The Price of Victory

Abstract

This article examines the role of the economic factor in the war and the consequences of the war for the Russian economy. The author describes the country's critical economic situation and financial difficulties on the eve of the war. He concludes that the exorbitant expenditures on the war caused irreparable damage to the Russian treasury and forced the government to adopt a more circumspect foreign policy and avoid another international conflict.

Notes

1 See, for example, D. Skhimmel’pennink van der Oie [David Schimmelpenninck van der Oye], Navstrechu voskhodiashchemu solntsu: kak imperskoe mifotvorchestvo privelo Rossiiu k voine s Iaponiei (Moscow, 2009), p 111. [Originally published as Toward the Rising Sun: Russian Ideologies of Empire and the Path to War with Japan (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2001).—Trans.]

2 A.A. Gulevich, Voina i narodnoe khoziaistvo (St. Petersburg, 1898), pp. 93, 185, 186.

3 V.V. Lapin, “Voennye raskhody Rossii v XIX v.,” in Problemy sotsial’no-ekonomicheskoi istorii Rossii: k 100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia Borisa Aleksandrovicha Romanova (St. Petersburg, 1991), p. 159.

4 Dzh. Bushnell [John S. Bushnell], “Miliutin i balkanskaia voina: ispytanie voennoi reformy,” in Velikie reformy v Rossii. 1856–1874 (Moscow, 1992), p. 246.

5 V.L. Stepanov, “Krymskaia voina i ekonomika Rossii,” in The Crimean War, 1853–1856: Colonial Skirmish or Rehearsal for World War? Empires, Nations, and Individuals (Warsaw, 2011), p. 297. [Translated in Russian Studies in History Issue 51(1), pp. 7–34]

6 L.G. Zakharova, “Aleksandr II i Dmitrii Miliutin: vzgliad na reshenie ‘vostochnogo voprosa,’” in Novyi mir istorii Rossii: forum iaponskikh i rossiiskikh issledovatelei (Moscow, 2001), pp. 86–99; S.A. Kochukov, “Za brat’ev-slavian”: Russko-turetskaia voina 1877–1878 v vospriatii obshchestva, vlasti i armii Rossiiskoi imperii (Saratov, 2012), pp. 196–243.

7 V.L. Stepanov, “Mikhail Khristoforovich Reitern,” in Rossiiskie reformatory (XIX–nachalo XX v.) (Moscow, 1995), pp. 171, 172.

8 Respectively, more than 1.2 billion bushels, a little less than 834 million bushels, and a little more than 1.03 billion bushels at 5.957 U.S. bushels per chetvert.—Trans.

9 M.I. Tugan-Baranovskii, Russkaia fabrika v proshlom i nastoiashchem: istoriko-ekonomicheskoe issledovanie, vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1900), pp. 313, 327–29; V.I. Pokrovskii, Sbornik svedenii po istorii i statistike vneshnei torgovli Rossii, vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1902), tables, pp. 105, 117, 141; L.A. Mendel’son, Ekonomicheskie krizisy i tsikly XIX veka (Moscow, 1949), pp. 503–10; A.F. Iakovlev, Ekonomicheskie krizisy v Rossii (Moscow, 1955), pp. 96–126; S.G. Strumilin, Ocherki ekonomicheskoi istorii Rossii (Moscow, 1960), pp. 490–94; A.S. Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii vo vtoroi polovine XIX veka,” Istoriia SSSR, 1972, no. 3, pp. 44, 45, 57–58.

10 A.N. Kulomzin and V.G. Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern: biograficheskii ocherk. S prilozheniiami iz posmertnykh zapisok M.Kh. Reiterna (St. Petersburg, 1910), pp. 158, 184, 185, 189.

11 I.S. Bliokh, Finansy Rossii XIX stoletiia: istoriia—statistika, vol. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1882), pp. 218–14; P.P. Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit (1769–1899): opyt istoriko-kriticheskogo obzora, vol. 1 (Khar’kov, 1899), pp. 443, 444.

12 The “Slavic movement” refers to the public activities of various individuals and groups, some of whom professed the ideology of Pan-Slavism.–Ed.

