Economic Challenges
Providing for the People
The size of Russia itself would have created major problems for the Tsar. Being so large it would have been difficult to a have a good transport network which would thus mean there would be a poor communication network. This would mean that it would be difficult for the Tsar’s rule to be spread and policed. Although Russia was so large much of the land was not arable and therefore was unsuitable for living or farming. A large percentage of Russia’s land was tundra and taiga which meant that nothing would grow there and was hard to live in. Deforestation would be needed for the taiga land to become suitable for living which would require intense labour, resources and time. Even if the taiga was populated it would most likely still be secluded from the rest of Russia and its resources would not be available due to poor transport. The Tsar would need to overcome these problems if he was to make Russia a great and thriving nation.
The climate was another massive problem faced by the Tsar in governing his empire. Due to the cold climate coming from the arctic it meant that for the majority of the year the coast, rivers and sea ports were frozen causing sea and river trade to be impossible for many months of the year. This made it difficult for the Tsar to provide for his empire as the climate did not allow Russia to grow its own food, almost everything had to be imported. Overall the Tsar faced the massive problem of providing his empire with health care, education and resources as it was so large with a massive population, little resources and undeveloped transport systems all of which were made worse by the brutal climate.
These issues were only made more severe by the high rate of population growth shown in the table below.
The climate was another massive problem faced by the Tsar in governing his empire. Due to the cold climate coming from the arctic it meant that for the majority of the year the coast, rivers and sea ports were frozen causing sea and river trade to be impossible for many months of the year. This made it difficult for the Tsar to provide for his empire as the climate did not allow Russia to grow its own food, almost everything had to be imported. Overall the Tsar faced the massive problem of providing his empire with health care, education and resources as it was so large with a massive population, little resources and undeveloped transport systems all of which were made worse by the brutal climate.
These issues were only made more severe by the high rate of population growth shown in the table below.
This map serves as a refresher from the tab on the Geography of Russia. The purpose is to highlight the location and size of the Russian Empire.
References for this page
Etty, J. (2007). Russia’s Climate and Geography. Retrieved from http://www.historytoday.com/john-etty/russia%E2%80%99s-climate-and-geography
Spulber, N. (2003). Russia’s Economic Transitions: From late Tsarism to the New Millennium. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Etty, J. (2007). Russia’s Climate and Geography. Retrieved from http://www.historytoday.com/john-etty/russia%E2%80%99s-climate-and-geography
Spulber, N. (2003). Russia’s Economic Transitions: From late Tsarism to the New Millennium. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.