Strikes in Russia

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V. I. Lenin

STRIKES IN RUSSIA

Written in 1913
 
Published in December 1913
in the pocket calendar
Sputnik Rabochego for 1914
Priboi Publishers, St. Petersburg
Signed: V. I.

Published according to
the calendar text
 
 
 
 
 

From V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, 4th English Edition,
Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1968

First printing 1963
Second printing 1968

Vol. 19, pp. 534-38.

Translated from the Russian by George Hanna
Edited by Robert Daglish


Prepared © for the Internet by David J. Romagnolo, djr@marx2mao.org (December 2001)

 
page 534


<"p534">

   STRIKES IN RUSSIA[151]


    In the majority of West-European countries, strike statistics were placed on a proper footing comparatively recently -- some ten or twenty years ago. In Russia there are strike statistics dating from 1895 only. The chief defect in our official statistics, apart from understatement concerning the number of participants, is that they cover only workers in enterprises subordinated to the Factory Inspectorate. Railwaymen, metallurgical workers, tramway workers, workers in trades subject to excise, etc., miners, building and rural workers are not included in the statistics.

    Here are summarised data for the entire period covered by Russian strike statistics.

Year

Number of strikes

Number of strikers

Total

 Percentage 
of all
enterprises

Total

 Percentage 
of all
enterprises

  1895  
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912

   68
  118
  145
  215
  164
  189
  125
  123
  550
   68
 13,995 
 6,114
 3,573
  892
  340
  222
  466
 1,918

 0.4
 0.6
 0.7
 1.1
 1.0
 0.7
 1.0
 0.7
 3.2
 0.4
93.2
42.2
23.8
 5.6
 2.3
 1.4
 2.8
?

31,195  
29,527  
59,870  
43,150  
57,498  
29,389  
32,218  
36,671  
86,832  
24,904  
2,863,173  
1,108,406  
740,074  
176,101  
64,166  
46,623  
105,110  
682,361  

  2.0
  1.9
  4.0
  2.6
  3.8
  1.7
  1.9
  2.2
  5.1
  1.5
163.8
 65.8
 41.9
  9.7
  3.5
  2.4
  5.1
 ?


 
page 535

    The extent to which these figures are understated may be judged, for example, from the fact that such a cautious writer as Mr. Prokopovich cites another figure for 1912 -- 683,000 strikers, but "according to another estimate, 1,248,000 in factories, and in addition a further 215,000 in enterprises not under the Factory Inspectorate", i.e., 1,463,000 or almost a million and a half.

    The number of economic strikes (from 1905) is as follows:

Year

Number of
strikes

Number of
workers

Year

Number of
strikes

Number of
workers

1905
1906
1907
1908

4,388
2,545
 973
 428

1,051,209
 457,721
 200,004
  83,407

1909
1910
1911
1912

290
214
442
702

 55,803
 42,846
 96,730
172,052

<"p535">
    Thus the history of strikes in Russia may be divided into four clear-cut periods (if we omit the eighties with their famous Morozov strikes[152], noted even by the reactionary publicist Katkov as the emergence of the "labour question" in Russia):


Average
number of
strikes per
annum

1st period (1895-1904),
2nd period (1905-07),
3rd period (1908-10),
4th period (1911-12),
 

pre-revolutionary .  .
revolutionary.  .  .  .
counter-revolutionary
present, beginning of
  revival .  .  .  .  .

43,000  
1,570,000  
96,000  
 
394,000  

    In general, the average number of strikers a year in Russia over the eighteen years was 345,400. In Germany the average for fourteen years (1899-1912) was 229,500, and for Britain the average for twenty years (1893-1912) was 344,200. To give a clear picture of the connection between strikes in Russia and the country's political history, we cite the figures for 1905-07 in three-month periods (quarters ):

 
page 536

 Year  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

1905

1906

 Quarters .  .  .  .  .  .

I

II

III

IV

I

II

III

IV

Number of strikers
 (thousands) per
 quarter .  .  .  .  .  .
Total  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Economic .  .  .  .  .  .
Political  .  .  .  .  .  .

Beginning
of revo-
lution
810
411
399


 
 
481
190
291


 
 
294
143
151

Revolu-
tion
 
1,277
 275
1,002


 
 
269
 73
196

 First 
Duma
 
479
222
257


 
 
296
125
171


 
 
63
37
26

 Year  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

1907

 Quarters .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

   I   

II

  III  

  IV  

Number of strikers (thousands)
 per quarter.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Total  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Economic .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Political  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .


 
146
 52
 94

 Second 
Duma
322
 52
271


 
77
66
11


 
193
 30
163


    The extent to which workers from various parts of Russia participated in strikes may be seen from the following figures:

Factory district

Number of
factory
workers
(thousands)
in 1905

Number of strikers
(thousands)

Total for
ten years
(1895-1904)


Number
in 1905

St. Petersburg  .  .  .  .  .
Moscow .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Warsaw .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
3 Southern Regions.  .  .  .

 299
 567
 252
 543

137
123
 69
102

1,033
 540
 887
 403


   Totals .  .  .  .  .  .  .

1,661

431

2,863


    This table shows the relative backwardness of Moscow, and still more of the South, and the outstanding priority of St. Petersburg and its area (including Riga), and also of Poland.

    The strikers in the main branches of industry were distributed as follows;

 
page 537

Groups of industries

Total
number of
factory
workers
(thousands)
in 1904

Number of strikers
(thousands)

Total for
ten years
(1895-1904)


Number
in 1905

Metalworking .  .  .  .  .
Textile.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
Printing, woodworking,
 leather, chemicals .  .  .
Ceramics, food.  .  .  .  .

252
708
 
277
454

117
237
 
 38
 39

 811
1,296
 
 471
 285


   Totals .  .  .  .  .  .

1,691

431

2,863


    This shows that the metalworkers are in the lead and the textile workers are backward, the remaining workers being still more backward.

    The strikes are grouped in accordance with their causes in the following way (for 14 years, 1895-1908): political, 59.9 per cent of the strikers; on wage issues, 24.3 per cent; on the issue of the working day, 10.9 per cent; labour conditions, 4.8 per cent.

    In respect of the results of the strikes we get the following division (if the number of strikers whose strikes ended in a compromise be divided equally between "won" and "lost"):

Number participating in economic strikes (thousands)


Total
for 10
years
(1895-
1904)


 
 
 
%


 
 
 
1905


 
 
 
%


 
 
 
1906


 
 
 
%


 
 
 
1907


 
 
 
%


 
 
 
1911


 
 
 
%


 
 
 
1912


 
 
 
%

Won .  .  .  .
Lost .  .  .  .

159
265

37.5
62.5

705
734

48.9
51.1

233
225

50.9
49.1

 59
141

29.5
70.5

49
47

51
49

55
77

42
58


Totals .  .

424

100

1,439

100

458

100

200

100

96

100

132

100


    The figures for 1911 and 1912 are incomplete and are not fully comparable with the preceding figures.

    In conclusion we give brief data on the distribution of strikes according to the size of the enterprise and according to the location of the enterprise:

 
page 538

Number of strikers per 100 in each category

Category of enterprise

Total for
10 years --
1895-1904

  In 1905  

20 workers or less .  .  .  .  .
 21 to   50 workers  .  .  .
 51 to  100   "       .  .  .
101 to  500   "       .  .  .
501 to 1,000   "       .  .  .
Over   1,000   "       .  .  .

 2.7
 7.5
 9.4
21.5
49.9
89.7

47
 89.4
108.9
160.2
163.8
231.9

Percentage of strikes


in towns

outside towns

1895-1904 .  .  .
1905 .  .  .  .  .  .

75.1
85 

24.9
15 


    The dominance of the workers of big industrial establishments in the strike movement and the relative backwardness of rural factories are quite clear from these figures.

 

page 587


<"NOTES">

NOTES

  <"en151">[151] Lenin wrote this article for the pocket calendar Sputnik Rabochego (Worker's Handbook ) for 1914, issued by the Priboi Party Publishing House in December 1913. It contained essential information on labour legislation in Russia, the Russian and international working-class movement, political parties, associations and unions, the press, etc. The Worker's Handbook was sequestered but the issue was sold in one day before the police could confiscate it. When Lenin received a copy of the Handbook he wrote in a letter to Inessa Armand that 5,000 copies had already been sold. A second, amended edition was published in February 1914 with deletions and amendments made for purposes of censorship and with a list of books for self-education added. Altogether 20,000 copies of the Handbook were sold.    [p. 534]

  <"en152">[152] For details of the strike at the Morozov mills see "Explanation of the Law on Fines Imposed on Factory Workers", V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 2, pp. 29-72.    [p. 535]