13 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii ot turetskogo iga: dokumenty, vol. 1 (Moscow, 1961), pp. 397–98; D.A. Miliutin, Dnevnik. 1876–1878 (Moscow, 2009), p. 119.

14 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 1, pp. 419–20.

15 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, pp. 158, 185, 186.

16 Ibid., pp. 160–67.

17 Ibid., pp. 159, 184–86, 189–91.

18 Miliutin, Dnevnik, p. 134.

19 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, p. 159.

20 M.P. Kashkarov, Denezhnoe obrashchenie v Rossii, 2 vols., vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1898), p. 73.

21 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 1, p. 464; Zapiski kniazia Dmitriia Aleksandrovicha Obolenskogo. 1855–1879 (St. Petersburg, 2005), p. 404.

22 PSZ-II [Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi imperii-II], vol. 51, sect. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1878), no. 56562.

23 Ibid., no. 56573; Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit, pp. 458, 459, 461.

24 M.N. Sobolev, Tamozhennaia politika Rossii vo vtoroi polovine XIX veka, 2 vols., vol. 2 (Moscow, 2012), pp. 7–13.

25 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, p. 168.

26 Ibid., pp. 168, 187, 190.

27 M.P. Kashkarov, Denezhnoe obrashchenie v Rossii, vol. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1898), appendices, pp. 39, 177.

28 Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit, p. 457.

29 Vsepoddanneishii otchet gosudarstvennogo kontrolera za 1877 god (St. Petersburg, 1878), p. 82.

30 Ministerstvo finansov: 1802–1902, 2 pts., pt. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1902), p. 639.

31 Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit, pp. 458, 459, 461.

32 Opisanie Russko-turetskoi voiny 1877–1878 na Balkanskom poluostrove, vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1901), pp. 366, 367.

33 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, p. 169.

34 Bliokh, Finansy Rossii, p. 239.

35 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, pp. 170–75.

36 Ibid., p. 176.

37 Miliutin, Dnevnik, pp. 192–94, 624–28.

38 Kulomzin and Reitern-Nol’ken, M.Kh. Reitern, pp. 177–80.

39 Vsepoddanneishii doklad po Voennomu ministerstvu. 19 fevralia 1877 goda [St. Petersburg, 1877], pp. 209–10.

40 Opisanie Russko-turetskoi voiny, p. 368; Miliutin, Dnevnik, p. 210.

41 Miliutin, Dnevnik, p. 232.

42 Istoricheskii ocherk deiatel’nosti voennogo upravleniia v pervoe dvadtsatiletie blagopoluchnogo tsarstvovaniia gosudaria imperatora Aleksandra Nikolaevicha (1855–1880), vol. 5 (St. Petersburg, 1880), pp. 58, 59, 77, 78, appendix no. 82; P.A. Zaionchkovskii, Voennye reformy 1860–1870 godov v Rossii (Moscow, 1952), p. 340.

43 Istoricheskii ocherk deiatel’nosti voennogo upravleniia v pervoe dvadtsatiletie blagopoluchnogo tsarstvovaniia gosudaria imperatora Aleksandra Nikolaevicha (1855–1880), vol. 6 (St. Petersburg, 1881), pp. 177–87, 196, appendix nos. 105, 106, 107, 108; N.A. Zaionchkovskii, Voennye reformy, pp. 341–45; Bushnell, “Miliutin i balkanskaia voina,” p. 243; P.I. Veshchikov, Voennoe khoziaistvo—Tyl Vooruzhennykh sil Rossii (XVIII–XX vv.) (Moscow 2003), pp. 171, 180; O.R. Airapetov, Vneshniaia politika Rossiiskoi imperii (1801–1914) (Moscow, 2006), pp. 322–24, 334.

