Economy and Society before the Great Reforms

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ID: 323689
2026
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Abstract
This chapter examines Russian economic and social development before the Great Reforms, stressing limited modernization alongside persistent serfdom, state control, and relative backwardness against European competitors. Trade, transportation, and industry expanded through fairs, railways, steam navigation, cotton manufacturing, and growing foreign commerce, although inadequate infrastructure and bonded labour continued to constrain productivity and military effectiveness. Agricultural change increased market production, regional specialization, and commercial farming, yet indebted landlords, intensified exploitation, communal regulation, and peasant resistance revealed the enduring weaknesses of serf agriculture. Social transformation broadened the middle class, expanded women's economic and social roles, and challenged patriarchal expectations through urban growth, education, labour mobility, and limited professional opportunities. Finally, the chapter analyses ethnic diversity, imperial expansion, nationalist resistance, and conflicts in the Caucasus, which exposed mounting tensions within Russian imperial society before 1861.
Reference Key
openalex_W7172386686 Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Nicholas V. Riasanovsky, Mark D. Steinberg
Journal Oxford University Press eBooks
Year 2026
DOI
10.1093/hepl/9780197875070.003.0025
URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/hepl/9780197875070.003.0025
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