, even a special institution was created within the Ministry of Finance - the Tariff Department, headed by S. Yu. Witte, then a young man who already had to play an outstanding role before our eyes, first as Minister of Finance, and then on a wider arena, in resolving the general political problems of our time.

Another feature of the new railway policy, a feature opposite to that of Reitern, was the construction of roads by the treasury and the redemption of old private railway lines to the treasury. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, the length of state railways increased by 22 thousand versts, while the length of private roads, despite the construction of new private lines, due to the redemption of old lines to the treasury decreased by 7600 versts.

These are the general features of financial policy, which undoubtedly prepared and deepened a new aggravation of Russian socio-economic conditions at the beginning of the 20th century. These conditions developed hand in hand with the crisis that the Russian population had to endure after the harvest failure of 1891-1892, which caused extreme poverty and even famine in as many as twenty, mostly black earth, provinces. This crisis was, so to speak, the final touch in the general picture of Russia, which we see at the end of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, and was at the same time a powerful factor in those changes in subsequent years, which will perhaps someday be the subject of the next parts of my course on the final period of the history of Russia in the 19th century.

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Economic policy of Alexander III was aimed at solving two major tasks: accelerating the economic development of the country and supporting and strengthening the positions of the nobility.

In solving the first problem, the head of the Ministry of Finance N. Kh. Bunge was guided by the expansion of the domestic market, the simultaneous rise of agriculture and industry, and the strengthening of the position of the middle strata of the population. At the same time, he advocated the development of tax legislation favorable to the development of industry 'and agriculture, and against government funding of industry.

May 9, 1881 a law was adopted to reduce the size of redemption payments and write off arrears on them for previous years. A December 12, 1881 a decree was promulgated on the transfer of all temporarily liable peasants to a compulsory ransom by January 1, 1883. 1886 g. all state peasants were transferred to redemption payments. The losses incurred by the treasury were intended to be covered by an increase in the land tax by 1.5 times, the tax on urban real estate, as well as the rates of excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugar.

The gradual abolition of the poll tax (1882-1886) was accompanied by the development of other forms of taxation: income from cash deposits increased, excise taxes increased, commercial and industrial taxation was transformed, and customs duties were almost doubled.

The system of state guarantees of revenues of private railways was burdensome for the country's budget. Under N. Kh. Bunge, control over the railway economy was introduced and the state began to buy out private railways and finance the construction of state-owned railways.

In 1883, the creation of joint-stock private banks was resumed. In 1885, the Noble Land Bank was created, designed to support landowners' land tenure (N. Kh. Bunge opposed its creation).

In January 1887 N. H. Bunge resigned under pressure from the conservatives, who accused him of inability to overcome the budget deficit. His successor, I.A. He retained the general orientation of the economic and financial policies of his predecessor, but made the main emphasis on the accumulation of funds and the appreciation of the ruble through financial and exchange transactions.

Vyshnegradskiy stepped up protectionism in customs policy. In general, for the years 1880-1890. the increase in import duties brought about a 50% increase in revenue. In 1891, the following was carried out: a general revision of the customs tariff with the aim of centralizing it and eliminating local tariffs. Thanks to the protectionist customs policy, the import of foreign capital into Russia increased (in 1880-1890 from 98 million rubles to 2-15 million).

Taxes were increased again (land taxes, from city property), in 1887 an excise tax on kerosene and matches was introduced, and the size of the drinking excise tax was raised.

As a result of a successful exchange operation in 1888-1890. the conversion of Russia's foreign loans from 5% to 4% was carried out.

In the late 80s. finally managed to overcome the state budget deficit. By 1893, treasury revenues' increased by 60% compared with 1880, and expenses - by 36%. In monetary terms, income exceeded expenses in 1893 by almost 100 million rubles. ‘

Alexander III

Alexander the Third (1845-1894) - the penultimate Russian emperor. He ruled Russia since 1881. He was the second son of Alexander II and was not going to change his father on the throne, But in 1865 his elder brother Nikolai died and he became the first contender for the throne.

Economic policy of Alexander III

During the reign of Alexander III, Russia did not wage wars, for which the tsar received the nickname "peacemaker"

Brief biography of Alexander III

• 1845, February 26 (Old Style) - Born
• 1865, April 12 - after a serious illness, Alexander's elder brother Nikolai died and Alexander became a contender for the throne Russian Empire
• 1866, June 17 - the engagement of Alexander and the Danish princess Maria Sophia Frederica Dagmar (1847-1928)
• 1866, October 28 - the marriage of Alexander and Maria Sophia Frederica, who became Alexandra Fedorovna
• 1869, March - during the audience, Alexander spoke rudely with the head of the cartridge factory, Captain Karl Gunnius, swearing at him. Gunnius sent the Tsarevich a letter in which he demanded that he apologize, threatening to shoot himself if the apology did not follow. The Tsarevich did not apologize, and the captain kept his word. Alexander II, angry with his son, ordered him to follow the coffin of Gunnius at his funeral

K.I. Gunius, the son of a pastor from the Livonian province, a graduate of the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, a military officer who received the Order of St. Stanislav 3rd degree with swords and a bow for his distinction in operations against the mountaineers in the Caucasus and the silver medal "For the Conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan", in 1861 year he was assigned to the Artillery Committee's Weapons Commission, where his specialization was shooting systems. The armament of the Russian army with rifles of the Berdan system (the famous Berdanks) is associated with the name of Gunnius.

• 1881, March 1 - Alexander II was killed by terrorists
• 1881, March 3 - Alexander III ascended the throne
• 1883, May 15 - coronation in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin

• 1881, March 30 - Pobedonostsev's report with an appeal to the new emperor "not to give in to the" voice of flattery and dreaminess "and not to abolish the death penalty for the terrorists who killed Alexander II, to which the new tsar replied:" Rest assured, they will not dare to come to me with such proposals no one, and that all six will be hanged, for this I guarantee "
• 1868, May 6 - son Nicholas was born, the future Emperor Nicholas II, killed in 1918
• 1869, May 26 - son Alexander was born, died April 20, 1870
• 1871, April 27 - son George was born, died June 28, 1899
• 1875, March 25 - daughter Ksenia was born
• 1878, November 22 - son Mikhail was born
• 1882, June 1 - daughter Olga was born
• 1888, October 17 - the Tsar's train crashed at the Borki station, 50 kilometers from Kharkov. The royal family, which was in the dining car, remained intact, but the roof of the car collapsed; Alexander was said to hold her on his shoulders until help arrived.
  1894, October 20 - Alexander III died as a result of an injury sustained in a train crash

