Russian Labor System Essay

The changes and continuities of the Russian labor system from the years of 1750 to 1914 were that it changed from a serf based labor system in an attempt at industrialization, but remained the same in terms of its worker repression and that Russia never became a fully industrialized economy due to industrial discontent. The Russian labor system changed in that it went from being serf based to an attempt at an industrial economy. The labor system in Russia went from a serf-based economy and began industrialization when Czar Alexander II instituted the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 as a means of making the country more industrialized and strengthening the Russian empire. Once emancipated, many serfs fled to large cities or countrysides where they could find land and work they would be paid for. The prime mover of Russian Industrialization was Count Sergei Witte, minister of finance from 1892 to 1903. The centerpiece of his industrial policy was an ambitious program of railway
The government sought to balance the interests of lords and serfs, but in this balance, the terms of emancipation were unfavorable to most peasants. Serfs won their freedom, had their labor obligations gradually After serfs were emancipated and went to find work elsewhere, they found that they still could not get away from the difficulties of their feudal position. Peasants who worked in Russian factories between 1750 and 1914 were overworked and underpaid, and serfs who attempted to farm had to pay to do so. Serfs won their freedom, had their labor obligations gradually canceled, and gained the opportunity to become landowners. However, they had won few political rights and had to pay a redemption tax for most of the land they received. Most peasants and serfs found themselves in debt for the rest of their lives; a source of alienation and