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ECONOMIC GROWTH |
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The
reign of Peter I was marked by great and positive
changes in the economics. Protracted war and reforming
all the spheres of human activity demanded increase of
production and broadening of the range of the produced
goods. So, the czar in the first place encouraged
development of the manufactures - at the end of the
first quarter of the 18th century their number
approached 200. Since the military needs were of
biggest importance, first to develop were the
manufactures |
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producing arms, sails and cloth for uniforms. As a rule they were
founded by the state or merchants having state concessions.
New industrial centres emerged not only in central Russia, but
also in other regions. Particularly vigorous was development
of iron-works in the Urals, silver mining and exploration of
other ores in the Trans-Baikal region, mining and processing
of the iron in the province of Olonets (east to the Lake
Ladoga), etc. Among the existing enterprises, increased the
importance of the iron-works of Tula and Kursk.
Industrial
development required constant influx of the labour to the
manufactures, the labour that was always in deficit in the
serfdom Russia. In general, the workforce was recruited among
the out-of-town settlers and those serfs, whose landlords
allowed them to work for hire in return for quit-rent. Often
state-owned serfs were sent to work "for hire". But
even this reservoir of the labour was not sufficient for the
needs of the unseen before industrial growth and so, the state
was in the constant search for new sources of workforce. Thus,
for example, manufactures were granted the right to buy whole
villages together with their dwellers, who this way were
turned into so-called possessional peasants. They, of course,
had to work in the manufactures, while they remained enserfed.
The only difference between the possessional peasants and
serfs was that it was not allowed to sell the former
separately from their villages. Apart from that there appeared
a new category of the peasants "attached" to to the
manufactures - it applied chiefly to state-owned peasants, who
were forcibly sent to work in manufactures. Finally to the
work in the manufactures used to be sent convicts, tramps and
hobos. Those methods could furnish a more or less stable
influx of the labour to the manufactures, but it was not
enough as the industry developed at higher pace than the
population growth. Russia entered the epoque of acute class
contradictions, not only between the gentry and lower classes,
but first of all between the country's economic potential and
its social constitution. For the first time then people
responsible for the state affairs openly advocated the
necessity to abolish the serfdom.
The government supported development of the manufactures
through providing labour, convenient credits, raw materials
and concessions for exploitation of metal ores. The general
policy also put supporting domestic production on the first
place. Some goods were banned from importing to Russia
entirely, others were heavily taxed if similar goods could be
produced in Russia. Peter's policy was a typical policy of
mercantilism - the main effort was made to encourage domestic
production and trade, limit imports of goods from abroad, and
encourage exports. As a matter of fact, Russia still exported
mainly agricultural goods, lumber, leather and furs, but
thanks to the purposeful policy of mercantilism, there grew
the share of manufactured goods. In particular, Russia
increased exports of iron wares, textiles, silk, paper,
carpets etc. The Russian mercantilism had also brought up its own
theoreticians, like for example Ivan Pososhkov, who had been
writing about the necessity of supporting domestic
manufacturers and development of trade with foreign countries.
The latter, during Peter's reign, developed indeed very
rapidly, especially since it was possible to make unhampered
use of the Baltic ports. The general economic growth also
favourably influenced domestic markets. For better
transportation of the goods there were built canals, among
others the one that connected Volga with Don. Its construction
had to be abandoned during the Great Northern War, but there
was built the canal linking Msta with Tveritsa in their upper
parts near the town of Vyshniy Volochek (north-west of Tver).
That canal connected the river trade routes of the Volga and
the Baltic Sea. |
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