How Did Witte Develop Russian Industry

The use of foreign expertise could be argued to have had some success in developing Russian industry, as they "played a vital role in 'the great spurt ' "14 and were able to "kick-start Russian industry into the modern age"15. As Russia was so industrially undeveloped prior to Witte 's reforms, this reform was a success as it provided Russia with the means to quickly begin developing its industry with experienced workers, as opposed to spending time training up Russians to fill the roles. As a result, Russian industry was able to develop much faster than it would have done otherwise. However, it could also be argued that this use of foreign expertise, although an immediate success, had long term negative effects on Russia 's industry, as it "stunted the growth of home grown talent"16 and developed, what some of Nicholas 's critics called, "a dangerous and shameful dependence on foreigners"17. As a result of this, it could be argued that the use of foreign expertise was a failure as it left Russia with no means of continuing its …show more content…
The increased price of international produce made Russians more likely to consume Russian goods, therefore supporting Russia 's industrialisation. Additionally, Witte 's solution to the inevitable discontent from other countries at his move was to "invite foreign powers to continue to participate in the Russian economy, but by investing capital"22. This was an effective action to take, due to the fact that it increased levels of foreign capital entering Russia, whilst combating the potential backlash from other nations, which would have been damaging to Russian trade. Therefore, in this respect, high tariffs on foreign goods were successful in improving Russia 's industry as they increased both the demand for Russia 's goods within the country, and increased the amount of foreign