Ukraine’s Economic Development

The reforms of Alexander II gave a strong impetus to Ukraine’s economic development. The railway network connected all important industrial and political centers. Numerous plants and factories appeared in Eastern and Southern Ukraine. Especially powerful was the Donbass fuel and industrial region. The coil production here had risen by 100 times from 1861 till 1900. By the turn of the century the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih industrial region had surpassed the Ural industrial region (the major industrial base in Russia) in output. While the Ural metallurgical plants enhanced their production by 4 times from 1870 till 1900, the Donetsk-Kryvyi Rih plants – by 158 times for the same period. This industrial region became the biggest in the Russian Empire. Gigantic military and locomotive plants were created in Luhansk. Another enormous locomotive plant was built in Kharkiv. Large shipbuilding industries were created in Kherson and Mykolayiv. In the 1890s Kyiv could boast about 8 industrial plants. Odessa became the most profitable port in the Russian Empire. Ukrainian plants and factories were furnished with the newest equipment from abroad. Labor efficiency (продуктивність праці) of the Ukrainian metallurgical worker was six times higher than that of the metallurgical worker in the Ural.

The wages in Ukraine were quite significant compared to those in Russia. Donbass miners’ wages were twice as much as in Russia (425 rubles a year to 204 rubles a year). On average, wages in Ukrainian plants and factories were at least by 15% higher than in Russia. Besides, the prices of food and dwelling in Ukraine were significantly lower than in Russia. That is why many Russians came to Eastern Ukraine to work at plants, factories, and mines. In present-day Ukraine the descendants of the 19^th century Russian workers comprise a significant part of the population.

Ukraine’s agricultural products were in great demand not only in Russia but in Europe as well. For example Ukraine produced 90% of the empire’s grain export and 65% of sugar export. Ukraine had over 150 sugar plants where 85% of the empire’s sugar was produced. The grain export was the basic source of foreign currency that the Russian Empire needed to purchase machinery abroad and to accumulate capital for further industrial investment at home.[2] Ukraine also produced a great amount of meat, diary products, tobacco, and various vegetables.

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