Urban Working Conditions Flashcards
Alexander II [1855-81]
Urban Working Conditions
After the emancipation of the Serfs
there was an overall lack of industrialization and therefore a lack of workers conditions
in the 1850s village to town ratio was 11:1
Therefore there were not many towns and cities for the peasants to go to to become workers in the first place
meaning overall there wasn’t any urban working conditions under Alexander II
Alexander III [1881-93]
Urban Working Conditions
There was no factory inspectors until 1882
and when they were introduced they were very useless as they often weren’t able to enforce any of the rules
such as the 1882 ban on employing under 12 year old children
but factories did it anyway because it was unlikely that they would be found out for it because the factory inspectors was so rubbish
Under Alexander III there was an 11-hour day
Nicholas II [1893-1917]
Urban Working Conditions
In 1900 15% of the Russian population lived in urban areas whereas this was 80% in Britain
showing how Russia was still mostly peasants
however the industrialization process had started to increase as a significant rate
and therefore there are now more widely spread working conditions across Russia
In 1903 workers got insurance
This was essentially workplace injury insurance
showing that Nicholas II saw the importance of the workers to his goal of industrializing and being competitive with the West
However the workers insurance scheme meant that overall the wages were low
even though throughout the whole period they were very low anyway especially for women
1896 11 hour day
1914 9-10 hour day
Prov Gov [Feb-Oct 1917]
Urban Working Conditions
The Urban working conditions under the provisional government was similar to what’s came before it
workers committees were clamped down on to try to stop strikes and such from developing during this war?
During the provisional government the bolsheviks introduced laws under the petrogram soviets to improve working conditions to illustrate that they were the workers party
8-hour working day similar to Nicholas II in 1917
Lenin [1917-24]
Urban Working Conditions
1920 Rabkrin the workers and peasants inspectorate
They accused workers of anti-revolutionary behavior and find them 10% of their wage which was very low anyway
They often were punished for Petty wrongdoings especially the disliked workers
Women and children were treated more harsh by them as well
Stalin [1929-53]
Urban Working Conditions
Rabkrin under Stalin claims that workers damaged five-year plan machineries
They often accused workers they didn’t like
and they threatened workers were being purged
claimed that they were being anti-revolutionary
and that they were intent on disrupting productivity by damaging machinery on purpose
Furthermore women and children were treated more harshly than men by the inspectorate
1932 10-12 hour working day
1939 7-hour day to reward workers for the success of the Five-Year Plans
1940 8 hour days due to the war
There was a peice-rates system where workers were paid more on the basis of how much that they produced
in a (bonus scheme)
During the first five year plan from 1928-32 the wages fell by 50%
Khrushchev [1953-64]
Urban Working Conditions
7-hour day in 1958
This was a part of the policy of destalinisation
Another part of this policy was to take the wages from the first five year plan that had decreased by 50% and bring them back up to the 1920s level by 1954
Urban working conditions in Russia links and similarities and differences and stuff
There wasn’t really much done to
improve the working conditions
there were only very small bits such as w insurance in 1903 and bonus schemes under Stalin
The wages remained relatively low compared to the west throughout the whole period even lower for women and children
The only time has changed was in 1954 where the wages went back to 1921 level after being halved by Stalin (to encorage production)
Under Khrushchev 1958 the working hours were 7
the maximum under Stalin was 12
Tsars it was 11 hours
This shows how the working hours fluctuated for out the period as even Stalin in 1939 reduced it to a seven hour working day as a reward for the Five-Year Plans
