Was Industrialisation in the latter part of the 19th Century Good or Bad?.
Russia was one of the last powers to industrialise, despite being the largest country in the world. The 8 million square mile nation and freezing climate made it extremely difficult to connect people from the East to the West. Russia's industry was mainly located in the West of the country. Minister of Transport (1892), Sergi Witte constructed the project of the Trans-Siberian Railway, stretching from Moscow to Vladivostak – 3750 miles. This hoped to encourage the migration of workers in the newly industrialised nation. The industrialisation meant that there was a colossal number of new jobs for the people. 82% of the Russian population were peasants; the industrialisation would significantly lower this number – therefore it can be viewed as a positive change. Thus, more jobs generate more capital, so the rather 'backwards' country would slowly develop and possibly become as economically powerful as some European nations, such as the mighty Britain. This, alongside State Capitalism and gold standard (introduced by Witte) would certainly improve the economic issue.
However, a larger problem occurred regarding social unrest and tension. The economy consisted of four main industries: Textiles, Steel mills, Mines and Tobacco factories. Indeed working in any of these was completely unforgiving. The worker and his family would have to stay in crowded shacks with other tenants or cabins simply made of Earth. These areas were a breeding ground for disease to occur. Health concerns soon became apparent, such as common damage to miner's backs due to the awkward and cramped conditions they had to maintain during shifts often lasting 12-16 hours, most of the tunnels were only 3 and a half feet!.
It may be argued that this manual labour has little to do with industrial and factory life. In that sense, it is easy to defeat this argument.
Joll thus mentions all the various treaties that the Great Powers signed in the 19th C. and early 20th C. ... The seventh factor evaluated by Joll, the Mood of 1914, was the cumulative result of 19th C. nationalism and patriotism. ...