44 Vsepoddanneishii otchet gosudarstvennogo kontrolera za 1877 god, pp. 120–25; Vsepoddanneishii otchet gosudarstvennogo kontrolera za 1878 god (St. Petersburg, 1879), pp. 92–99; P.I. Veshchikov, Prodovol’stvennaia sluzhba armii i flota gosudarstva Rossiiskogo: istoricheskii ocherk (Moscow, 1997), pp. 74–82; P.I. Veshchikov, A.A. Ogurechnikov, and A.V. Shanin, Prodovol’stvennaia sluzhba Vooruzhennykh sil Rossii: kratkaia istoriia (Moscow, 1999), pp. 76–87; Veshchikov, Voennoe khoziaistvo, pp. 163–83; I.T. Ianberdin, Razvitie proviantskoi sluzhby russkoi armii vo vtoroi polovine XIX v., a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of candidate of historical sciences (Moscow, 2006), pp. 180–95; S.V. Gavrilov, Razvitie material’nogo snabzheniia russkoi armii v XIX veke, a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of historical sciences (St. Petersburg, 2010), pp. 378–97; A.V. Aranovich, Tyl Vooruzhennykh sil Rossiiskoi imperii vo vtoroi polovine XIX–nachale XX veka (intendantskoe snabzhenie) (St. Petersburg, 2012), pp. 37–119.

45 Approximately 13,250 miles.—Trans.

46 For further detail on the role of the railroads in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, see P.M. Lesar, Voennye zheleznodorozhnye postroiki russkoi armii v kampaniiu 1877–1878 godov (St. Petersburg, 1879); A.N. Izmailov, Ocherki zheleznodorozhnogo dela v voine 1877–1878 godov (St. Petersburg, 1880); “Ocherk voennoi deiatel’nosti zheleznykh dorog v 1877–1878 gg.,” Inzhenernyi zhurnal, 1883, no. 5, pp. 619–59; A.A. Vendrikh, Zapiski ekspluatatsii zheleznykh dorog s voennymi tseliami (St. Petersburg, 1886), pp. 546–57; G.N. Karaev, Vozniknovenie sluzhby voennykh soobshchenii na zheleznykh dorogakh Rossii (1851–1878) (Moscow, 1949), pp. 90–107; A.M. Solov’eva, Zheleznodoroznyi transport Rossii vo vtoroi polovine XIX v. (Moscow, 1975), pp. 111–13; Solov’eva, “Promyshlennost’ i finansy,” in Rossiia v revoliutsionnoi situatsii na rubezhe 1870–1880-kh godov (Moscow, 1983), p. 67; and N.V. Starostenkov, Zheleznodoroznyi transport i oboronosposobnost’ Rossiiskoi imperii (vtoraia polovina XIX v.–1914 g.) (Moscow, 2002), pp. 245–53.

47 Veshchikov, Prodovol’stvennaia sluzhba, pp. 78–80; Veshchikov, Voennoe khoziaistvo, pp. 170, 172, 176–80; Ianberdin, Razvitie proviantskoi sluzhby, pp. 195–212; Gavrilov, Razvitie material’nogo snabzheniia, pp. 384, 396; Aranovich, Tyl Vooruzhennykh sil, pp. 73, 78, 80, 84. 94–98.

48 More than 162.5 million pounds.—Trans.

49 Statisticheskii vremennik Rossiiskoi imperii, series 3, pt. 15 (St. Petersburg, 1886), pp. 352–53; Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii ot turetskogo iga: dokumenty, vol. 2 (Moscow, 1964), pp. 77, 287; M.M. Zalyshkin, Vneshniaia politika Rumynii i rumyno-russkie otnosheniia. 1875–1878 (Moscow, 1974), p. 273; Zalyshkin, “Voenno-politicheskoe sotrudnichestvo mezhdu Rumyniei i Rossiei v voine 1877–1878 gg.,” Rossiia i Vostochnyi krizis 70-kh godov XIX v. (Moscow, 1981), pp. 158, 160, 165, 166; Miliutin, Dnevnik, pp. 214, 221, 230, 282.

50 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 1, pp. 261, 529–30; vol. 2, pp. 177, 236, 237, 361; K.L. Strukova and N.I. Khitrova, “Chernogoriia v voine s Turtsiei (1876–1878 gg.),” in Balkanskie issledovaniia, pt. 4: Russko-turetskaia voina 1877–1878 gg. i Balkany (Moscow, 1978), pp. 68, 71–74; Miliutin, Dnevnik, p. 221.

51 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 2, pp. 138, 301, 381, 382; N.I. Khitrova “Chernogoriia v period Vostochnogo krizisa 1875–1878 gg.,” in Rossiia i Vostochnyi krizis, pp. 70, 72–74.