Reforms and counterreforms of Alexander III

• 1881, April 29 - "Manifesto on the inviolability of autocracy", which announced the departure from the liberal policy of the past reign. The manifesto called on "all loyal subjects to serve with faith and truth to eradicate the vile sedition that dishonor the Russian land, to the confirmation of faith and morality, to the good upbringing of children, to the extermination of untruth and embezzlement, to the establishment of order and truth in the operation of all institutions"
• 1881, May 6 - "circular to the heads of the provinces." signed by Count Ignatiev: “The great and broadly conceived transformations of the past Reign did not bring all the benefits that the Tsar-Liberator had the right to expect from them. The Manifesto of April 29 indicates to us that the Supreme Power has measured the enormity of the evil from which our Fatherland suffers, and decided to begin to eradicate it "
• 1881, August 14 - Law "Regulations on measures to maintain public order and public peace" - an emergency measure to combat the revolutionary movement
• 1881, December 28 - decrees on the reduction of redemption payments for peasants and on the obligatory redemption of land by former serfs
• 1882, May 3 - the provision of the Committee of Ministers "On the procedure for enforcing the rules on Jews", tightening restrictive laws regarding Jews
• 1882, May 18 - Regulation on the Peasant Bank, intended for issuing loans to peasants for the redemption of land
• 1882, June 1 - Law prohibiting the work of children under 12 years of age, introducing an 8-hour working day for children from 12 to 15 years old, forbidding children to work at night, on Sundays and in hazardous industries
• 1882, August 27 - "Provisional Regulations on the Press" with new censorship restrictions
• 1883, April 26 - the law on noble escheat property, according to which property after hereditary noblemen becomes the property of a noble society
• 1883, May 3 - the law on the Old Believers, which provided them with a relatively legal status
• 1884, April - the release of the liberal journal "Otechestvennye zapiski"
• 1884, June 12 - Law stricterly regulating the appointment of jurors
• 1884, June 13 - "Rules on parish schools", according to which two- and four-year schools were created in the villages
• 1884, August 23 - New University Charter, which raised tuition fees, introduced a mandatory form and abolished the autonomy of universities
• 1885, April 21 - the Noble Bank was created, which issued loans to nobles on preferential terms
• 1885, May 20 - Law that significantly expanded the powers of the Minister of Justice in overseeing the organization of the consideration of cases in courts and control of sentences and decisions
• 1885, October 30 - Alexander III reacted to Pobedonostsev's report, which suggested a return to the pre-reform judicial system: "" Thank you very much for the note on the reform of the judicial system. "

The judicial statutes of 1864, nevertheless, were not radically reformed because this was facilitated by the position of broad strata of society, mainly the bourgeois.

• 1886, March 18 - a law that made it difficult for peasant family divisions, since this required obtaining the consent of the head of the family and 2/3 of the village gathering
• 1887, January 1 - from that day the poll tax was canceled - the tax that the population paid to maintain the army
• 1887, April 28 - The law "On changing the rules for compiling lists of jurors" established an educational qualification for jurors - the ability to read in Russian, and also increased the property qualification
• 1887, June 5 - Circular "On the reduction of gymnastic education", which prohibited the admission to the gymnasium of "children of coachmen, lackeys, cooks, laundresses, small shopkeepers and the like. and higher education ”.

  He is popularly nicknamed "The Circular of Cook's Children"

• 1887, August 16 - it was decided that the order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree (informing the nobility) can be requested by persons of non-noble origin only after serving in class ranks for at least 20 years
• 1889, July 12 - "Regulations on zemstvo district chiefs", which introduced the position of an appointed zemstvo chief, who had administrative and judicial functions, abolished the magistrate's court in villages and villages, which only exacerbated hostile relations between peasants and nobles, who were appointed by zemstvo chiefs
• 1889, July 7 - Changes to the statute of criminal proceedings limiting the jurisdiction of the jury
• 1890, June 12 - New "Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions", which reduced the rights of zemstvo assemblies and legalized elections by estates with a decrease in the number of vowel peasants in favor of the nobles
• 1891, February 25 - Decree on the beginning of the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway
• 1891, August 21 - an agreement between Russia and France on consultations on all political issues. Start
• 1892, June 11 - a new City Regulation with changes in the electoral system: the electoral qualification was increased, which cut off small and medium-sized owners from participation in elections, the rights and independence of city government bodies were limited
• 1892, July 9 - the awarding of ranks to persons of the merchant class, as well as persons who do not enjoy the rights of the civil service, for unofficial distinctions, was terminated.
• 1893, July 8 - Law on land redistribution
• 1893, December 14 - The law on measures to prevent the alienation of peasant allotment lands. Both laws limited the community's rights to redistribute land and assigned allotments to peasants for at least 12 years.
• 1893, July 20 - a wine monopoly was introduced, giving the state the exclusive right to produce alcoholic beverages, which significantly increased the flow of money to the budget
• 1893, May 14 - Regulation on the state apartment tax

Reasons for the counter-reforms of Alexander III

They are simple. Alexander II freed the peasants from serfdom, carried out many important liberal reforms, but did not please everyone, both right and left. “Oh, so - his son“ said ”to his subjects - did you not like the previous reign? It will be the other way around in my presence. "

The result of the reforms and counterreforms of Alexander III

- Significant decline in revolutionary and terrorist activity
- Restoring the authority of the Orthodox Church
- Industrial growth
- State revenue growth
- Revolutionary, liberal ideas were not defeated, but driven inside to actively manifest themselves under the son of Alexander III, Nicholas II

* - the military-political bloc of Russia, Great Britain and France, created as a counterweight to the "Triple Alliance" of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy

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The desire of Alexander III to consolidate the greatness of the Russian Empire was unthinkable without the creation of a powerful economy. Under him, the government made vigorous efforts to develop domestic industry and capitalist principles in the organization of production. In May 1881. the post of finance minister was taken by a prominent scientist - economist N.Kh. Bunge. He was a supporter of the acceleration of economic development, he was against direct financing of industry by the state. Bunge lowered redemption payments for peasants and began to gradually abolish the poll tax. He introduced excise taxes (excise - an indirect tax on consumer goods) on vodka, tobacco, sugar, oil; increased customs duties on goods imported from abroad.

In 1887 I.A. Vyshnegradsky is a financier and inventor. The Ministry of Finance has accumulated large funds to participate in transactions on foreign exchanges.

Economic policy during the reign of Alexander III

He was for the active participation of the state in economic activities and, especially, in the creation of favorable conditions for private entrepreneurship. Vyshnegradsky was in favor of attracting foreign capital to Russia, for the introduction of a wine monopoly.

In 1892 S.Yu. Witte. He developed economic program, in which he continued the work of his predecessors. This program included:

- an increase in indirect taxes, the introduction of state. monopoly on vodka;

- further increase in customs duties;

- monetary reform in order to strengthen the ruble, the introduction of its free exchange for gold;

- wide attraction of foreign capital to the country.

By 1887. there were - 2 metallurgical plants, by the 90s. there were 17 of them. the monetary reform strengthened the ruble's position, which made it possible to increase the flow of money from abroad. Since the 90s. experienced rapid growth oil industry in the Caucasus. All enterprises created in the 90s. were enterprises of a new formation. They used advanced technology, introduced the latest forms of large-scale production.

Agriculture. The impoverishment of the peasants forced the landlords to switch to using their own implements and hiring free workers. The landowners of the Baltic, western, south-western parts of the country, as well as the Petersburg, Moscow, Yaroslavl and Saratov provinces, organized the cultivation of their lands in a new way. In the 80s. the specialization of agriculture in certain regions has noticeably increased. The Polish and Baltic provinces, as well as the Pskov and Petersburg provinces, switched to the cultivation of industrial crops and the production of milk. The center of the country's grain economy: the steppe regions of Ukraine, the Lower Volga region. In Ryazan, Oryol, Tula and Nizhny Novgorod provinces, animal husbandry has developed. The sown area at this time increased by 25%, by 30% - the total harvest of grain.

