The evolution of the industrial sector in Bessarabia (1868-1914): challenges and achievements

Abstract

In the present study, we aim to analyze how different challenges affected the evolution of the industrial branch in Bessarabia during the period 1868-1914, and to appreciate its achievements in comparison with other regions of the Russian Empire. As a result of the researched materials, we conclude that the industrial enterprises of Bessarabia experienced a certain development in the named period, compared to the previous period, which, however, was not sufficient to cope with the existing demand on the domestic market and the agricultural production capacities of the governorate. Industrial development, with the modest rates shown, was not, in fact, generated by the Russian imperial policies in the field. Rather, they reflected the degree of integration of the region into the European economy and the institutional modernization generated by this process. The gaps with the Western European pace continued to accumulate, contributing to the deepening of the peripheral character of the province’s economy, both within the Russian Empire and at the European level.