As many people like to say now, “Russia we have lost”, meaning the Russian Empire. To listen to them is almost like heaven on earth, which was destroyed by the "evil Bolsheviks." Have mercy, gentlemen, the empire was destroyed by the liberals, with their February revolution. So what kind of "paradise" was the Russian Empire? Shall we figure it out?
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia has the highest infant mortality rate.
Adolf Grigorievich Rashin “Population of Russia for 100 years. 1811-1913"
Rubakin "Russia in numbers" St. Petersburg edition of 1912
How do you like it? Let's take a closer look at the healthcare system in the Russian Empire. According to the Statistical Yearbook of Russia. 1914, for 1912 in Russia it was:
One hospital in the Russian Empire had an area of 2.327 sq. versts
There were 12.6 beds per 10,000 population of the empire
There were 1.3 doctors per 10,000 population
Promotional video:
There were 1.7 paramedics per 10,000 population
V. M. Zhdanov article "Diseases of the past"
Sergey Alexandrovich Novoselsky in the book "Mortality and Life Expectancy in Russia". (Edition 1916.) indicates that Russia ranks FIRST in Europe in mortality from the following diseases: smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough, typhus.
Did you know that the average life expectancy in the Russian Empire was 29.3 years for men and 31.6 years for women.
Now I would like to touch on the tale that Russia fed the whole world with grain. And at what cost was it given?
Prince P. Kropotkin. "Conquest of Bread"
I. Solonevich "People's Monarchy", M., 2003
Professor Emile Joseph Dillon
Sydney and Beatrice Webb English Socialists
The situation of the workers was not all rosy either. The working hours were 11.5 hours per day.
ON THE. Rubakin "Russia in Figures" St. Petersburg, 1912 edition
Strikes were rapidly gaining momentum in Russia, the number of which increased every year: in 1912 more than 725 thousand workers took part in them, in 1913 - 887 thousand and 1,250 thousand out of 3 million workers in the first half of 1914. I would like to give one example. Have you heard the Lena execution? The events of 4 (17) April 1912 at the mines of the Lena gold mining partnership. The workers of the mines turned to the administration with demands:
1. To improve the living conditions of workers (single - one room for two, family - one room).
2. Improve the quality of food.
3. Increase salaries by 30%.
4. Prohibit layoffs in the winter. The dismissed in the summer should be given a free ticket to Zhigalovo.
5. Set up an 8 hour work day. On pre-holiday days - 7 hours. On Sundays and Great Holidays - go to work only at the request of employees, work on these days no more than 6 hours, finish work no later than 1 o'clock in the afternoon and take into account work on these days for a day and a half.
6. Cancel penalties.
7. Do not force women to work.
8. To address the workers not to “you”, but to “you”.
On April 4, 1912, a march of more than two thousand workers of the Lena gold mines took place in protest against the arrest of members of the strike committee. The march was peaceful, but by order of the gendarme captain Treshchenkov, the soldiers opened fire on the workers.
Lena execution.
Lena execution.
Here is such a "paradise".
Child labor was actively used in the Russian Empire. In 1885, the law "On the prohibition of night work by minors and women in factories, plants and manufactories" was adopted. It prohibited night work of teenagers under 17 and women in cotton, linen and woolen factories. It entered into force on October 1, 1885. However, it was extended only to harmful work in porcelain and match making. In 1897, the law was also extended to all textile production. But in 1890, a bill introduced in 1890 already weakened the meaning of the original laws. From now on, young workers could, “when it turns out to be necessary due to the nature of production,” to be involved in work for 9 hours in two shifts of 4.5 hours. In glass production, it was even allowed to put minors for 6 hours of night work. In the provinces, many merchants supplied live goods to Petersburg and other large cities. They collected young children from the poor, burdened with large families, and took them to the capital, where child labor was in wide demand. The parents supplied the child with clothes and provisions for the journey, while the passports were handed over to the industrialist. From the moment they were taken away, the fate of the children depended entirely on chance and, above all, on the industrial driver. The "cabman" was not paid for the transportation; he received money from the person to whom he gave the child to study. For each child who was put in training for 4-5 years, the "cabman" received from 5 to 10 rubles. With the increase in the training period, the price increased. It was 3-4 times higher than the amount given by the buyer to the parents, and to a large extent depended on external data, the state of health and efficiency of the young worker. The shopkeeper or the owner of the workshop issued a residence permit for the child, provided him with clothes and food, receiving in return the right to dispose of him sovereignly. In general, it is almost slavery. Remember Chekhov? - "Vanka".
A. P. Chekhov. "Vanka"
N. P. Chekhov. Peasant boy (Vanka Zhukov). 1881.
There was another shameful spot in Russia at that time. Child prostitution. The growth of child prostitution is evidenced by the data of the report of the Stewardship Committee of the St. Petersburg House of Mercy:
Renting children for prostitution was widespread in St. Petersburg, Moscow and southern Russia.
At the beginning of the XX century. noted that
This is the kind of Russia that "they have lost."
Now let's touch on the tale of the rapidly developing industry of the empire.
Michael Court American historian
Sergei Yulievich Witte.
At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II, foreigners controlled 20-30% of capital in Russia, in 1913 already 60-70%, and by September 1917 - 90-95%.
Michael Court American historian
Georg Hallgarten "Imperialism before 1914"
That is, in fact, the Russian Empire WAS NOT an independent state. And besides the fact that Russia actually belonged to foreign capital, there was a huge external debt. The state debt of Russia in 1913 was 8.8 billion rubles, and in 1917 it was already 50 billion. Now do you understand why Russia essentially carried out someone else's will, getting involved in the First World War, and shed Russian blood for someone else's interests? The Russian empire did not belong to itself, and obediently carried out the orders of the owners.
And what, for such a Russia you are nostalgic?