The active economic policy of the government of Alexander III made it possible to significantly strengthen the country's finances, gave a new impetus to the growth of industry. At the same time, the development of agriculture was still hampered by survivals of serfdom and technical backwardness.

Control questions and tasks:

1. Describe the socio-economic development of Russia in the first third of the XIX century.

2. List the reasons economic crisis during this period.

3. What were the specific features of the industrial revolution in Russia in the first half of the 19th century?

4. How did the liberal reforms of Alexander II contribute to the socio-economic development of Russia?

5. What is the essence and significance of the counter-reforms of Alexander III?

The strength of the government rests on the ignorance of the people, and it knows this and therefore will always fight against enlightenment.

Lev Tolstoy

Alexander III set the task of making Russia the largest world power. It is impossible to achieve this goal without economic development. Therefore, many steps were taken, but the economic policy of Alexander III, as well as the socio-economic policy of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in general, did not have great success. No matter how many people tell us today that the Russian Empire was the most beautiful country in the world, this is far from the case.

Major changes in the country

In any textbook on the history of Russia, we will see that the first undertaking of Alexander III in terms of economic transformations in the country is the invitation of scientists-economists. The most authoritative of them are: Witte, Bunge and Vyshnegradskiy. We have already examined the peculiarity of Witte's reforms. The policy of Bunge and Vyshnegradskiy was based on the massive attraction of foreign capital. Modern economists will tell you that this is great, but imagine: you have a factory, you have been sent equipment for it, you pay rent for this equipment, but at any moment it can be taken away from you. Therefore, the dominance of foreign capital is evil for any country.

The main changes in the country's economy are characterized by an attempt to combine capitalism, but with the preservation of the old estate system. The problem is that things are incompatible, and as a result, contradictions in society only began to increase. The main changes in the development of the economy under Alexander 3 are as follows:

• Combining wage and serf labor. No one canceled corvee and quitrent, but peasants could be hired in factories for a salary.
• Completion of the industrial revolution. Its results were used by a few.
• Formation of a single Russian market.
• Land use crisis.
• Capitalism did not rise from below, but was imposed by the state.

The result is an ugly form of capitalism that could not lead to anything good. It is noteworthy that both attempts to build capitalism in Russia developed in ugly forms. We are talking about the first attempt today, and we saw the second attempt in the 90s, after the collapse of the USSR.

At the end of the 19th century, major changes in the economy affected agriculture and industry. We will consider them further.

The situation in the village

Russia during the reign of Alexander III continues to be an agrarian country. Its population reaches 126 million, of which 103 million live in the European part of the country. The population structure is as follows:

• Peasants - 70%
• Bourgeois ( urban population) - 11%
• Foreigners (non-Russians) - 7%
• Cossacks - 3%
• Nobles - 1.5%
• Merchants - 0.5%

There are attempts to create an agrarian-industrial system in the country. To a large extent, for these purposes, the division and specialization of the economy takes place.

In this period Russia takes 1st place in the world in grain sales... This is probably the most famous fact about the Russian economy of that era, which is actively speculated today by all and sundry. On the one hand, it is very good that the country earned money, but on the other hand, this was due to the damage to its own population. In particular, with these volumes of grain exports, a terrible famine occurred in Russia in 1891-1892.

The famine of 1891-1892

During the reign of Alexander III in Russia, there was the first mass famine in the history of the country. Before that, there were also hunger years, but hunger arose only in other regions, but now it was about hunger within the country. The processes that were taking place in the countryside at that time perfectly reflect the entire economic policy of Alexander 3. Why was such a massive famine possible? There are only 2 reasons:

1. Opportunities for the extensive development of agriculture have ended. All the lands were developed and there was nowhere to expand new lands for agriculture. After the end of the extensive path of development, the intensive path must begin. This did not happen at the end of the 19th century. There were very few landowners who were ready to develop the economy. The reasons for this will be discussed below.
2. The development of factories actually killed the village industry (artels). Previously, villagers actively went fishing in the city. This is what is called a part-time job today. They would come to town, do simple jobs, receive money, and return to the village. Even if there was a poor harvest in the village, the peasant had money to feed himself. The factories destroyed it.

As a result, there were no new lands, and economic phenomena made it impossible for the peasants to earn additional earnings. To this we can add that the Russian Empire had valid contracts for the supply of grain, and they had to be fulfilled. As a result - the first mass famine in Russian history.

Land and landlords

During the reign of Alexander III, the tendency for the reduction of landlord lands continues. The amount of land owned by landowners has decreased by 27%. Landowners' estates were reduced to an average value of 17 hectares. The landlords rented half of the land to the peasants.

The landowners practically did not develop agriculture. Only a few have reorganized to the modern manner of economic management and accepted the rules of capitalism. Most of the landowners “devoured the future” by mortgaging their property. Before the abolition of serfdom in 1861, they mortgaged the peasants, and then began to mortgage estates. Indicative figures: in 1870 - 2.2% of the estates were in mortgage, and in 1895 - 40%. Other figures are also eloquent: in 1886, 166 landowners' estates were sold for debts, and in 1893 - 2400. No other figures will emphasize how unhealthy Russian society was at the end of the 19th century. The development of the economy and the economic policy of Emperor Alexander III did not resolve this issue, but exacerbated it. After all, pay attention to how this emperor is perceived today - successes in foreign policy. As a rule, no one says anything about the internal one. And in vain ... All this resulted in 1905, and then in 1917.

Industry development

The peculiarities of the economic policy of Alexander III in the field of industry was that it was not the worker who went to the factory, but the factory went to the worker. Industry moved to the countryside. At the same time, by the end of the 70s, the process of forming factory production was actually completed.

During the reign of Alexander III, the formation of industrial areas in Russia took place. Two more districts were added to the already existing industrial regions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltic States and Ukraine: Donbass and the Caucasus.

Industry under Alexander 3 developed in large strides, especially difficult. This was facilitated by the completion of the industrial revolution, as well as a real need and need. The fact is that over the years from 1820 to 1850, Russia lagged behind the leading world powers in terms of industrial development. It was necessary to catch up. And this was done. It is enough to cite figures on the amount of pig iron smelting to prove it.

All industrial centers developed in the European part of Russia. The reason is that approximately 85% of the population lived west of the Urals. Moreover, under Alexander 3, they were built mainly in 2 regions: Donbass and the Caucasus (primarily Baku oil). And the industry was built on foreign capital!

Outcomes

The economic policy of Alexander III led to the following results:

• Continued increase in urban population
• The end of the industrial revolution
• Many unresolved issues remain in the village, which promises a crisis
• Russia remains an agrarian country, and the makings of an agrarian-industrial society remain only on paper
• Capitalism in the country was badly deformed

The tragedy of the Russian people lies in the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century, with a colossal economic boom, foreign special services managed to destroy the country in the blink of an eye - in just a week. It is worth recognizing that the processes of decay, pardon the expression, “the masses of the people” (both the elite and the common people) went on for quite a long time - about 20, or even more, years. The great autocrat Alexander III died, Father John of Kronstadt died (whose portrait hung in every house in Russia), Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was killed on the 11th attempt, British agent Oswald Raynor fired the last bullet in the head of Grigory Rasputin - and it did not become great a country whose name has remained only in our souls, hearts and in the name.

