I. Find answers in the text:

I. What was the tempo of the economic growth in Russia during the XIXth century? 2. What was the population growth during this period? 3. What are main factors of production growth? 4. Was the Russian economy booming in this period? 5. Can we compare the economic growth in Russia and other European powers until the 1860s? 6. What was the economic system of Russia in this period? 7. What was the social position of majority of rural (сельский) population? 8. Land belonged to serfs, didn’t it? 9. Did this system encourage the economic growth? 10. When was the emancipation of serfs?

II. Complete the sentences as in the text

1. The Russian empire covered land from… 2. Compared to Britain, France and America Russia’s economy was… 3. The empire’s industrial base was… 4. Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs and the population… 5. By the 1890s the Russian economy was…

III. Complete each sentence with a word from the box.

authorities, emancipation, engineering, estates, feudal, illiterate, landlord/landlady, leap, peasant, serf, subsistence, textile

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1. In a system, landowners owned the land and the

people who worked on it.

2. The Eiffel Tower is an amazing piece of …………………………

3. A person who makes their living from farming a small piece of

land is often called a

4. People who cannot read or write are

5. Someone who owns property and rents it to others is a

6. A was a person who belonged to the owner of land.

7. The aristocracy own large areas of land called

8. ……………………………………………………..farming means you only just manage to survive on what is produced.

9. The industry produces cloth, cotton and wool.

10. The people who rule the country are sometimes called the

11. . is another word for jump.

12. People have to be free — their is necessary.

IV. Now read the text again and answer these questions in your own words.

1. What aspects of the Russian economy increased in the 19th century?

2. Give three reasons why Russia’s economy was under-developed.

3. What two things helped the Russian economy grow?

4. How did ordinary people’s lives change after industrialization?

V. Complete the summary by choosing the best word or number for each gap.

Russia’s early industries used (1) serfs / slaves for labour. These people were forced to leave the countryside to work in the nation’s first factories. When the serfs were emancipated in 1861, conditions did not improve very much. A (2) 12- / 10-hour working day was typical. Wages rose, but real value of those wages fell because of (3) exchange rates / inflation. Factories used many (4) part-time / seasonal workers who came from the countryside. They were often paid only (5) once / twice a year. Children were used as labourers in the (6) mines / fields and the textile industry. In the 1880s, about (7) 12 / 10 per cent of all textile workers were under (8) 12 / 15 years old.

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V. Discuss this question with your partner.

— What do you think life was like for the first factory workers in Russia and other European countries?