Й E Comprehension

Now read the text again and answer these questions in your own words in the space provided below.

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

Give throe reasons why Russia's economy was underdeveloped.

What two thniys helped the Russian economy grow?

How did ordinary people's lives change after industrialisation?

f

Notes:

V_____________________________________________ У

Before you listen

Discuss this question with your partner.

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

F Listening 4)))

Now listen and 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.

Discuss these questions with your partner.

Are grants or loans the best way to help less developed countries grow?

Apart from giving grants or loans, how can developed countries help less developed countries?

Would you like to have lived in i9th century Russia?

What do you tlunk you would have found particularly difficult if you were a serf or peasant?

Task

Give a two-minute talk on less developed nations saying why they haven't developed quickly. First, read text 1 again and your answers for the listening exercise on page 104. Make notes below about the following.

the causes of underdevelopment

why many countries have so much debt

9 G Speaking

why aid doesn't always help

what these countries need in order to develop

Notes:

Letter from history

Remember, this is a formal letter:

Begin 'Dear Sir,' and finish 'Yours faithfully,' or 'Dear Mr Witte,' and finish 'Yours smcerrly,'

Do not use contractions (eg 'is not' should be used instead of 'isn't')

Use some or all of these words and expressions:

I am writing in order to... Furthermore..

It was disgraceful to see...

I would appreciate it if you could look into this matter.

GREETING

PARAGRAPH 1

Say that you are writing to complain about conditions in the factories.

PARAGRAPH 2

Explain where you went and why. Say what you saw there (age of the workers, conditions of the factory, conditions of accommodation for workers).

PARAGRAPH 3

Explain more about the pay workers receive and the hours they have to work.

PARAGRAPH 4

Say what you want the Minister to do m order to improve conditions.

Thank h'.m and sign off Write I 50-200 words

Pronunciation guide Privileged 'pnolid^d Mature ladji тэТЬ^и) Instability тчЫмЬп Cholera knbn> Insecurity insikiiw.iti Debt dot Owe ло Crimean War кгапшлп w.x Feudal Tjuxil Labourer 'кчЬлгот

i (л - ' 4• t •> I r '20 107

H Writing

Imagine that you are a factory inspector for the Russian government in l890.You visit a textile factory and you are shocked by the conditions. Write a letter to the Finance Minister, Sergei Witte, telling him what you saw and what you want him to do about it.

Before you read

Discuss these questions with your partner.

Loo* at the photos opposite:

Where were these photos taken?

What can you see?

T

LQ

-* What recent changes in Russian life do they show?

A Vocabulary

Match the words and phrases with the definitions.

A very high inflation

financial help from the government for a business

change

something that other people want

. managed by the government

very strict or cruel

basic things like food that everyone needs

! to grow very big very quickly

; things that people buy but don't really need

falling apart or collapsing

very difficult times poverty

someone who lives and works away from their home country

1 salaries or pensions that do not grow with inflation

expatriate consumer goods state run thardship reform severe subsidy crumbling staple goods fixed incomes 1 to balloon hyperinflation enviable stabilise

become steady, unchanging

Contemporary Russia: the fall and rise of the market economy

Л recent survey compared the cost of living tor expatriates in cities around the world. Not surprisingly, the top ten most expensive cities included Tokyo. London and New York. Hut more expensive than any of these was.. Moscow' Less than two decades ago. Moscow was the heart of the world's biggest planned economy There was no property lor sale back then. The state-run shops had few consumer goods. Shortages for simple things like shoes were common. Today, things could not К more different Moscow is the centre of a free market with some of the highest propert> prices in the work! I~he state-run shops have been replaced by expensive shopping centres and designer stores. Hut the change has not been easv

The figures for Russia's real gross domestic product since 1⁽W|. when the economic reforms began, show that the economy has lx-en on quite a roller- coaster ride. In 1W1 < iI> 1 * was over S.^SO billion. That fell dramatically year after year until 1⁽>⁽>S. when <il)P was just over S220 billion. However, the situation improved again from In fact, Russia's (H)P increased steadily year after year from 1W4 until when it reached around S7 Id billion. What caused such a change of fortunes?

< "hanging over to a completely different economic system could never Ix¹ painless The Russian government of the early lWtis decided to use a shock therapy approach. They introduced severe fiscal and monetary policies. The government drastically reduced its spending. It cut subsidies to its crumbling state industries. Interest rates and taxes were raised. (lovernment price controls on nearly all consumer goods were lifted. ()nly prices for staple goixls like food and energy remained controlled by the government. New laws were introduced to allow private ow nership and businesses to exist.

All of these measures were intended to create conditions for a market economy to grow. How ever, they also caused great hardship for ordinary people. Most workers at that time were on fixed incomes. The measures caused the cost of living to rise, but their salaries did not rise at the same rate. I'o make matters worse, events in the banking system in caused the money supply- to balloon. This resulted in hyperinflation levels of J.ixtov Despite Russia's enormous reserves of oil and gas. the economy went into a long and difficult depression, f inally, in lWS, when an economic crisis hit the East Asian Tigers, oil prices began to fall around the world. For Russia, it turned a depression into an economic crisis.

However, from 1W). world oil prices began to rise again Mostly with money earned from energy exports. Russia began to pay off its foreign debts Inflation fell and the value of the rouble stabilised. The economy was recovering. (il)P grew steadily year after year, and foreign investors began to show confidence in investing in the country. Moscow's place at the top of the list of the world's most expensive cities is not enviable. However, it is a clear sign that the Russian economy has survived a difficult time

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