‘Russia was a backwards country with little hope of moderating herself’ How far do you agree?

Throughout time many historians have stated that Russia (prior to its revolution) was a ‘backwards’ country and that it had little chance of developing in order to keep up with the modernized world we live in today. However, by arguing for or against this, one must first take into consideration Russia’s social views, economy, geography and political tactics at this point in time.

Russia’s take on politics was different to some of the other powerful countries at this time. They had not yet brought in any form of democracy, however, with the country being 80% peasants, it was not yet possible. As the majority of the country are people who are being treated badly by their ruler, there was no way they would vote for the Tsar and therefore the country had to continue as they were, in an autocratic state. This was one of they key factors which labeled them as ‘backwards’, the country was ran in a way that was considered outdated and un-modern.

The country’s education system was another factor that was continuously preventing them from moving forward into the modern day world. With 90% of the country being illiterate, there was no way for the country to industrialize (which would also go on to effect their economy), without people being able to read or write, it became even more difficult for the country to move forward. The economy became weak very quickly because of the growth in population (keeping in mind that the amount of people who were uneducated was still 90%), they relied too much on their primary source of income which was agriculture, this resulted in the land developing crops less as they were constantly taken at every chance possible therefore making the land weaker (and a weaker land meant a weaker income).

Another factor that also had an effect on the economy was the geography of the country. Russia continuously faced problems when it came to exporting goods, the seas around them were continuously cold and their docks regularly became frozen solid making it extremely difficult for them to get ships in and out of the country. The structure of the country had an effect on the production in agriculture, there was never a fully stable part within the country that could continue to grow crops, there was also climate change which meant that when crops did grow, it didn’t last for long. Russia was split into various parts, e.g. forests, fields, towns and various other places that were continuously freezing cold and filled with ice and snow.

If you compare, Russia’s state to that of another country such as Britain or the USA at that time, you can see that Russia are extremely behind. The main factor that separates them from other powerful countries in that time period is their autocratic state. Many other countries went into democracy years before and Russia are way behind, this is probably the key reason as to why they were labeled as ‘backwards’. All the other factors that are preventing Russia could be improved and solved in time, however, the only way it would have been possible for Russia to reach democracy would be to get rid of the Tsar, and that was very unlikely (hence why the continued as communists even though many of them were desperate for change). Russia was ruled by the higher classes who looked down upon the people who actually made the country’s money (working class and peasants), with society being so unjust and out of place, there would be no chance for Russia to make any change to their country without changing how it was run and who was running it. Once this was done, their would be great improvement within the country’s economy, education system and social status.

Years later when leadership finally did change, their was rapid improvement, the country wasn’t so revolved around money and focused more on its citizens, students could finally leave the country without buying their way out and a place in the army couldn’t be bought, it was earned. This shows that the country was no longer ‘backwards’ and began moving forward, there was now much more hope for the country and its citizens.