The Impact Of Foreign Capital On Russian Oil Industry In The Late19th And Early20th Century

The oil industry is related to the development of national economy and has importantstrategic significance to any country. Russia is a vast country which is rich in resources,especially abundant in oil. Its most famous petroleum production area is located in theAzerbaijan region of Baku. Because of its unique historical and geographical conditions,as well as the initial policy, Baku region’s oil industry didn’t fully develop until the latenineteenth Century. Meanwhile, foreign capital such as Nobel oil company, theRothschild family and the Royal Holland Shell Group became the three importantstrength which push the development of Baku oil industry. They entered the Russian oilindustry in different ways. From the1990s to the early twentieth Century, thedevelopment of Baku oil industry came to a new stage. Together with the financeminister Victor’s efforts, Baku oil industry developed rapidly under the new tariff policyin a short time, and eventually became the mainstay industry of the national economy.Foreign countries don’t only gain high profits but also have a profound impact on thedevelopment of Russia through investment in Russian oil industry, and even influencedthe standpoint of Russia during the First World War.The first part is preface, mainly introduced the current research on Russia petroleumindustry’s internal and external capital from late19thto early20thcentury.The second part is the text. The first chapter mainly describes the reason why theRussian oil industry forms the monopoly of foreign capital and its special tariff policy, aswell as the chancellor Victor who tried his best to attract foreign investment.The second chapter takes Baku as an example, tells the process and characteristics ofthe monopoly of foreign capital in Russian oil industry. It emphatically elaborated howthe Nobel brothers Petroleum Corporation, the Rothschild family of Holland, Royal shellgroup entered the Russian oil industry and their great impact on the development of theRussian oil industry.The third chapter mainly discusses the development of the Russian oil monopoly andthe emergence of “oil shortage”.The fourth chapter is about the evaluation on foreign capital’s entering the Russian oil industry and its influence.The third part is the conclusive part. China should benefit from the process ofRussian oil industry development. We ought to adhere to the principle of independenceand self-reliance when we utilize foreign capital, which will promote the development ofnational economy.