Nowadays, labour history is typically associated with economic or social history.
This situation may be related to the notion that a reasonably objective picture of the past calls for an interdisciplinary approach. The need to make use of various non-traditional approaches for historical research is recognized both by Russian39 and Western40 historians. What is the interdisciplinary approach through which many outstanding historians see the future? Most historians are obliged to deal with statistical materials and figures. In order to analyse this kind of material, data processing skills and a knowledge of information analysis are helpful. While it is rather difficult to draw an accurate line in the history of methodology, nevertheless the narrative-descriptive approach seems to have lost some ground. A proper analysis of statistical materials demands the use of various kinds of sources and various methods of analysis.
All of the above is true for any area of research, but it is especially so for labour history because of the specific features of the sources for any given subject. A historian of labour history, that is, the history of working-class movements, more often deals with statistical data than with narrative or descriptive sources – which nonetheless serve as helpful ancillary material. For better or for worse, the historian has no right to "cut
39 See.: Borodkin L.I. Kvantitativnye issledovanii͡a stachechnogo dvizhenii͡a i faktorov ego razvitii͡a v dorevoli͡ut͡sionnoĭ Rossii // Rossii͡a na rubezhe 19-20 vekov. Materialy nauchnyх chtenii. M., 1999; Sokolov A.K. Drama rabochego klassa i perspektivy rabocheĭ istorii v sovremennoĭ Rossii. //
Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2004. M., 2005. S. 23; Pushkareva I.M., Pushkareva N.L.. “Novai͡a rabochai͡a istorii͡a v zarubezhnoĭ istoriografii. // Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2001/2002. m., 2004. P.
53.
40 See.: Alf Lüdtke, The Appeal of Exterminating "Others": German Workers and the Limits of Resistance; The Journal of Modern History, Vol. 64, Supplement: Resistance Against the Third Reich (Dec., 1992), pp. 46-67.
61 out" from the past especially bright, colourful, unusual cases or facts; on the contrary,
he is obliged to take into account all available sources of information.
There has been a recent surge in interest in labour history. In Russia, there are several large research groups working on the subject: in Kostroma University, Yaroslavl University, Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Russian Historical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. We will note some topics that have been tackled of late.
The framework of labour history encompasses many subjects: Marseilles Van Der Linden has studied work motivation41; Leonid Borodkin, alongside many other things has looked at workers' salary differentiation42, B.N.Mironov takes an interest in labour ethics of workers and anthropometry43, and Irina Pushkareva analyses labour conflicts at factories and enterprises44. Noteworthy too is that the regional frameworks of research varies strongly: historians and sociologists abroad study mainly the labour history of their countries: France, Italy, Germany, the United States, while Russian researchers focus their attention mainly on the history of Russia. Chronological frameworks likewise vary –in the main, Russian scholars are interested in the
41 Van der Linden M. Motivat͡sii͡a truda v rossiĭskoĭ promyshlennosti: nekotorye predvaritelʹnye suzhdenii͡a // Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2000. M., 2000.
42 Borodkin L.I. Neravenstvo doхodov v period industrialʹnoĭ revoli͡ut͡sii. Universalʹna li gipoteza o krivoĭ Kuznet͡sa? // Rossii͡a i mir. Pami͡ati professora Valerii͡a Ivanovicha Bovykina: Sb. stateĭ. M.: "Rossiĭskai͡a politicheskai͡a ėnt͡siklopedii͡a" (ROSSPEN), 2001.
P.331-355
43 Mironov B.N. “Poslal Bog rabotu, da otni͡al chert oхotu: trudovai͡a ėtika rossiĭskiх rabochiх v poreformennoe vremi͡a // Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 1998-1999. M., 1999;
B.N. Mironov, Blagosostoi͡anie naselenii͡a i revoli͡ut͡sii v imperskoĭ Rossii, Moscow, 2010.
44 Pushkareva I.M. Novyĭ kompleks istochnikov o rabochem dvizhenii v dorevoli͡ut͡sionnoĭ Rossii: “Rabochee dvizhenie v Rossii. 1895-1917 gg. Хronika //
Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2001/2002. M., 2004.
62 reform period or the first decades of the history of Soviet Russia, whereas for Western
historians, frequently the middle and the end of the 20th century are of particular interest. In any case, the core element in historical research is the application of the methods of analysis and the data proceeding from a source.
In the last fifteen years, the subject of labour history has gained special currency because Russian historians were finally able to study the topic without needing to resort to particular ideological forms. Too, they were inspired by the experience of non-Russian colleagues. This possibility of applying theoretical and methodological elaborations is of great value due to the specificity of the chosen topic of research.
These developments are of real import to current researchers of labour history.
This is closely connected first of all with the issuance of a new summary source of a special kind, the "Chronicle”45. This is a unique source for the labour history of Russia, and is comparable to the sources used by some experts abroad46. Indeed, it is very important to consider the application of methods used by western researchers in an analysis of the "Chronicle."
