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History of the world economy - Polyak GB

32.4. The Economy of Russia during the First World War

Wartime difficulties

The war made colossal demands on the economy of the belligerent countries and put forward the problem of its transition to military races. Russia, which entered the First World War in August 1914, was not enough prepared for it. Already at the beginning of the war, Russia lost the Polish industrial region, the Baltic states. Up to 25% of the cadres were drafted into the army. The unpreparedness of Russia for the war was affected primarily by the shortage of weapons and ammunition. Reserves of shells were consumed in the first four months of the war. For the armaments mobilized in 1914, there were not enough rifles. In 1914, the autocracy was limited to measures to transfer state-owned military factories to produce products at full capacity and issue state orders for the release of weapons to large private enterprises.

Control measures

The system of a free capitalist market under war conditions showed its non-economy ability to meet the needs of the front, civilians and industry. The state had to go to intensify its intervention in the economy, establish control over private enterprises. In the beginning of 1915, special state institutions were established - Special Defense Meetings, fuel supply of communications routes (institutions, enterprises working for defense), transportation of fuel, food and military supplies, food, refugee arrangements. The most important was the Special Conference on Defense, which directed the military economy and the supply of the front.

In the work of the Special Meetings, along with officials of ministries, representatives of regulating state bodies, the State Duma, the State Council, who were under the influence of monopolies and banks, took part. All this testified to the merging of the state apparatus with capital and the formulation of state-monopoly capitalism.

In order to assist the front with the bourgeoisie and the landlords, the All-Russian Zemsky Union and the All-Russian City Union were formed, which created a joint committee - Zemgor. For the organization of assistance to the sick, wounded and refugees, provincial, district, front and regional committees were established, which then carried out orders of the military department for clothes, footwear, and uniforms in artisanal and small enterprises. However, of the total amount of orders of 242 million rubles. The organizations of Zemgor have produced products for only 80 million rubles. In 1916 the activity of Zemgor was curtailed.

Production growth for the front. Orders abroad

Meanwhile, the needs of the army were of decisive importance for industry. Some progress was made in the prose of the production of artillery shells and cartridges, mainly due to the curtailment of the production of peaceful products. The main products of machine-building, metalworking and metallurgical enterprises were guns, shells, mines, barbed wire, etc. They switched to the production of the products and light industry enterprises necessary for the front. About 80% of textile products were sent to the front. During the war years, the volume of metal products increased sharply, its growth in 1916 was 300%. The output of the chemical industry increased 2.5 times. Especially the production of weapons and ammunition increased. By the end of 1916, military products were produced by 4,500 enterprises, employing 2.2 million workers, and 3,800 enterprises with 1.6 million workers. During the years 1914-1917. The domestic industry produced 11.7 thousand barrels of all guns, 3.3 million rifles, 65 million shells.

The First Russian Tank

The armored car of the Russian army

However, the shortage of armaments at the front remained acute, and the government was forced to turn to orders abroad already at the beginning of the war. The cost of placed orders in the US, England, France, Sweden, Japan and other countries amounted to a huge amount. Orders of the military department alone amounted to 3.2 billion rubles, while Russia's foreign debt for the war years grew by 7 billion rubles. And by the end of 1917 it had reached 11.3. Billion rubles.

Deterioration of the general economic situation

At the same time, a number of industries began to experience a decline at the beginning of the war. The general economic situation of the country was deteriorating. The destructive influence of the war was felt by agriculture. The call to the army of the most able-bodied men deprived the peasant farms of workers and breadwinners. The area under crops decreased by 10 million dessiatines. Grain harvest decreased from 2.8 billion poods in 1913 to 2.2 billion poods in 1916-1917. The number of horses has decreased. The fall in agricultural production caused a food crisis, which was particularly affected by the population of large cities.

Transport did not provide for the needs of the front and rear. Evacuation from the frontline areas in 1915 caused chaos on the railways. Non-transported cargoes were accumulated, in the spring of 1916 150 thousand wagons were required for their transportation, however, the problem was not solved. By the winter of 1916/1917. Transport was paralyzed. The fuel and raw materials crisis deepened. So, in the winter of 1915/1916. The needs of the Moscow region in fuel were met only by 46%, Petrogradsky district - by 49%.

The state financial system was upset. Increasing costs of warfare (the day of the war cost 50 million rubles.) The government tried to fill the gap with an increase in the issuance of paper money (their number increased sixfold during the war years), internal and external loans and an increase in taxation.

All attempts to improve the economic situation did not lead to positive results. The Russian economy, with its numerous feudal remnants, was unable to endure the gravity of the war.

Questions for repetition

1. How the economic crises of the beginning of the 20th century affected. On the Russian economy?

2. What are the main factors of the prewar industrial recovery in Russia?

3. What was the process of monopolization of production? What are its consequences?

4. Describe the fusion of industrial and financial capital.

5. What was the economic backwardness of Russia from the advanced capitalist countries?

6. What processes characterized the agriculture of in the beginning of the XX century?

7. What processes evidenced the development of capitalism in the countryside ?.

8. What was the essence of the Stolypin agrarian reform?

9. What changes occurred in the Russian economy during the First World War?