Urbanization and industrialization in late Imperial Russia: Ivanovo-Voznesensk, 1880-1914
Abstract
This work is a case study of the link between urbanization and industrialization in the late Tsarist period. Ivanovo-Voznesensk offers evidence of urban development and economic maturation beyond the much-studied Moscow and St. Petersburg. The economy of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, unlike those of the two capitals with their administrative elements and diversified economies, relied almost exclusively upon factory industry, especially in the manufacture of textiles. This was truly an industrial city. Through an investigation of the people who fueled urban development, it is possible to explore the connections between population pressure and city growth, the "push" factor in population movement, and the influence of an urban center on its hinterland. The reasons for migration, its various forms, and migrants' characteristics provide insights into the persistence of rural ties, the lure of factory work, and the strategies of the late nineteenth century Russian populace. An examination of the process of industrial growth in Ivanovo-voznesensk determines the broad trends of capitalist development occurring in Russia. These larger trends had significant impact upon the conditions of factory labor and the lives of workers in shaping their perceptions and consciousness. The homogeneity of textile work further exposed workers to similar experiences and forged common grievances and solidarity. The impersonal forces of urbanization and industrialization provided the structural context in which people lived and worked. Opportunities offered by the city and by industrial employment raised expectations; yet, barriers and limitations also existed which engendered frustration and anger. How and to what extent urbanization and industrialization affected the Russian population comprise the bulk of this study. Moreover, the range of responses by urban workers to the conditions in the city and factories forms the foundation for understanding people's struggles to survive and to cope with a changing world. This study of the strains, dislocations, and opportunities created by rapid urbanization and industrialization strives to provide as complete a picture as possible of life and work in urban Russia before the Revolution.
Recommended Citation
Susan M Vorderer,
"Urbanization and industrialization in late Imperial Russia: Ivanovo-Voznesensk, 1880-1914"
(January 1, 1990).
Boston College Dissertations and Theses.
Paper AAI9101701.
http://escholarship.bc.edu/dissertations/AAI9101701
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