For all the greatness and prosperity, our then elite played too much with their foreign friends, forgetting that each country should take into account only its own personal, purely mercantile interest in international politics. So it turned out that after Napoleon's defeat in the Patriotic War of 1812, representatives of British (and under her guidance - and French) intelligence poured into us under the guise of secret societies, who began to "spud" immature young minds, replacing in their minds the Russian age-old "For Faith! For the Tsar! For the Fatherland! " to “Freedom! Equality! Brotherhood!". But we already know today that neither the one nor the other, nor the third did not smell like the results of political insinuations. Following in the footsteps of the "great French", foreign rulers of thought with the hands of the Russian people shed so much blood that these memories are still not easy for us.

One of the books that fell into my hands is precisely devoted to the role of secret societies in revolutionary movements and coups in Russia - from Peter I to the death of the Russian Empire. It belongs to the pen of Vasily Fedorovich Ivanov and is called "Russian Intelligentsia and Freemasonry." I bring to your attention a quote from this book, which clearly proves why the people loved Alexander III so much - not only for his will, but also for his phenomenal economic performance.

So, to quote the above book on pp. 20-22:
“From 1881 to 1917, Russia was victoriously moving forward in its economic and cultural development, as evidenced by the well-known figures.

Shocked by the Crimean campaign of 1853-1856, Russian finances were in a very difficult situation. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, which required enormous extraordinary expenses, upset our finances even more. Large budget deficits therefore they have become a constant annual occurrence. Credit fell more and more. It got to the point that five percent funds in 1881 were valued only from 89 to 93 per 100 of their nominal value, and 5 percent bonds of urban credit societies and mortgage sheets of land banks were quoted only 80 - 85 per 100.

By means of reasonable cost savings, the government of Emperor Alexander III achieved the restoration of fiscal equilibrium, and then there were already large annual surpluses of revenues over expenditures. Direction of the received savings to economic enterprises, which contributed to the rise of economic activity, to the development of the railway network and the arrangement of ports led to the development of industry and streamlined both domestic and international exchange of goods, which opened up new sources of increasing government revenues.

Let us compare, for example, at least the data for 1881 and 1894 on the capital of joint-stock banks of commercial credit. These data are in thousands of rubles:

It turns out, therefore, that the capital owned by banks in just thirteen years increased by 59%, and the balance of their operations rose from 404,405,000 rubles by 1881 to 800,947,000 rubles by 1894, i.e. increased by 98%, or almost doubled.

Institutional success turned out to be no less successful. mortgage loan... By January 1, 1881, they had put into circulation mortgages for 904,743,000 rubles, and by July 1, 1894 - by 1,708,805,975 rubles, and the rate of these interest-bearing securities increased by more than 10%.

Taken separately, the accounting and loan operation of the State Bank, which reached 211,500,000 rubles by March 1, 1887, increased by October 1 of this year to 292,300,000 rubles, an increase of 38%.

The construction of railways in Russia, which had been suspended at the end of the seventies, with the accession of Alexander III, resumed and went on quickly and successfully. But the most important thing in this regard was the establishment of the government's influence in the field of the railway economy, both by expanding the state operation of railways, and, in particular, by subordinating the activities of private companies to government supervision. The length of the railways open to traffic (in versts) was:

	By January 1, 1881	By 1 Sept. 1894 g.
Kazenny	164.6	18.776
Private	21.064,8	14.389
Total:	21.229,4	33.165

Customs taxation of foreign goods, which in 1880 amounted to 10.5 metal, kopecks. from one ruble of value, increased in 1893 to 20.25 metal, kopecks, or almost doubled. The beneficial effect on the turnover of Russia's foreign trade was not slow to lead to important results from the state perspective: our annual large surcharges to foreigners were replaced by even more significant receipts from them, as evidenced by the following data (in thousands of rubles):

The reduction in the import of foreign goods to Russia was naturally accompanied by the development of national production. The annual production of factories and plants under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance was calculated in 1879 at 829,100,000 rubles with 627,000 workers. In 1890 the cost of production increased to 1,263,964,000 rubles with 852,726 workers. Thus, over the course of eleven years, the cost of factory production increased by 52.5%, or more than one and a half times.

Particularly brilliant, in some industries, directly striking successes have been achieved by the mining industry, as can be seen from the following information on the production of the main products (in thousands of poods):

Emperor Alexander III At the same time, he tirelessly cared about the welfare of the working people. The law of July 1, 1882 greatly facilitated the employment of minors in factory production: on June 3, 1885, night work of women and adolescents in factories of fibrous substances was prohibited. In 1886, a regulation on hiring for rural work and a decree on the hiring of workers in factories and plants were issued, then amended and expanded. In 1885, the regulation on the cash offices of mining partnerships, approved in 1881, was changed by the establishment of a shorter term of service for miners' pensions.

Despite the extremely difficult state of finances at that time, the law of December 28, 1881 significantly reduced the redemption payments, and the law of May 28, 1885 stopped the collection of the poll tax.

All these concerns of the late autocrat were crowned with brilliant success. Not only were the difficulties inherited from the previous time removed, but the state economy during the reign of Alexander III achieved a high degree of success, as evidenced, among other things, by the following data on the execution of the state budget (in rubles):

	In 1880	In 1893 g.
Income	651.016.683	1.045.685.472
Expenses	695.549.392	946.955.017
Total:	— 44.532.709	+98.730.455

Let government spending increased in 1893 against 1880 by 36.2%, but incomes at the same time increased by 60.6%, and as a result of the execution of the list, instead of the deficit of 44,532,709 rubles that was in 1880, now there is an excess of incomes over expenses at 98,730,455 rubles. The unusually rapid increase in government revenues did not diminish, but increased the accumulation of savings by the people.

The amount of deposits in savings banks, which was determined in 1881 at 9,995,225 rubles, increased by August 1, 1894 to 329,064,748 rubles. In some thirteen and a half years, national savings from 10 million reached 330, i.e. increased 33 times.

V reign of Emperor Nicholas II Russia has achieved even greater successes economically and culturally.

The anarchist wave of the "liberation movement" of 1905 that had arisen was swept away by the firm hand of the great Russian man PA Stolypin and the efforts of Russian patriots who united at the throne in the name of saving their native land. Historical words of P. A. Stolypin: “You will not intimidate. You need great upheavals, and we need a great Russia "- spread all over the world and aroused enthusiasm among the Russian people."

The economic situation of the empire left much to be desired. The Russo-Turkish War followed by a poor harvest in 1880 greatly upset financial system the state. For these and other reasons, the top priority in the field of economics was to eliminate the chronic shortage of money. Finance Minister Alexandra 3 N.Kh. Bunge tried to solve the indicated problem in a comprehensive way by raising industry and agriculture. He saw no need to adopt prohibitive tariffs to isolate Russian industry from competition. In principle, Bunge's actions were correct, but they were calculated for the long term and could not have a short-term effect. Former associates of Bunge, Katkov and others, called his policy anti-national and persecuted him on the pages of the press.

In an atmosphere of backbiting, Bunge held the post of finance minister until 1886. In 1887, Alexander III appointed his Minister of Finance to the post of Chairman of the Committee of Ministers, which caused great indignation and indignation of the "party of the new order". Alexander 3 did not care much about the opinion of the ultranationalists; he respected Bunge for his knowledge and experience and fully trusted him.

