Comparative Essay: Russia and Japan Industrialization

Industrialization began in England in the late 1700s to the early 1800s and took 100 years to reach Russia and Japan. Russia’s series of losses in conflicts in east europe, namely the Crimean war, led to its contribution and efforts regarding industrialization due to the benefits that the military would obtain. Previously recorded throughout global advancements and changes, Japan remained an isolated state to preserve its rich culture which binded it as a nation, but also caused issues that delayed the country’s progress. The industrialization occurred at the benefit of the countries to advance their social, political, and economic standing but each followed different pathways, leading to visible contrasts in their success. 

Steps taken by the Russian government leading up to this time period paved the way for a poorly executed process of industrialization which occurred over a greater period of time than Japan. Following its tremendous loss in the Crimean war after western European nations came to the defense of the Ottoman empire highlighted the weaknesses of Russia's military due to its inadequate technology, which was the primary motive for its industrialization. Russian industrialization was staggered with failures and economic troubles, discussed in Document 1. Sergey Witte wrote a letter to Tsar Nicholas II in secret with the intent to shield the greater public from mishaps of the Russian Government, a feature which is still utilized today and further described in Document 6. Given his financial position in the government, Witte was obligated to advise the Tzar on the nation's economic doings, suggesting the aversion of European trade and directing towards Asiatic trade, which would form the basis of the Russian industrialized economy. With this knowledge, Tzar Nicholas II would need to fully exert foreign trade for an influx of money to completely industrialize, forming agriculture and industry to be the pillars of the Russian economy. This relates to the idea in which the Russian government’s initiative prior to and during the industrialization were lacking and therefore caused difficulty in the overall process. WIth the understanding that Russia’s industrialization was flawed, it can be expected that the rapid inclusion of factories meant the wellbeing of workers declined and were no longer prioritized. Source 4 was produced in the midst of industrialization, also making it the pinnacle of mistreatment in the factory - Workers took to strike in an attempt to escape the abusive conditions found in factories brought on by the unsatisfactory execution of industrialization . Further representing features of propaganda, Document 6 capitalizes on the benefits and highlights the good outcomes of RUssian industry, going so far as to say textile mills in Russia were among some of the best in the world. In reality, Russia’s failure to adopt higher grade weapons was the most prominent cause of the state's loss in the Crimean war, inevitably leading to its industrialization. Pavel Buryshkin, author of this source, likely produced this with the intent to redirect the general public from the realities of the situation, which were of those described in Document 4 and 7: Terrible conditions, and a careless reaction from the government. His merchant role was directly impacted by decisions of the government, therefore he may be an unreliable source. Published in a magazine for women's rights, document 7 writes of the cruel mistreatment endured by women of the early 1900s, a time period which felt the worst of the abuses.  It discusses the inefficiency of strikes as the government was negligent to the wellbeing of workers, using physical force to reprimand children and overworking adult women. TYpical of such situations, the workers went on strike in an attempt to find justice for the horrid conditions and dismissal of elderly workers, but failed as the government replaced them with younger, desperate laborers. Russia’s dense population made it achievable for the government to carelessly toss aside those who were not compliant with the set standards, replacing them with young girls.