Blackwell's Industrialization of Russia: A Book Review

Overview of Blackwell's Work and Scope

William L. Blackwell's The Industrialization of Russia: A Historical Perspective (3rd ed., 1994, Harland Davidson) is a standard reference in the economic history of Russia, spanning from the middle of the nineteenth century to the Stalinist collectivization era of the 1920s and 1930s. It is intended as a survey text, and as such it does not delve into a great deal of controversial theory, engage the debate between standard scholarship and revisionists, or attempt to provide more than a complementary discourse to a survey course in Modern Russian History.

Russia's Path Toward Modernization: Peter the Great to Alexander II

Blackwell specializes in Russian economic history prior to the Soviet period, particularly the period from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, during which Russia underwent a significant industrialization spurt as the tsars tried — sometimes in vain — to move the country from a feudal empire into a modern European nation. He taught Russian History, Government, and Political Institutions in Eastern Europe at New York University from 1962 onward (Back Matter — List of Contributors, 1975).

Russian history after 1700 was a series of complicated machinations, all designed to move the country toward recognition as a world power. Peter the Great ruled from 1682 to 1725, defeated Sweden, and secured Russia's access to the sea. On the Baltic, he founded his new capital city, Saint Petersburg, and began the slow process of opening the country to Europe. In order to ingratiate themselves with Europe's rulers, Russia participated in the disastrous Seven Years' War (1756–1763). However, under the leadership of Catherine II (the Great) from 1762 to 1796, Russia once again expanded into Poland and acquired a warm-water port on the Black Sea — both vital to any semblance of economic growth — though the country still lagged behind Western Europe.

Continuing its alliances with the major European powers, Russia fought with England against Napoleon and some historians argue it contributed decisively to the French defeat. It was, however, the officers who fought alongside the British and others in the Napoleonic Wars who brought ideas of social and political liberalism back to Russia. While they failed in the Decembrist Revolt of 1825, enough economic and social reform occurred during the reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855) — by most accounts the zenith of Russian power — to lay the groundwork for what came next, before Russia's defeat in the Crimean War. Nicholas's successor, Alexander II (1855–1881), was far more liberal and enacted the Reforms of 1861, finally bringing industrialization and modernization to Russia, albeit roughly a century later than Western Europe.

Revolution, Socialism, and the Rise of the Soviet State

As might be expected, this rapid industrialization generated various socialist movements that had their roots in Europe. Alexander II was killed in 1881 by socialist revolutionaries, causing his son, Alexander III, to be less tolerant of dissent and open social freedoms. It was the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), who proved unable to prevent the Revolution of 1905. That revolution was contained by the government but required major concessions, including the granting of free speech and assembly and the legalization of political parties. Nicholas was operating on an eighteenth-century paradigm, however, and entered World War I in response to Austria's declaration of war — a decision that proved to be the death knell of the empire. Russia was simply not modern or wealthy enough to withstand such severe economic pressure.

In 1917 the first of two major coups occurred: the tsar was imprisoned and later executed, a civil war erupted, and the Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Lenin eventually emerged victorious, establishing the world's first socialist state. The major thrust of the new government was to completely restructure the economy of the vast country — breaking up landed estates, seizing agricultural surpluses — though an eight-year period from 1921 to 1929 saw something closer to market socialism in practice. Once Lenin died and the struggle for ultimate control was won by Joseph Stalin, however, a vast and rapid reindustrialization took place. Stalin believed that the only way to retain a Soviet state was to modernize, and the only way to modernize was to collectivize all agriculture so that sufficient food surpluses could fuel the drastic measures necessary to do so. It was also during this period that a number of large industrial projects were built on what was euphemistically called "slave labor" — a term applied to anyone who disagreed with Stalin's policies. From a purely economic standpoint, few things could benefit the state more than thousands upon thousands of free laborers toiling six or seven days a week for nothing more than a meager food allowance. Thus, Russia became the Soviet Union and was thrust into the twentieth century at the cost of millions of its own citizens.