Conditions for Factory Workers in Russia

Conditions for Factory Workers in Russia’s Industrialization There were a great amount of horrible features in the Russian factories. First of all, there were no special quarters for the workers. Skilled hand craftsmen slept on or under their looms, the velveteen cutters slept on the tables they worked on, carpenters slept on their work benches, and other workers of both sexes and all ages slept together on damp pieces of mats. This was certainly unhealthy because most of the areas were musty and the air was saturated with various, sometimes poisonous, fumes. Another horrible feature included the many different fines workers were frequently given that was taken out of their pay. Workers were fined for leaving the factory before their contract expired, failure to maintain silence and cleanliness, singing in the courtyard, bringing food or drinks into the weaving building, and writing with pencil or chalk on the walls of the dyeing and weaving buildings. A final horrible feature included wages being paid out only twice a year. The wages would never be paid in full and would not be given directly to the workers. They would be given to the village elders and village clerks and the workers would be left without money year round. Compared to Western Europe, Russia had much harsher factory conditions. Western European factories contained long hours and little pay for both children and adults but they were given a slight amount more of freedom. There were certainly not as many fines as Russian factories contained. The demeaning and dirty conditions of the factory definitely boosted a revolutionary mood among Russian workers. Russian workers were treated as serfs and literally did not own a single thing for themselves. Russian workers would have definitely rebelled to change the poor way they were being treated. A conservative government would sponsor such a critical report to increase the rate of a revolution. The report suggests that the government