Q&A ยท 36:42-37:29

Would better railways attract immigrants to Imperial Russia?

A much better railway would leave the political conditions that drove Polish and Ukrainian emigrants away from Imperial Russia.

Question

Would the improved railway make Imperial Russia an attractive destination for immigrants?

Short answer

The railway would not remove the conditions that drove people away, including Russian rule over Poland and Russification affecting Ukrainians.

Notes

Improved transport would leave Imperial Russia's treatment of its subjects unchanged. Many Eastern Europeans who emigrated already knew the conditions inside the empire. The Polish diaspora provides an example of people fleeing Russian rule, while Ukrainians faced heavy Russification. In this counterfactual, railway capacity alone would give these migrants little reason to choose the empire as a destination.