Russian railway construction and the Urals charcoal iron and steel industry, 1851‐1914

I t has become an axiom of both Russian and Western scholars that successive railway construction booms in 1856-61, 1867-1874/80, and 1893-1900 exerted, through a demand for rails, ties, and other equipment, a dominant influence on Russian ferrous metal markets. Writing of the boom of 1893-1900, Gerschenkron declared, the greatest industrial upswing came when from the middle of the '80s on, the railway building of the state assumed unprecedented proportions and became the main lever of the rapid industrialization policy.2 His views have been endorsed by other historians, in relation not only to the construction boom of 1893-19003 but also to those of 1856-61, 1867-1874/80 when in free trade conditions demand was largely satisfied, directly or indirectly, by imports. Urals producers played almost no role in satisfying this demand. In examining the reasons behind their lack of participation in the market for rails, both Russian and Western historians have stressed the industry's technological backwardness and alleged ideological stagnation.5 The Urals industry is perceived as being incapable of responding to the new demand for rails, and accordingly seen as being displaced in ferrous metal markets. This article examines the role of railway construction in the evolution of Russian ferrous metal markets and explores the part played by the Urals iron and steel industry in that evolution.