ABSTRACT
Western historical scholarship has generally emphasized the dependence, economic as well as political, of Russian business circles on the government and the predominant importance of governmental initiative and direction in the economic development of the Empire. The economic crisis that began in 1899 proved severe, and the signs of recovery that first appeared in 1904 were soon dissipated by the difficult and costly war with Japan. Conflicting economic interests divided the business community, and geographic, ethnic and social differences were compounded by the vast size of the country, inadequate transportation facilities, and the tensions of the current moment. Russia's new industrial organizations helped to swell the membership rolls of the Association of Industry and Trade, to expand its financial resources and, no doubt, to increase the authority with which it was able to speak in the name of “united industry.”