52 Statisticheskii vremennik Rossiiskoi imperii, pp. 352–53, 358–59; Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 2, pp. 161, 293; Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii ot turetskogo iga: dokumenty, vol. 3 (Moscow, 1967), pp. 93, 160, 192, 196, 197, 206, 207, 217, 218, 246, 247, 537; A.A. Ulunian, Rossiia i osvobozhdenie Bolgarii ot turetskogo iga (Moscow, 1994), p. 191; V.A. Zolotarev, Protivoborstvo imperii: voina 1877–1878 gg.—apofeoz vostochnogo krizisa (Moscow, 2005), p. 130.

53 Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 1, p. 639.

54 Bliokh, Finansy Rossii, pp. 244, 245.

55 Vsepoddanneishii doklad po Voennomu ministerstvu 1878 goda [St. Petersburg, 1878], pp. 223–24.

56 PSZ-II, vol. 53, sect. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1880), no. 58744.

57 Vospominaniia zhizni F.G. Ternera, pt. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1911), p. 124.

58 Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 1, pp. 634–35, 638–39; Ministerstvo finansov: 1802–1902, pt. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1902), p. 643.

59 Kashkarov, Denezhnoe obrashchenie, vol. 1, pp. 73, 83, 177.

60 PSZ-II, vol. 55, sect. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1884), no. 61730.

61 V.L. Stepanov, N.Kh. Bunge: sud’ba reformatora (Moscow, 1998), p. 201.

62 PSZ-II, vol. 52, sect. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1879), no. 57362.

63 Ibid., no. 57415.

64 P.A. Valuev, Dnevnik 1877–1884 gg. (Petrograd, 1919), p. 11; E.I. Lamanskii, Izbrannye sochineniia (Moscow, 2005), p. 179; Miliutin, Dnevnik, p. 228.

65 PSZ-II, vol. 53, sect. 2, no. 58781.

66 PSZ-II, vol. 54, sect. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1881), no. 59623.

67 Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit, pp. 462–69.

68 PSZ-II, vol. 52, sect. 2 (St. Petersburg, 1879), no. 57828; vol. 53 sect. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1880), nos. 58185, 58223, 58350; vol. 53, sect. 2, no. 58970; vol. 54, sect. 1, no. 59615.

69 Migulin, Russkii gosudarstvennyi kredit, pp. 454, 455, 477–79.

70 P.A. Zaionchkovskii, Krizis samoderzhaviia na rubezhe 1870–1880-kh godov (Moscow, 1964), pp. 8–14; N.M. Druzhinin, Russkaia derevnia na perelome. 1861–1880 (Moscow, 1978), pp. 251, 273.

71 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 2, pp. 316, 459.

72 The chernyi peredel would allegedly involve the confiscation of all land not previously held by peasants and its redistribution to them. Chernyi means literally “black,” but is here to be understood as “universal.”—Trans.

73 Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 1, p. 634.

74 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 2, p. 459.

75 Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” p. 52.

76 Druzhinin, Russkaia derevnia na perelome, p. 252.

77 Vsepoddanneishii otchet gosudarstvennogo kontrolera za 1876 god (St. Petersburg, 1877), p. 33.

78 Vsepoddanneishii otchet gosudarstvennogo kontrolera za 1877 god, p. 27.

79 As explained earlier, this was introduced in 1877 and involved the payment of customs duties exclusively in gold.—Trans.

80 Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 1, pp. 632–33; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” p. 52.

81 PSZ-II, vol. 53, sect. 2, nos. 59148, 59161, 59162, 59163, 59163, 59164; vol. 54, sect. 1, nos. 59639, 59640, 59641, 59643; vol. 55, sect. 1, no. 61666.

82 I.S. Bliokh, Vlianie zheleznykh dorog na ekonomicheskoe sostoianie Rossii, vol. 5 (St. Petersburg, 1878), p. 159.

83 A.V. Bugrov, Gosudarstvennyi bank. 1860–1917 (Moscow, 2012), p. 46.

84 I.F. Gindin, Gosudarstvennyi bank i ekonomicheskaia politika tsarsogo pravitel’stva (1861–1892 gody) (Moscow, 1960), p. 147.