Not less important is the determination of the conceptual distinctions between the development of labour history in Russia and abroad. This will allow us not only to make an objective comparison of various approaches to the study of labour history, but also to understand which methods result in the best analyses of labour history for the pre-revolutionary industrial period of Russia on the basis of the materials presented in the “Chronicle”.
45 Rabochee dvizhenie v Rossii. 1895- fevral' 1917 g. Xronika. Vyp. I-IX. M., 1992-2005.
46 More detailed information about the source is presented in the next part of the dissertation
“Sources”.
63 On this point, Irina Pushkareva's paper, “New labour history in a foreign
historiography”47 reviews western research on labour history. Tracking changes in foreign historiography since the 1980s that have led to an understanding of need to revise methods, use interdisciplinary approaches, and address new problems in labour history and the working-class movement, the author concludes that, “as slowly as the process of clearing of cargo of out-of-date postulates goes, the prestige of Russian science will be supported first of all by those historians who – unlike in old times – will find forces to go in the interpretations not from the concept, but from a source, while coordinating advanced achievements in the field of sociology, psychology and history”48.
In the context of a discussion of Western approaches and methods in labour history, it is necessary to mention French historian Michelle Perrot’s “Les ouvriers en grève France 1871-1890”49, published in 1974. Taking a sociological approach, the author mines a vast amount of archival material, and offers in support of her thesis both quantitative and qualitative evidence. Considering the strike as a social phenomenon allows us to trace the roots of the strike movement and to establish the interrelations within the phenomenon itself. Perrot takes into account strike activity not only in industries, but also in small factories and craft shops. She analyses the impact of economic conjuncture, trade unions and political environment on workers’ actions.
Special attention is paid to a change that took place in the strike movement after the economic depression of 1883: economic stagnation influenced the tenor of the striking, and labour conflicts during a crisis were shorter in duration and less offensive in tone.
The author sets out differences in the strike movement both between different groups of
47 Pushkareva I.M., N.L. Pushkareva. “Novai͡a rabochai͡a istorii͡a v zarubezhnoĭ istoriografii //
Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2001/2002. M., 2004.
48 Ibid., p. 68.
49 Michelle Perrot, Les ouvriers en grève France 1871-1890, (Paris-La Haye, Mouton, 1974), two volumes.
64 workers (male, female and children) and between strikes in the textile, metal, mining
and leather industries. Such cross-comparative analysis is possible only by using very detailed data, and Perrot unquestionably contributes a great deal to the historical knowledge in the field.
A look at the work of Charles Tilly and Roberto Frantsosi50 (“Studies with the implementation of statistical methods”), leads us to the conclusion that the source base for labour conflicts, despite the difference in time and regional frameworks of research, is similar – it is statistical material. In our research we also deal with statistics. This kind of a source allows rather effective coding and formalizing of information for subsequent computer processing.
Work with concrete data assumes a departure from traditional methods of analysis, so while studying labour history one may systematize the material and already arrive at quantitative characteristics necessary for statistical processing. Thus, source frameworks allow us to apply the advanced approaches that have been used in similar research by non-Russian authors. As to the conceptual field and knowledge regarding the strike struggle in Russia, we shall provide a brief update.
When considering some basic conclusions to which non-Russian researchers have come, it is important to keep in mind the specificity of historical development in Russia and the West. Charles Tilly as well as Michelle Perrot51 writes about the massive role played by trade unions in the organization of strikes in France in the end of the 19th Century, but, since trade unions appeared in force in Russia only after our period of inquiry, their role during the period before the revolution of 1905 was minimal. The same concerns the role of the city and city environment in the stimulation of labour
50 Tilly Ch., Shorter Ed., (eds) Strikes in France. 1830-1968. Cambridge. 1974; Roberto Franzosi.
The Puzzle of Strikes. Class and State Strategies in Postwar Italy. Cambridge. 1995.
51 Michelle Perrot, Les ouvriers en grève France 1871-1890, (Paris-La Haye, Mouton, 1974), p.29.
65 conflicts: critically, in Russia there was absolutely no other source of replenishment -
three quarters of workers were natives of villages. In connection with the strong ties of workers with villages, seasonal work in factories remained quite popular. The course of the strike struggle can be said to have been shaped by historical features of the studied region and the chronological framework of the research.
So, for research in the course of labour history and workers’ history, the sources of which are mainly represented by large-scale sources and statistical materials, those newest methods of analysis that allow for statistical and computer data processing and their subsequent visualization seem to be the best choice. In general, historians use a common set of factors to determine the character and the specificity of phenomena such as strikes. Significantly, throughout different historical periods and in different countries, these factors were weighted differently.
