was quite similar to Estonia’s: in the 19th century, both countries were under the rule of the Russian czars, and both lacked classical raw materials such as coal and iron ore. But the abolition of serfdom [...] provinces” of Livonia, Courland and Estonia were more industrialised than any other part of the Russian Empire. Yet agriculture remained the most important economic sector – and here as well, Latvia and [...] productivity in the Empire. The war left behind great devastation, and beyond that, the withdrawing Russians dismantled a large portion of the factories when Latvia gained independence in 1918. However, the

St. Petersburg to Warsaw, the capital of Russian “Congress Poland”, intersected the country. This was followed by a branch connecting Daugavpils in then Russian Latvia, with Polotsk and Vitebsk, and finally [...] manufacture, is available in plenty. Thus, in the 19th century – when the country was part of the Russian Empire – only a few factories were established to process “home-grown” raw materials. The first steam [...] sewing machines and synthetic fibres, glass and textiles. The harvester factory founded in Homel (Russian Gomel) in 1930 remains in business today. World War II was a catastrophe that claimed over two million

economically more important. When Finland became part of the economically virtually undeveloped Russian Empire in 1809, a gigantic market was opened up to Finnish entrepreneurs. The nearby capital of St [...] Outokumpu, which were actively mined until 1989. Finland became independent in 1919 in the wake of the Russian Revolution. The young republic weathered the economic turbulence between the wars, and even the great [...] war, ironically sparked by the reparations that Finland was forced to pay the Soviet Union. As the Russian economy demanded primarily metal products, from ships and railroad cars to machine tools, the me

cars since 1968 under license from Renault; aircraft production was expanded in cooperation with Russian, and also British and French companies; and at the end of the 1970s, Romania was even exporting offshore

and the deportations were largely stopped in early 1917. The recruitment of civilians in occupied Russian Poland was more successful. Once they were in Germany, however, they were not allowed to return home: [...] in all occupied countries: First in the Czech Republic and Poland, then in Western Europe, with Russians and Poles eventually forming the vast majority. On farms and in private households, their living [...] from Western Europe were paid reasonably tolerable wages, while so-called 'Eastern workers', mainly Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians, were paid a pittance. At first they were housed in dance halls or

was successful: In Treblinka, the largest death factory after Auschwitz, the exhaust fumes from Russian tank engines were fed into the gas chambers. The capacity of the killing machinery there was, according

may soon live in peace again. In solidarity with Ukraine, we have removed the descriptions of all Russian sites presented on our website until further notice. ERIH's playlist on YouTube: 'Industrial Heritage

lie an abundance of raw materials, was defined by the Tsars and the Soviets. Kazakhstan came under Russian rule around the middle of the 18th century and then served primarily as a supplier of raw materials [...] mining of coal and a small copper smelter near Karaganda, and coal mining in Ekibastuz. In 1899, a Russian company drilled the first oil well, and from 1908, with the help of foreign investors, the "black [...] the country, and in 1915 the Altai Railway followed in the east. But then the First World War, the Russian Civil War and a famine led to a catastrophe from which the country only recovered very slowly. From

ON THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF RUSSIA Listen Although the European part of the Russian Empire was rich in raw materials its industrialisation started late, due mainly to the lack of labour and capital caused [...] for demonstration purposes in 1837 and was followed by a link between Warsaw, at that time under Russian rule, and the Austro-Hungarian border. From 1851 trains ran between St. Petersburg and Moscow. These [...] hard coal increased, as did iron and steel production, and towards the end of the 19th century the Russian Empire experienced the first phase of industrialisation. However, workers’ living conditions were

built the first oil derricks in the Russian Empire to extract Georgian oil. Ludwig Nobel, brother of dynamite inventor Alfred, an oil magnate in (at that time Russian) Baku on the Caspian Sea, had the “black [...] briefly reigned over the country as kings, systematically expanded mining in the 18 th century. The Russian Czars annexed the country to their empire at the start of the 19th century, intensified trade, imported

in 1846. This was followed by refineries for products such as kerosene and paraffin oil. When the Russian government began selling off land on Abşeron and granting drilling concessions in 1872, oil derricks [...] first pipelines from the oil wells to their refinery. To accelerate transport to the heart of the Russian Empire, they commissioned the first ocean-going oil tanker to carry the black gold across the Caspian

towns of Kapan and Alaverdi. Economic activities increased after the country passed from Persian to Russian hands in 1828. The processing of cotton and crops for export to the tsarist empire began, wine c [...] Yerevan – cognac still is Armenia's best-known export today. From 1899 onwards, railways connected the Russian city of Kars (today Turkey) and Tbilisi in Georgia, which also stopped in the Armenian city of Gyumri [...] energy supply, and at the same time a large part of its export markets collapsed. In particular, the Russian military dropped out as a major buyer of armaments. The catastrophic earthquake in 1988 and the wars

merchants and a viticulture museum. In 1812, the under-developed land passed from the Ottomans to the Russian tsars, who called it "Bessarabia". Chişinău was developed as the capital, designed using a fashionable [...] products, such as mills and oil presses. After the Second World War, the country once again passed into Russian hands and the government in Moscow launched a comprehensive industrialisation campaign. However,

Soviet Union in 1948, the Albanian government turned to Moscow for support. Russian financial aid flowed into the country, and Russian specialists helped out with projects such as completion of the first h

raw materials, but Lithuania remained an agricultural country the longest. Since 1795, when the Russian Czars annexed it into their empire following the collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian union, Lithuania [...] operations. After the Second World War, with its widespread devastation, Lithuania once again fell under Russian rule. Unlike in the other socialist countries, the Soviet government did not initially force the [...] Moscow located many labour-intensive industries in the Balkans, which resulted in a massive influx of Russian workers. As a consequence, the Baltic republics felt threatened in their ethnic identity. Lithuania

export products such as clothing, shoes and steel remains low. The country is still dependent on Russian natural gas, and over 20 % of Bulgarians live below the poverty line. Related Links WIKIPEDIA: Economy

ON THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ESTONIA Listen After the Russian Czars assimilated Estonia into their empire in 1710, the first manufactories gradually emerged, such as the saw mill in Räpina, glass works

Europe: as part of an economically extremely backward empire, Congress Poland primarily served the Russian market, and ultimately became Russia’s most powerful economic region. Industrialisation took an unusual

Kazakhstan came under Russian rule around the middle of the 18th century and then served primarily as a supplier of raw materials and a sales market for the first plants of Russian industry. more LUXEMBOURG [...] Most of the European countries, which continued to depend on farming ... more ESTONIA After the Russian Czars assimilated Estonia into their empire in 1710, the first manufactories gradually emerged, such [...] self-sufficiency and the dominance of foreign powers. more RUSSIA Although the European part of the Russian Empire was rich in raw materials its industrialisation started late, due mainly to the lack of labour