The choice of the tsar fell on I.A. Vyshnegradskiy. Vyshnegradskii was known as an outstanding scientist in the field of mechanics. He played an important role in creating the scientific foundations for the design of machines. Created the Russian scientific school of mechanical engineers. Introduced teaching activities. Author of the manual "Elementary Mechanics", which for many years was considered the best in Russia in this field. One of the founders of the theory of automatic regulation. In his work "On Direct Acting Regulators") he presented a method for calculating regulators of this type. He formulated the condition for the stability of the regulation system (Vyshnegradsky criterion) and so on. But Ivan Alekseevich was not a financier. Appointing him to the post of Minister of Finance, Alexander 3 proceeded from the postulate - in money, all people are specialists. In addition, the learned mechanic had an entrepreneurial streak, which allowed him to amass a million dollar fortune.

Even before the appointment of a new candidate for the most important post of the empire, the tsar introduced Vyshnegradsky to the State Council. Professor Vyshnegradskiy, like Professor Bunge, collaborated with Katkov's publications, he published articles on financial issues in Moskovskiye Vedomosti. Taking advantage of the patronage of the influential prince Vladimir Meshchersky (close to Alexander III), as well as the powerful support of Katkov, who in 1885-1887 launched an active campaign for the resignation of the "foreign minister" Nikolai Bunge, from January 1, 1887 Vyshnegradsky was appointed manager for the post of minister Finance, after about a year and the Minister of Finance. Minister of Internal Affairs D.A. Tolstoy was against the appointment of Vyshnegradsky as head of finance, since his agents dug up dirt on the scientist. He has been seen engaging in questionable business deals. However, the defamatory information about Vyshnegradskiy did not stop Alexander III from appointing him to a government post. It must be understood that the tsar knew compromising evidence on all statesmen of his government. And in this series, Vyshnegradskiy did not particularly stand out.

Unlike his predecessor, Vyshnegradskiy solved the problem of the country's "financial recovery" in the financial sphere - by accumulating money supply and the appreciation of the ruble. The means for this was not the rise of productive forces, but speculative exchange operations. That is, in this case, Vyshnegradskiy showed himself to be a player on the stock exchange. Although by the end of the reign of Alexander III, expenses had increased - in comparison with 1880 by 36%, - incomes during the same time increased by 60%. An appropriate economic base for this growth has not been created. The excess of revenues over expenditures was achieved through widespread cuts in government spending and the introduction of a series of new taxes. Thus, it was possible to achieve an excess of income over expenses by 98,790,455 rubles. Money spilled like a golden rain on the nobility and cash income the emerging bourgeoisie did not find application in the country and accumulated in savings banks. So, since 1881, the sum of deposits from 9,995,225 increased to 329,064,748 rubles in 1894.

Despite a deficit-free budget, the situation of the people remained difficult, and plutocracy flourished. The relatively high rates of industrial and railway construction were achieved due to the highest tension of productive forces, the impoverishment of the countryside and the outflow of the population from it to the city. Under Vyshnegradskoye, the export of Russian grain more than doubled. At the same time, the yield and production of cereals in the concoction did not significantly increase. The expansion of the railway network made it possible to export grain from the inland regions of Russia, which had not been done before. It is to him, the Minister of Vyshnegradsky, that historiography attributes the words: "Malnourished, but we will take out"... However, Vyshegradsky himself did little to solve the agrarian question, which contributed to the aggravation of the situation in the countryside and the famine of 1891-92, which as a result undermined many of Vyshnegradsky's undertakings and the economy of Russia as a whole. by using finance as the main lever for raising it - without appropriate measures in the field of industry and agriculture.

The financial condition of the country in the medium and long term depended on the state of agriculture and industry - these are the main foundations of the economy. The emerging gap between the monopolized industry and the village entangled in the remnants of feudalism developed into an abyss.

Whether Alexander III wanted it or not, a creeping counter-revolution was carried out during his reign. Being almost permanently in Gatchina, he allowed people who were not highly trustworthy to govern both capitals. Under the loud demands of the "Russian national press", all the innovations of Alexander II, which were declared by the same press "harmful to the Russian people", were gradually curtailed. The bulk of the people, however, was not going to part and give over to the reactionary caste the innovations they had gained in the social life of the country. Over the two post-reform decades, new institutions - zemstvos, courts - have organically entered Russian life, becoming its usual attributes. government controlled... As a result, the interests of the people and the counterinterests of a handful of reactionaries were entwined into a tight knot of contradictions. Unraveling the resulting knot was not possible without cardinal solutions.

The tsar lacked the political will to cut the knot. And the empire crept into even greater contradictions. The tsar saw the pile-up on the way of the empire's development, pondered where to take the next step, while avoiding breakdowns and major upheavals of the existing social relations.

In addition to the nobility, after the abolition of serfdom, a new stratum of society began to form in the empire, the support of which Alexander III considered it necessary to enlist, that was the nascent Russian bourgeoisie.

The main interest of the bourgeoisie was to profit from their enterprise. There are many ways to generate profits. For example, the extensive construction of the railway network and not only it, enjoyed patronage at the very top, and in any case, entrepreneurs were guaranteed a profit from the imperial budget. But this Russian bourgeoisie, it seemed, was not enough. Among industrialists, entrepreneurs and representatives of technical intelligentsia close to them, the press and at various meetings at that time regularly discussed the issue of protecting national interests against the dominance of foreigners. The notorious to the reader, Mr. Katkov, we must pay tribute to him, caught the wind and went over from the camp of defenders of free trade to the camp of their opponents. The newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti, which he edited, began to regularly publish materials and articles of a protectionist orientation. Thus forcing the imperial government to increase import duties. The voice of the people reached the sensitive ears of the government, and it was concerned with its problems. As a result, a decision was made at the highest level to introduce a new tariff. In this regard, it should be noted that import duties were high even before Alexander III. So at the very beginning of the official reign of Alexander III, the share of duties in imported goods was 19% of its value. By 1890, his reign had risen to 28%. That is, duties increased even without the new tariff. G Ospodin Witte, this gentleman had already "finished eating" Mr. Vyshenradsky, and was trying to move from the chair of Minister of Railways to the place of Minister of Finance, wrote about the policy of Alexander III in the field of import duties of Mr. Vyshnegradsky Alexander 3:"... was a staunch defender of the national industry and during his reign, with unquestionable determination, he implemented a system of customs protection."

Moreover, patronage in the form of customs duties concerned not only finished products, but also coal, metals, chemical products, paper pulp and many other semi-finished products, as well as exotic goods like tea and coffee, which were not produced in Russia and could not be produced by due to the harsh climate. Taxation was introduced at the request of certain groups of businessmen. The lobbying practice of certain interested industrial groups took on such a large scale that even the herald of protectionism, the newspaper Moskovskie vedomosti, was perplexed: “Recently our economic policy has taken a strange direction: private interests and petitions are often satisfied to undermine and damage common interests. General issues are not resolved, and petitions in favor of private interests are resolved instantly. ”

The new tariff was supposed to change the very principle of imposing customs duties on goods when the latter crossed the state border. Vyshnegradskiy instructed D.I. to develop a new customs tariff. Mendeleev. At that time, Mendeleev was already widely known in the intellectual environment as a person. He was a mathematician by education, but as usual then, he had a very versatile knowledge.