85 Lamanskii, Izbrannye sochineniia, p. 183.

86 Sobolev, Tamozhennaia politika Rossii, pp. 421–138 [sic].

87 Almost 196 million bushels and a little more than 266 million bushels.—Trans.

88 Pokrovskii, Sbornik svedenii po istorii, tables, pp. 105, 117, 141; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” p. 44.

89 V.A. Zolotov, Khlebnyi eksport Rossii cherez porty Chernogo i Azovskovo morei v 60–90-e gody XIX v. (Rostov on Don, 1966), pp. 120–22.

90 Pokrovskii, Sbornik svedenii po istorii, tables, pp. 105, 117, 141.

91 Kashkarov, Denezhnoe obrashchenie, vol. 1, p. 177; Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 1, p. 634.

92 V.P. Bezobrazov, Narodnoe khoziaistvo Rossii, pt. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1882), p. 277.

93 Bezobrazov, Narodnoe khoziaistvo Rossii, p. 362; Tugan-Baranovskii, Russkaia fabrika, pp. 313, 330–32; Iakovlev, Ekonomicheskie krizisy, pp. 127–37; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” pp. 44, 45, 46.

94 Bezobrazov, Narodnoe khoziaistvo Rossii, pp. 288–89, 290.

95 Osvobozhdenie Bolgarii, vol. 2, p. 459.

96 Quoted from Istoriia vneshnei politiki Rossii. Vtoraia polovina XIX veka (ot Parizhskogo mira 1856 g. do russko-frantsuzskogo soiuza) (Moscow, 1997), p. 213.

97 Bezobrazov, Narodnoe khoziaistvo Rossii, p. 315.

98 Almost 1.025 billion bushels and more than 923 million bushels.—Trans.

99 Pokrovskii, Sbornik svedenii po istorii, tables, p. 105; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” p. 45.The quantities cited total almost 250 million and more than 146 million bushels, respectively.—Trans.

100 Tugan-Baranovskii, Russkaia fabrika, pp. 313, 332–335; Mendel’son, Ekonomicheskie krizisy i tsikly, pp. 594–598; Iakovlev, Ekonomicheskie krizisy, pp. 137–160; Strumilin, Ocherki ekonomicheskoi istorii, pp. 494–502; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” pp. 45, 46, 58, 59.

101 Bezobrazov, Narodnoe khoziaistvo Rossii, p. 299.

102 Almost 1.126 billion and 1.054 billion bushels.—Trans.

103 Kashkarov, Denezhnoe obrashchenie, vol. 1, p. 177; Pokrovskii, Sbornik svedenii po istorii, tables, pp. 105, 117, 141; Ministerstvo finansov, pt. 2, p. 640; Nifontov, “Khoziaistvennaia kon’’iunktura v Rossii,” pp. 45, 52, 59, 60.

104 Lamanskii, Izbrannye sochineniia, p. 179.

105 V.A. Kokorev, Ekonomicheskie provaly po vospominaniiam s 1837 goda (Moscow, 2005), p. 98.

106 Bliokh, Finansy Rossii, p. 282.

107 Vsepoddaneishii doklad ministra finansov o gosudarstvennoi rospisi dokhodov i raskhodov na 1881 god (St. Petersburg, 1881), pp. 10–11.

108 Solov’eva, “Promyshlennost’ i finansy,” pp. 68, 69; A.A. Alafaev, “Russko-turetskaia voina 1877–1878 godov na stranitsakh zhurnala ‘Vestnik Evropy,’” Istoriia SSSR, 1984, no. 4, p. 148; N.Iu. Nikolaev, “Vostochnyi krizis i Russko-turetskaia voina na stranitsakh zhurnala ‘Vestnik Evropy’ v 1857–1878 godakh,” Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta, series 4: Istoriia. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniia, 2011, no. 1, p. 143; Kochukov, “Za brat’ev-slavian,” pp. 60, 63; E.A. Suchalkin, Russko-turetskaia voina 1877–1878 gg. v otsenkakh rossiiskikh sovremennikov, a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of candidate of historical sciences (Belgorod, 2013), pp. 184–207.