Russian revolution of 1917

John D. Rockefeller was one of the early refiners of oil, as he started in 1863 with two partners. Rockefeller's interest was not satisfied with just one refinery, however. As author William Hoffman observed: "What he wanted was to be the largest refiner in the world, the only refiner in the world."

By 1872, Rockefeller controlled twenty-five percent of America's refining capacity and by 1879 he controlled ninety-five percent.His goal shifted now from national control to international control. His company, Standard Oil, was supplying ninety percent of America's foreign oil sales and America was the sole source of an exportable surplus. But something was happening to his international market. "The wall of Standard's international oil monopoly had been breached with the opening of Russia's great Baku field on the Caspian Sea. By 1883, a railroad had been built to the Black Sea, and the Czar had invited the Nobel brothers and the Rothschild family to help develop these great oil riches."

By 1888, this new oil source had overtaken Standard Oil as the international seller of crude oil.

The traditional explanation of Russia's economy at this time was that the nation was an agrarian economy, far behind the other European economies. However, during the period of 1907 to 1913, Russia's increase in its industrial production rate exceeded that of the United States, England, and Germany, long believed to be the industrialized giants of the day.

The following is typical of the conclusion of many researchers who have examined this period in history: "The Russian revolution of 1917 came not at the end of period of stagnation and decay, but rather after more than a half century of the most rapid and comprehensive economic progess."