In the tariff developed by him, Mendeleev proposed to take into account each type and kind of goods separately. The Brockhaus and Efron dictionary noted on this occasion that such a system "leads to an extremely complex tariffication of goods, causing the division of import items into many subdivisions, indicating the characteristics of the goods passed through this subdivision."

Mendeleev believed that the main task of protectionism was not prohibitive duties, but the creation of economic conditions for the development of domestic industry.

In his opinion, in the period after 1891, the tariff did not reduce imports, however, it increased the total revenues of the state (from 903 to 1140 million rubles). As Mendeleev argued, the tariff of 1891 did not change former order, raising salaries from 28.5% of the value of goods to 31% on average in 1891. But this is on average, within the framework of this "average" duties on certain types of goods could be raised, on others reduced.

New T The customs tariff came into effect on June 11, 1891. The tariff was discussed by a special commission, which included, in addition to officials from various departments, 62 representatives from commercial and industrial institutions, with almost no representatives of the village. The new tariff has raised import duties on vehicles from Germany high. That negatively affected the interests of the German factory owners. The German government, in response, entered into agreements with various states of Europe and America to lower the import tariff on grain and other agricultural products when delivered to Germany. This step created unfavorable conditions for our export of agricultural products to Germany. It should be understood that more than 90 percent of Russian exports were raw materials. A customs war broke out. Both belligerents set up "combat duties" against each other, excluding the possibility of mutual trade exchange, and both sides suffered economic losses. Low import duties on raw materials negatively affected the German economy as a whole. Now little is remembered about this, that at that time the German economy, with the presence of industry, had a pronounced agrarian character. Low tariffs on agricultural products ruined the villagers of this country. After suffering economic losses, both warring parties came to a peace agreement, concluded in 1894, for ten years: both sides gave each other the position of the most favored nation. In response to a decrease in rates on agricultural products, Russia established a tariff that facilitates the import of products of German industry.

For fencing off the economic barrier from the West among modern neo-monarchists, Alexander III received the nickname "the Russian tsar himself." Meanwhile, his indulgence provided merchants with profits annually of 30, 40, 50 and even 60% (according to official data) from capital investments. By today's standards, the fat may seem ridiculously small, but in those days it was a high rate of profitability.

To shield its interests from government officials, the Russian bourgeoisie vigorously declared its desire to dictate laws to the Minister of Finance and control his activities. The government did not find it possible to reject the stated demands and conceded. The Minister of Finance was instructed to collect information about the needs of the capitalist gentlemen annually by the time of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair and to negotiate with them the measures that need to be taken to meet the aforementioned needs. The finance minister returned to St. Petersburg and, in the name of the autocrat, carried out the wishes of the merchants and industrialists.

Likewise, the Russian bourgeoisie announced the demand to appoint their people to posts related to its interests. Basically, the requirements were related to the Ministry of Finance. And we must give justice to the government of Alexander III, it perfectly understood this and appointed "the right person to the right place."

By its actions, the imperial government enlisted the support of the "Russian bourgeoisie". As a result, a political alliance of reactionaries with the economic exploiters of the resources of our country took shape. A union that allowed the nominal merchants to enrich themselves unheard of at the expense of the poorest classes of workers, artisans, and peasants. An old proverb said: poor peasants- poor country.State the leaders knew this as well as the rest of the people. The poor country was constantly running out of money. The money was needed to maintain the army, to build a fleet, to expand the railway network, to appease the nobility, and much more. Finance Ministers Vyshnegradskiy could get the money that was not getting enough money, and then, when he was "eaten", Witte by means of loans abroad. What caused the debt to rise. France alone has a national debt800 million Russian rubles debt obligations. After the defeat of France in the war with Prussia, the French government moved closer to the Russian government. The French bourgeois eagerly borrowed money from the Russian government. Because it was much more profitable than investing in the economy of your homeland.

The internal debt also increased by 1894, it amounted to 1200 million rubles at 4 percent.

Railway construction continuously required more and more money injections. In the last years of the reign of Alexander III, the final decision was made to build the Trans-Siberian Railway. The main contractor for this truly ambitious project was the royal family itself. The highest rescript addressed to the Heir to the Tsarevich on April 17, 1891 was allowed to proceed with the construction of a continuous rail track through the whole of Siberia. In the fall of 1892, the final version of the general construction plan was developed. On February 24, 1893, a committee of the Siberian Railway was established for general management of the construction of the track and related activities.

To begin with, I give a table of indicators of the development of mechanical engineering in Russia under Nicholas 1 and Alexander 2.

Name	Year	Production of rubles	Import of rubles	Import share
Cars	1850	423 390	2 315000	84,5
1860	846 215	8 526 653
1870	27 391 755	37 576 654	57,8

As can be seen from the table, 84.5 percent of cars under Nicholas 1 were imported from abroad, this figure by the year 60 had risen to 90.1%. After the abolition of serfdom, machine building in Russia made a giant leap, over a decade, production increased more than 32 times, the domestic sales market for machines sharply expanded, this case the effect of a small base affected, but nevertheless the spurt is impressive. During this period, the industrial revolution took place in Russia, steam engines and other machines were introduced everywhere in production and transport, steam energy replaced muscle strength. The dependence on the export of this type of product decreased to 57.8 percent. These figures were achieved in an environment where 92 percent of the export from the country consisted of raw materials for factory processing. it O This circumstance put the major interests of our holiday trade at odds with the policy of industrial development in the Russian state, since domestic merchants were strongly interested in the development of manufacturing industries abroad.

Domestic production and imports of factory goods in general. (million rubles) during the reign of Alexander III

Year	The sum of the internal factory-factory productivity	The value of overseas import	Import share v %
1881	1287		29,6
1882	1378		29,2
1883	1349		29,4
1884	1304		29,2
1885	1309		24,9
1886	1325		24,8
1887	1427		21,6
1888	1572		19,9
1889	1606		21,4
1890	1656		20,1

The table clearly shows a slow growth in domestic production and a decrease in foreign imports. By 1890, the share of imports in this area of ​​production was 20.1 percent. This process took place without the introduction of prohibitive duties, through the natural development of domestic engineering and, on this basis, the replacement of imported products. Demand for non-homemade products remained low.

Foreign trade throughout the empire 1873-1891. Export of a number of goods.

Years	Export	Import	Trade balance	Bread leave	Bread leave	Oil	Sahara	Alcohol 40%	Eggs
	Mln. rub.	Mln. pood.	thousand buckets	Mln. PCS.
1881
1882
1883
1884							0,118	2340
1885
1886
1887							4,582	6506
1888						34,9	5,581	5335
1889						44,8	4,971	4021
1890						48,1	3,313	4257
1891						54,2	7,578	4026

Judging by the table, the balance of foreign trade of the Russian Empire was sharply positive. On the whole, this situation with foreign trade meant the export of capital from Russia. Starting in 1883, uncompensated goods worth 1534 million rubles in silver were exported from the country. This figure is presented by the official imperial statistics, in reality, the export exceeded the official level by more than two times. Cash proceeds from export goods were accumulated in the accounts of foreign banks. And then, through the system of accounts of the same banks, it entered Russia in the form of foreign loans. The most important import item was bread.

