Peter and Catherine in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, Russian modernization in the nineteenth century

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In spite of the reforms of Peter and Catherine in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, Russian modernization in the nineteenth century was not successful. Russia lagged far behind rapidly-industrializing nations such as Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan – and even behind the moderate pace in nations like France and Italy.  Here’s the question: Why?  Notes:  1. Answering this essay problem necessitates a basic understanding of the Industrial Revolution among western nations. That shouldn’t be a problem; you’ve taken courses in American history and recent world civilizations, and no doubt some upper level courses, where industrialization, commercialization, the rise of cities, wage earning and labor, etc. were covered in some depth and detail. Break out those old notes; use that knowledge gained from those courses and apply it to this course, beginning with this essay problem. What happened in Britain, Germany, the United States, even Japan – can be informative as you think about the problems of industrialization in Russia. 2. Along these lines, one strategy that could work is comparative. If you’re confident in your knowledge of British, German or American industrialization and urbanization, you can take a comparative approach to this problem, as in: “America… why did industrialization quickly succeed? Russia… why didn’t it?” That’s not a required or even a recommended strat to follow; it’s just a suggestion to get you to think about how you approach this essay problem.  3. Think about the requirements for and patterns of industrialization, urbanization and modernization that are common to nations such as Britain, the United States, Germany and Japan. A strong financial system for capital investment, a skilled and literate population (making for a capable, productive workforce), and a high degree of technological innovation, a decent resource base, decentralized control over the economy, etc. are all “pre-requisites” covered in other courses. Did Russia meet these conditions? If not, why not, and what effect did it have on industrialization and modernization in Russia? 4. Think about conditions in Russia well into the nineteenth century. Serfs… did they meet the criteria of a skilled, literate, urbanized workforce? Was there any substantive effort to turn them into a modern workforce once they were emancipated? How about the Russia financial system? Did the country have enough private capital to invest in modernization, or did the initiative almost always come from the government? Did the aristocracy’s and monarchy’s mistrust of modernization affect the success or failure of modernization and industrialization? How and why? (One example to get you started: If the monarchy and the aristocracy controlled the financial resources of Russia, how much capitalization do you think was offered to Russian entrepreneurs who wanted to build factories and markets? How much did the government spend on roads, bridges, railroads, ports, etc., beyond what was necessary for the security and military of the nation? 5. What about the outcomes of nineteenth century modernization? Was there actually an industrial base in Russia in, say, 1905? Big, industrialized, commercial cities, a substantial road, rail and telegraph/telephone network, etc.” Or was Russia still primarily rural, agricultural and peasant-based – as it had been for centuries? Did this affect Russian state power, internal security, the Russian military, the maintenance of Russia power abroad?  6. Zero in a specific examples. The best is Sergei Witte’s attempt to reform the Russian government and national economy. How successful was Witte’s reforms? Why? Second best was Alexander II’s reforms? Success or failure? Why?  As always, I’ll be looking for a cogent, well-presented essay that uses specific evidence, factual materials and cases to demonstrate its analytical points.