Thread by @Boilerplated

On the eve of WW1, the Russian Empire has a booming country with a bright future, in part due to Stolypin's agrarian reforms. Before his death, Stolypin remarked, "Give me 20 years of peace, both at home and abroad, and you will not recognize Russia". 1914 was 5 years in.

Production of grains increased from 36 million tons in 1894 to 72 millions tons in 1913-1914. Production of wheat doubled.

Deposits in saving banks rose from 300 million rubles in 1894 to 2 billion rubles in 1913. Volume of mail from 400 million to 2 billion letters and telegrams from 60 million to 200 million.

Coal mining in Donets increased from 5.4 million tons to 27 million tons. Coal production as a whole increased 400%.

In 1913, Russia was producing 11 million tons of oil, even after devastating fires to the Baku oilfields in 1905.

The metallurgical industry expanded - pig iron production quadrupled, copper and manganese five times. Cotton doubled from 260 million tons in 1894 to 1911. The industrial work force increased from 2 to 5 million.

From 1904 to 1913, government income exceeded expenditures by 2 billion rubles. The gold reserved increased from 648 million rubles in 1894 to 1.6 billion rubles in 1914.

The length of railroad and telegraph lines doubled from 1894 to 1914. From 1912 to 1915, 1500 miles of railroad were laid down. From 1896 to 1910, miles of telegraph increased from 206k to 435k miles. The number of steamships increased from 2.5k in 1895 to 4.3k in 1906.

In 1913, Edmund Théry was commissioned by two French ministries to investigate the Russian economy. He was stuck by Russia's success in all areas.

He concluded, "If the nations of Europe continue from 1912 to 1950 the course they have followed from 1900 to 1912, then by the middle of the present century Russia will dominate Europe politically, economically, and financially".

With WW1 and the subsequent revolutions and civil war, this bright future was irreparably lost forever.