In 1891, due to a poor harvest, the export of rye and bran (the main food of the starving lower classes) was stopped. The export of wheat, alcohol (made from grain), eggs, sugar continued. In a hungry year, 176 million poods of wheat were exported abroad.

Average annual production and import dependence on certain types of products.

Type of resource (product)	Years	Own production per year, rubles (1890)	Imports per year (average annual imports), rub.	Share of imports in consumption,%
Salt, saltpeter	1884-1888	29 000 000	2 000 000	34,5
Coal, sulfur	1884-1888	14 500 000
Lead production	1892	50,000 poods.	1 600 000 poods.
Cars	1880	72 289 200	67 345 477	48,2
1890	52 642 000	20 564 972	28,1
Incl. s / household machines	1879	3 981 pcs.	4,000 pcs.	50,1
1889	4 210 pcs.	2 974 pcs.	41,4
Metal. products incl. tool	1892	500 000	1 871 000	78,9
Braids and sickles	1892	275 000	1 757 000	86,5
Paints and chemical products	1870	6 100 000	20 900 000
1880	7 300 000	39 100 000	84,3
1890	15 400 000	26 000 000	62,3
River fleet steamers	1885	799 pcs.	570 pcs.	41,6
Steam merchant marine	1892	51 Item (s)	304 pcs.	85,6
Coal	1881;1890			18,8; 23,3

As can be seen from the table, for the production of lead it was not possible to overcome the import dependence, for the cars import dependence fell, but at the same time the domestic production of machines also fell, which was associated with an increase in prices for these types of products. For the instrument and for the simplest agricultural implements (sickles, scythes), it was also not possible to overcome the dependence on foreign imports. The imperial economy remained highly dependent on foreign production of paints, chemical products, and the manufacture of sea and river vessels.

Alexander III and his time Evgeny Petrovich Tolmachev

New trends in the development of agriculture

New trends in the development of agriculture

The abolition of serfdom signified a clear turn of Russia towards the bourgeois economy. Fundamental changes have taken place "in all spheres and directions" of Russian life. Russia has entered a new era, a characteristic feature of which is the accelerated development of all branches of the national economy and culture. The legal status of the peasantry has changed, as well as its attitude to their allotments. The growth of the rural population in the country has noticeably accelerated. Its annual average natural growth in 1860-1910 amounted to 139%. The improvement in living conditions led to a decrease in mortality. In 1858, there were 63.3 million rural residents in Russia, and in 1897 - 101.6 million (excluding Poland and Finland).

The development of capitalism in agriculture country was expressed primarily in a constant increase in commodity production. The era of great reforms, destroying the age-old estate of land ownership, opened wide the gates for the sale and purchase of land, turned land into a commodity, and agriculture into an ordinary commercial and industrial occupation.

The agrarian sector of the economy underwent unprecedented changes in scale: the three-field farming system became obsolete, grass sowing developed, areas for industrial crops increased, rural cooperation developed, etc. During the two post-reform decades, the number of agricultural machines in landlord and kulak farms (steam and horse threshers, reaping machines , sheaves, winnowing machines, iron plows, etc.) increased 3 times. The bearers of the new economically more profitable production were the landlord and peasant farms, which had been rebuilt in a new way.

In post-reform Russia, three forms of land tenure prevailed: allotment, state and private. The land census of 1877 established that of the 391 million dessiatines recorded in 49 provinces of European Russia, only 1/3 of the land fell on peasant plots. The rest of the land belonged to the state (state lands) - 150 million dessiatines, as well as to private owners (93.4 million dessiatines, of which 73 million were the property of the nobles). It is important to emphasize that 15 thousand large landowners owned 75% of all proprietary land, and 900 "aces" of them had almost 30 thousand dessiatines each. At the same time, it must be said that most of the state lands in the north were occupied by forests (about 70%), swamps and tundra. 2.5% were leased (mainly in the Volga region and in the south). And only 26% of the state lands could eventually be reclaimed by clearing them out from under the forest. It follows from what has been said that private and allotment lands played a decisive role for the development of agriculture.

As noted above, the emancipation of peasants intensified the resettlement movement, the transition of villagers to cities, the settlement of the southern provinces - Kherson, Tauride, Yekaterinoslav, which in the past, together with Bessarabia, the so-called Novorossia, the steppe regions of the Trans-Volga and Ural regions (Samara, Saratov, Orenburg provinces), Arenburg also steppe Ciscaucasia, Central Asia, Siberia and the Far East.

At the end of the XIX century. in Russia there were about 525 thousand villages and villages (in 1914 - about 548.5 thousand), including in European Russia 511.6 thousand (93%), in Siberia 14.6 thousand (3% ), in Central Asia and Kazakhstan 9.5 thousand (1.7%), in the Caucasus 12.6 thousand (2.3%) (see 2016, v. 3, p. 141).

The increased scale of peasant colonization, favorable natural conditions, the proximity of the Black Sea and Azov ports, the emergence of new industrial centers and the establishment of railway communication with the center of the empire - all this contributed to the plowing of the virgin steppes of the Black Sea region, the Volga region, the Don region and the development of commercial agriculture. The production of flax, sugar beets and other crops, which served as raw materials for industry, expanded.

However, the provision of land for the bulk of the peasants clearly lagged behind the growth of the rural population. Over the 40 post-reform years, the population increased by 40 million people, and the average actual allotment per male capita decreased by half: from 4.8 dessiatines in 1861 to 2.6 dessiatines in 1900. Peasant allotments were so scanty that they did not even provide a meager living wage. In an effort to alleviate the situation of the peasantry, the government of Alexander III, as noted above, took a number of measures to improve its welfare. Thus, the introduction of the Peasant Land Bank in 1882 allowed the peasants, on acceptable terms, to purchase from the landowners from 1883 to 1902 about 5 million dessiatines of land. To improve the tax system, redemption payments were lowered by 12 million rubles since 1882. and gradually canceled, by decree on May 14, 1883, the poll tax. Thanks to these measures, taxes of 53 million rubles were removed from the peasants. And although some of this amount again fell on the peasants, due to the increase in the drinking tax and the transformation of the quitrent tax from the former state peasants into redemption payments in an increased amount, this could not diminish the value of the abolition of the poll tax as a measure that eliminated the last trace of slavery and opened the way to change the passport system, mutual guarantee and other unfavorable conditions of peasant life. The lowering of taxes on peasants was accompanied by an ever greater attraction of other, more possessive classes of the population to taxation, which until then had been excluded from direct taxation or insufficiently taxed (see 250, vol. 18, p. 364).

