Section 8: Social and Economic Conditions in Russia, 1894 - 1914

The growing number of urban workers

The growing number of urban workers

The growing number of strikes throughout Russia

The growing number of stikes throughout Russia

Percentage increase of industrial growth in Russia

Percentage increase of industrial growth

Analysis

It has often been argued that the rapid increase in industrial growth in Russia and the consequent increase in a more educated urban workforce meant that political ideas such as those put forward by the Bolsheviks spread more quickly than they otherwise might have done.

An autocratic regime bent on repression was going to find it very difficult to hold on to power in such circumstances. The growth of strikes within Russia, most of which were in the few industrial cities such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, is often used as evidence to argue that the Tsar was facing an impossible task even by 1914.