AbstractsSociology

This thesis outlines the development and structure of industrial clusters in the Russian economy during the early period of industrialization, starting after the emancipation of serfs and finishing in the outbreak of the World War I. The aim of the study is to apply modern cluster theories which are based on Michael Porter’s works in 1990s, into a historical context and thus seek out key factors that influenced the industrial concentration of chartered corporations in the Russian Empire. This has been done by studying the RUSCORP database, compiled by Thomas C. Owen in the 1980s, which contains information about 4543 corporation and their entries between the years 1700 and 1913 and the existing research literature to qualitatively seek out attributes that affected the industrial growth in Russian Empire. As an outcome, it is concluded in the study that the private corporations prospered in strongly concentrated centres that by structure had similar features as modern clusters, but were not entirely based on the same factors which have been used to explain modern cluster emergence. Additional factors, such as state investments, changing industrial infrastructure and the influence of foreign investments are also shown to have contributed to the development of Russian clusters. Taloushistorian pro gradu -tutkielma: Jyväskylän yliopisto, historian ja etnologian laitos, 2015.