As noted above, the development of agriculture in Russia in the 80-90s. XIX century. the world agrarian crisis had a serious impact, the most important manifestation of which was the fall in grain prices. For two decades, the price of bread fell by about half. The main reason for the decline in prices in European markets was the import of cheap overseas bread, mainly from the United States of America. Naturally, the crisis had a heavy impact on both the landlord and the peasant economy. The arrears of the nobility to land banks increased, many landowners began to sell land, a significant part of which passed into the hands of the rural bourgeoisie. The crisis also hurt the peasantry, who had to sell grain on the market at deliberately unprofitable prices in order to pay off the landlord and the treasury. The purchasing power of the peasantry for manufactured goods was falling. At the same time, the size of workings increased, and lease conditions worsened. Nevertheless, neither the crisis nor the heavy remnants of serfdom could delay the penetration of capitalism into agriculture. Even in latifundia (large land holdings), bonded rent and labor on most of the land were often combined with the arrangement of a "rational" entrepreneurial economy on the rest of the land. The most enterprising landowners tried to find a way out of the crisis by developing the production of agricultural products, the prices for which fell less than for grain. Among these products were, for example, sugar beets, milk, butter, cheese. The same representatives of the "first estate" also created enterprises for the processing of agricultural products - sugar and distilleries and other similar establishments. At the same time, the economic activity of the peasantry intensified. If in the 1860s. peasant farms produced 78% of the grain in Russia, then in the 1890s. - 85%. According to the All-Russian Population Census of 1897, 88.3 million people, or 70% of the population, lived on income from agriculture, and 4.5 million people, or 3.6%, lived on income from animal husbandry. It follows that 92.8 million people, or 91% of the rural population, i.e. 74% of the country's population, were engaged in agriculture (201b, vol. 3, p. 142).

Despite all the difficulties, in the 80-90s. agricultural exports continued to increase, but at a slower pace than in the 60s and 70s. The export of eggs, cow oil and oilcakes, previously exported in very small quantities, has significantly increased. Still, grain remained the main item of agricultural export. For 20 years, the export of grain has increased by about one and a half times - from 287 million poods on average per year in 1876-1880. up to 444 million poods in 1896-1900. Moreover, almost all the increase in export fell on the 80s, in the 90s the growth of grain exports stopped. The reason for this was the famine in 1891-1892, which broke out in 21 provinces. The export of flax, on the contrary, was stable in the 1980s. and grew by 30% in the 90s. The share of exports in relation to the net harvest of grain in European Russia was in the 80-90s. about 1/5. Wheat was exported in the 90s. about 2/5 of its net harvest, barley - about a third (147, p. 298).

It should be noted that the domestic market grew faster than the external one, and in the 90s. already exceeded it. The increase in sown areas and the specialization of commercial agriculture continued in the same direction as in the 60s and 70s, but their rates slowed down. Although the increased use of agricultural implements made it possible to raise yields by 1/4 in 20 years, on the whole it remained still low (39 poods per tithe on peasant lands and 47 poods on landowners' lands).

During the reign of Alexander III, the process of differentiation of the peasantry continued. This process was not the same in different regions. Where there were fewer survivals of serfdom, differentiation manifested itself more intensively and vice versa. The rural bourgeoisie at that time in a number of areas constituted a fifth of all peasant households, but economically it ruled the countryside. She owned from 34 to 50% of the peasant lands, including most of the deeds and half or more of the leased. In addition, from 38 to 62% of draft animals and from 70 to 80% of improved tools have passed into its possession. The rural poor, which made up half of the peasant households, had 18 to 32 percent of the land, 10 to 30 percent of livestock, and 1 to 3.6 percent of improved implements. The middle peasantry, numbering up to 30% of households, was experiencing an unstable situation, and the process of its disintegration was underway.

But this painful process of social differentiation of the countryside, which was aptly called by the people "peasantization", constituted the deepest basis for the growth of capitalism not only in agriculture, but also in industry. The stratification of the peasantry contributed to the expansion of the domestic market. Wealthy peasants sold the commodity part of their products on the market, acquiring not only personal items, but also means of production (improved tools, machines, etc.). Poor people, who could not feed their low-powered economy, also turned to the market, covering the growing costs by selling their labor.

The peasants, as a rule, were economically dependent on the landlords. As payment for a plot of land rented from a landowner, for grain or money received on a loan, the peasant cultivated the landlord's arable land with the help of his primitive implements and depleted draft animals. This system, known as "labor", was essentially an open corvee.

The landlords, deprived of the free labor of the peasants under the reform of 1861, were forced to rebuild their economy in accordance with capitalist conditions. At the end of the XIX century. the capitalist system of farming prevailed in 19 provinces of European Russia.

The economy of these provinces was more closely connected with the domestic and foreign markets and was distinguished by more developed capitalist relations (the Baltic States, Western and Central Belarus, Right-Bank and Steppe Ukraine, Bessarabia, Don and Lower Volga region). In 17 provinces of the Central Black Earth Region, the Non-Black Earth Belt and the Middle Volga Region, where huge landowners' latifundia survived and were removed from sales markets, a labor system prevailed. In 7 provinces of the Left-Bank Ukraine, Eastern Belarus and neighboring Russian regions, a mixed system of landlord management was widespread.

Founded back in the 60s and 70s. regional specialization of agriculture continued to deepen. Grain production was mainly concentrated in the black earth belt with a gradual shift of its center to the southeastern provinces. By the end of the XIX century. The Bessarabian, Kherson, Tavricheskaya, Yekaterinoslavskaya, Saratovskaya, Samara, Orenburgskaya provinces and the Don Cossack region provided over 25% of the grain harvest. In the north and northwest regions of flax growing were distinguished (especially in the Smolensk, Tver, Vyatka, Pskov and Livonia provinces). In the Kursk province, the Ukrainian region and the Ciscaucasia, the production of sugar beets developed. The Baltic, western and northern provinces produced most of the dairy products. Butter was mainly exported from Siberia. In the North Caucasus, 75% of the area was occupied by crops of wheat and barley. 90% of sunflower seeds and 15% of tobacco were grown here. Don and North Caucasus provided 40% of grain exports. Areas of cannabis growing, onion growing, tobacco growing, horticulture, truck farming, potato growing, starch production, etc. were distinguished. Transcaucasia supplied grapes and fruits to the market. In Central Asia, with the help of the government, cotton growing has been expanded on a large scale, in the Crimea and on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus - winemaking (see 2016, vol. 3, p. 145).

At the end of the XIX century. about 9/10 of the entire sown area of ​​European Russia was occupied by grain. The yield remained very low - about 6 centners per hectare on peasant lands and about 7 centners per hectare on landowners' lands. The higher yield on the landowners' farms was a consequence of the better quality of the land, and in part, the better cultivation.

On the whole, Russian agriculture was increasingly acquiring a commercial, entrepreneurial character. The growth of industry and cities increased the demand for agricultural products. The deepening of the specialization of economic regions in connection with railway construction, in turn, contributed to an increase in the marketability of agriculture and cattle breeding. In European Russia, the sowing of grain crops and potatoes over the forty post-reform years increased by almost one and a half times, and the net harvest by two and a half times. The production of flax, sugar beets and other crops, which served as raw materials for industry, grew rapidly.

In the 80s. XIX century. Russia's share was 20% of world wheat production, 60% of rye, 30% of barley.

Among the most important measures for the development of domestic agriculture, the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture and State Property should be highlighted. It was created on March 21, 1894 as a result of the transformation of the Ministry of State Property, inheriting its functions. The new ministry was in charge of agricultural issues, the dissemination of agronomic knowledge, the development of handicrafts, etc., organized all-Russian and local agricultural exhibitions, provided assistance to agricultural societies, cooperatives, held agricultural congresses, etc. up to 25 local agricultural exhibitions were opened annually, at the beginning of the XX century. from 40 to 50. The largest general agricultural exhibitions of this period were the All-Russian (in Moscow, 1895; Kharkov, 1887; Kiev, 1913), the Baltic (in Riga, 1880, 1889).

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