Living & Working Conditions
History: KS3, topic 17.1.3
Living Conditions in Russian Cities
Industrialisation and urbanisation often worsened living conditions for people working in cities.
Results of industrialisation
- Witte's policy of industrialisation meant that lots of workers moved to cities for work.
- People often lived in cramped houses, but this was probably a better existence than living as a serf.
- Trade unions only became legal in 1905.
Recession of 1899-1902
- Between 1899 and 1902 the Russian economy contracted and industry struggled.
- There were bad harvests, which meant there was not enough food.
- Foreign investors stopped investing money in Russia (as happened in Germany in the 1920s after the Great Depression).
- Unemployment rose and as living standards fell, workers became more open to the ideas of communism.
Overpopulation
- A quarter of a million people moved to St. Petersburg between 1890 and 1900.
- With not enough housing being built, more and more people lived in a fixed number of houses and living conditions fell.
Conditions in the Countryside
The 1890s were a challenging time for peasants, following the 1891 famine.
Famines
- The 1891 famine led to revolts against landlords.
- Bad harvests are often associated with rebellions and revolutions.
- There was a very high birth rate in rural Russia.
- Contraception was not commonly used at the time.
Urbanisation
- Urbanisation means that the number of people living in cities compared to the countryside increases.
- Many peasants were landless and moved to the cities during the 1890s to escape the famine and find work.
- Cities could not absorb this number of people.
Test yourself on Living & Working Conditions
What happened during the recession of 1899?
What was the growth in the population of St. Petersburg from 1890 to 1900?
What happened to living conditions in Russia as it urbanised?
What was true about the Russian countryside before the First World War?
What happened to landlords after the 1891 famine?