Russian Empire Dbq

Many economic factors led to the collapse of the Russian empire. Those factors not only affected the empire, they also affected the people inside of the empire. By examining these factors, we can find out how they led to the fall of Russia. The collapse of the Russian Empire was primarily caused by a combination of weak industrialization, agricultural inefficiencies, and the economic strain of funding World War I. These factors, among others, contributed to the downfall of the empire.

Before its collapse, Russia struggled with weak industrialization, which hindered its economic development and competitiveness on the global stage. This weak industrial base refers to the limited development and modernization of industries in the Russian Empire.

Funding World War I was a major economic struggle for Russia. The war put a huge strain on the country's resources and finances. The government had to allocate a significant portion of its budget to support the war effort, which led to inflation, increased taxes, and a growing budget deficit. This, combined with other economic factors, contributed to the collapse of the Russian Empire. It was a challenging time for the country. This was shown in document 4 when it says "Take people who earn 50-60 rubles a month, which is the majority of factory workers. How can they live in the city on that money? Even in the remote provinces, that sort of monthly income is not enough to make ends meet. And in Petrograd [St. Petersburg] it is impossible. Take salted cod fish, which has always been popular among the lower classes because of its low cost. In 1910, a pound of cod cost about 0.10 rubles, but since 1914 this food item began rising in price and now sells for about 0.75 rubles per pound.." This shows how the cost of World War 1 has caused inflation beyond what Russian citizens can afford helping lead to the empire's downfall. This can also be shown in document 6 when it says "From every corner of Russia come reports, each more dismal and miserable than the other. The mayor of Moscow reports that the situation there with respect to the food supply is critical. Instead of the required 65 train cars of flour, in December [of 1916] the daily flour supply was not more than 50 train cars." This shows how in using their money to fund World War 1 they were unable to supply food for their people, adding to the list of reasons for the collapse of this