One group, the Modernizers, believed that Russia remained backward and primitive and could progress only through more Europeanization. Russia - Russia - Daily life and social customs: During the Soviet era most customs and traditions of Russia’s imperial past were suppressed, and life was strictly controlled and regulated by the state through its vast intelligence network. 1800-1860: Lifestyles, Social Trends, Fashion, Sports & Recreation: Overview The Old West. These farms made Russia the breadbasket of the world, accounting for around one-third of the global wheat trade before World War I. Tsarism was confronted with several revolutionary groups and reformist movements during its three-century history. Michael the 2nd was the King of Russia during the late 1800s What conditions in Russia challenged progress during the early 1800s? The 1800s, in particular, was a period of reform and reaction. For white Americans in the early nineteenth century the West represented many things. History of Europe - History of Europe - Early 19th-century social and political thought: The Romantics who studied society through the novel or discoursed about it in essays and pamphlets were no less devoted to this “cause of humanity,” but they arrived at politically different conclusions from Goethe’s and from one another’s. The social changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution were significantThe Industrial Revolution brought with it an increase in population and urbanization, as well as new social classes The poor living conditions in the towns can be traced to: lack of good brick, the absence of building codes, and the lack of machinery for public… One third of the countries population in 1855 comprised agricultural workers. A rigid social structure with atocratic rule, economic backwardness and social injustice. Russia Table of Contents. Perhaps one of the most eminent difficulties in Russia during the 19th century was the social division. This was a legislative parliament in Russia with real political power Describe the social structure that existed in Russia during the 1800s. These peasants (about 80% of the total population) were either owned by landlords or by the state. “Peasant Communes and Economic Innovation” from Peasant Economy, Culture, and Politics of European Russia, 1800-1921. Russia - Russia - Economy: The Russian republic, by virtue of its great size and abundant natural resources, played a leading role in the economy of the Soviet Union. Russia’s reformist tsar of the 1800s, Alexander II. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were times of crisis for Russia. Serfdom held them back and posed a challenge to their progress. Many died of starvation, disease or … For some it offered adventure or a chance to get rich quick; for others, the opportunity to own land. In this first chapter of the book, Kingston-Mann discusses in an essay the different economic models tried to put into use at peasant communes. In fact, Russia’s early 20th century wheat traders were so sophisticated that they initiated hedging prices and used financial markets in London and New York for their crops. Conditions at the Gulag were brutal: Prisoners could be required to work up to 14 hours a day, often in extreme weather. The official emphasis on Russian nationalism contributed to a debate on Russia's place in the world, the meaning of Russian history, and the future of Russia.