Importance of Early Steam Engines and Railways

This is the Kompaund Steam Engine. This steam engine and the many others like it were instrumental in Soviet History. Before railroads and efficient steam engines much of Russia was completely rural, and not easily accessible. The introduction of such steam engines and the many miles of railroad allowed for people, and more importantly raw materials to be transported to all areas more easily. This was instrumental in bringing about Industrialization, which was key for Russia to become a dominant world power.

This photo was taken in 1910. This was an important time period in Soviet society. Whisperings of revolutions and reforms were beginning, as well as unrest in the rest of Europe. Railroads and steam engines such as this one were crucial for Russia during WWI and the revolution that followed. Because of its large expanse almost every soldier was transported to the front by railway. Without the railways Russia would not have been able to get soldiers to where they needed to be.

Railroads and Steam Engines were also instrumental in the Bolshevik Revolution during 1917. Both the red and white armies used railroads and engines extensively to transport their troops, as well as to spread their message. Since the Steam Engines could move much more efficiently than other modes of transportation they were instrumental in spreading the ideologies of both armies, as well as moving their troops throughout the interior of Russia.

Sources:

http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution

http://countrystudies.us/russia/6.htm

https://www.wdl.org/en/item/5202/#q=Prokudin-Gorskii&page=3

http://www.railwaywondersoftheworld.com/russian_locomotives.html

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