ABSTRACT
In 1914, only four countries-Germany, France, Britain, and the United Statespossessed a larger industrial sector than Russia. Russia’s appearance near the top of the industrial table was a relatively new phenomenon; it was only during the 1890s that Russia transformed itself into one of the leading industrial nations of the world. By any measurement, Russia’s economic growth between 1890 and 1914 was impressive, yet paradoxically, despite this success, Russia remained a predominantly poor, agrarian society, with approximately two-thirds of the population still employed in the agricultural sector as late as 1914.
