Empire of Russia - Railways

Railways

The planning and building of the railway network after 1860 had far-reaching effects on the economy, culture, and ordinary life of Russia. The central authorities and the imperial elite made most of the key decisions, but local elites set up a demand for rail linkages. Local nobles, merchants, and entrepreneurs imagined the future from "locality" '(mestnost')' to "empire" to promote their regional interests. Often they had to compete with other cities. By envisioning their own role in a rail network they came to understand how important they were to the empire's economy. The Russian army built two major railway lines in Central Asia during the 1880s. The Trans-Caucasian Railway connected the oil center of Batumi on the Black Sea and the city of Baku on the Caspian Sea. The Trans-Caspian Railway began at Krasnovodsk on the Caspian Sea and reached Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent. Both lines served the commercial and strategic needs of the Empire, and facilitated migration.