To What Extent Do You Consider That The First World War Was A Key Turning Point In The Development Of Modern Russia In The Years 1856
To what extent do you consider that the First World War was a key turning point in the development of modern Russia in the years 1856-1964?
In 1964 Russia was seen as a leading superpower which dominated Eastern Europe. However this is a vastly different image than the inherently backward country that Russia was deemed to be one hundred years earlier. The most crucial turning point in the modernisation of Russia was the abdication of the Tsar in 1917 and the rise of the Bolshevik party which followed. Political modernisation, and more importantly a strong central government, was pivotal in allowing other Russian sectors, such as industry and agriculture to modernise. The First World War itself was not the key turning point as individually it did not greatly modernise Russia, however it can be seen as the catalyst for the political modernisation which was vital for the modernisation of Russia.
Agriculture was a crucial area which needed to be reformed if Russia was to ever be modernised. At the root of the inherently backward Russia was the peasant workforce, who mainly worked in the agricultural sector, which left Russia a world away from other European Countries in terms of industry. ‘Out of the 60 million people in European Russia in 1855, 50 million were peasant serfs’1; this was a huge obstacle to modernisation as it limited. The goal of Emancipation was to release the peasants from the land that they were bound to in order to create an industrial workforce that would drive modernisation. The predominantly agricultural workforce would now work in factories thus changing Russia into an industrial juggernaut, which would be key in modernising Russia. The reform was also crucial as it was the first step in the deconstruction of the Ancien Regime within Russia. Emancipation was key in establishing support for the monarchy, ‘in other countries Serf emancipation took place as a consequence of social and organic change’2, this meant that in Russia the monarchy had
In 1964 Russia was seen as a leading superpower which dominated Eastern Europe. However this is a vastly different image than the inherently backward country that Russia was deemed to be one hundred years earlier. The most crucial turning point in the modernisation of Russia was the abdication of the Tsar in 1917 and the rise of the Bolshevik party which followed. Political modernisation, and more importantly a strong central government, was pivotal in allowing other Russian sectors, such as industry and agriculture to modernise. The First World War itself was not the key turning point as individually it did not greatly modernise Russia, however it can be seen as the catalyst for the political modernisation which was vital for the modernisation of Russia.
Agriculture was a crucial area which needed to be reformed if Russia was to ever be modernised. At the root of the inherently backward Russia was the peasant workforce, who mainly worked in the agricultural sector, which left Russia a world away from other European Countries in terms of industry. ‘Out of the 60 million people in European Russia in 1855, 50 million were peasant serfs’1; this was a huge obstacle to modernisation as it limited. The goal of Emancipation was to release the peasants from the land that they were bound to in order to create an industrial workforce that would drive modernisation. The predominantly agricultural workforce would now work in factories thus changing Russia into an industrial juggernaut, which would be key in modernising Russia. The reform was also crucial as it was the first step in the deconstruction of the Ancien Regime within Russia. Emancipation was key in establishing support for the monarchy, ‘in other countries Serf emancipation took place as a consequence of social and organic change’2, this meant that in Russia the monarchy had