Hence, it seems that historical research conducted by non-Russian scholars may be quite useful to Russian historians. If the historian wishes to be not only informed of international scientific discoveries (which is already very important), but also opened up to new approaches and methods of analysis and source processing, it would behove her to regularly check the applicability of techniques that emerge from a non-native perspective. Recently, historical science underwent qualitative changes connected first of all with the use of new methods and an interdisciplinary approach. This is especially appreciable in labour history, due to the specific features of this topic's sources. Suffice to mention the words of Irina Pushkareva: “the aggregate way of the reconstruction of the past – by the “coupling” of facts for the purpose of their subsequent generalization,
“a spelling of history by means of scissors and glue”52 has given way to new one”53.
52 Collingwood R. The Idea of History. New York, 1956. P. 257.
53 Pushkareva I.M., N.L. Pushkareva. “Novai͡a rabochai͡a istorii͡a v zarubezhnoĭ istoriografii //
Sot͡sialʹnai͡a istorii͡a. Ezhegodnik. 2001/2002. M., 2004. P. 51.
66 To consider conjoinings, to define, for example, the relation of the branch of
manufacture with worker demands, to explain the dependence of the result of a labour conflict on the reasons for the strike, we must be able to transfer sociological knowledge onto a historical platform. So, we accept the need for an interdisciplinary approach while studying labour conflicts.
Regarding the statistical methods to be used in our research, we would like to speak briefly about cluster analysis and regression analysis, as those are our main tools.
Traditionally, typologies are constructed by reducing to grouping studied objects on the basis of one (two – three) signs. It is important to notice that traditional receptions of typological grouping are directed on revealing of qualitatively homogeneous groups of objects by delimitation of intervals on an axis of one of group creating signs; these receptions have an informal character and are carried out on the basis of the concepts and experience of previous research.
The technologically advanced methods of multidimensional quantitative analysis permit classification on a relatively broad and objective basis – taking into account essential structural-typological signs and characteristics of the distribution of objects in the set system of signs. Such a classification is made on the basis of the desire to collect in one group somewhat similar objects in such a way that objects from other groups will be as dissimilar as possible. Such methods are called "methods of multidimensional classification" (cluster analysis, taxonomy). We plan to use the k-means. This method allows us to receive the centres of the classes (together with other parameters of descriptive statistics) on each of initial signs, as well as to view a graphic representation of how much and on what parameters the received classes differ.
With the help of cluster analysis, we will analyse the structure of the provinces in Russia, and in the next step the structure of Russian industrial enterprises at the close of the 19th century. This step of analysis is will enable us determine the territorial distribution of strike activity.
67 The regression analysis will help us to ascertain which factors influenced such
basic characteristics of the strike movement as the intensity of strike activity, the scale of strikes and the results of labour conflicts. Thanks to the new source, it is now possible to analyse a substantial set of characteristics such as: year, province, location of factory, manufacturing branch, belonging to collective strike, repeatability of strike, duration of strike, number of strikers, number of workers at the enterprise striking in relation to the total number of workers at the enterprise, professional structure of the striking workers, reasons for the labour conflict, worker demands, administrative actions, results of labour conflicts, damage caused by workers, and the presence of a propaganda element.
68
Chapter II. Historiography
There is a large body of literature on the working-class movement in Russia at the turn of the 20th century: monographs, collective works, articles and surveys. This topic is compelling: the strike movement in pre-revolutionary Russia substantially influenced the development of the country.
However, interest in labour history was not constant; it rose sharply, and then faded away. This ebb and flow of interest was mostly evident with Russian historians and politicians - western scholars showed a more even interest in the subject. There are some books on the working-class movement written before 1917, but the majority of studies were published during the Soviet period. The dissolution of the USSR and subsequent crisis saw a plummeting of Russian scholarly interest in the topic.
Consequently, it is difficult to find literature from the last two decades directly devoted to labour history. Nevertheless, the ones that have appeared are quite important54, especially the articles and monographs that have examined the labour issue from different perspectives, whether using new methods or focusing on new aspects of the phenomenon.
54 See.: Borodkin L.I. Volny stachechnogo dvizhenii͡a v Rossii kont͡sa 19 – nachala 20 vv.: o roli informat͡sionnyх faktorov // Rabochie v Rossii: istoricheskiĭ opyt i sovremennoe polozhenie / ed.
CHurakova. M., Editorial URSS, 2004; Pushkareva I.M. Novye podхody v izuchenii konfliktov rabochiх i predprinimateleĭ v dorevoli͡ut͡sionnoĭ Rossii v rakurse diskursivnyх metodov issledovanii // Rossii͡a i mir. Pami͡ati professora Valerii͡a Ivanovicha Bovykina: Sb. stateĭ. M.: ROSSPEN, 2001; Pushkareva I.M.
Vozvrashchenie k zabytoĭ teme: massovoe rabochee dvizhenie v nachale 20 veka // Istoriografii͡a, istochnikovedenie, metody istoricheskogo issledovanii͡a // Otechestvennai͡a istorii͡a. 2007. №2; Novikov A.V. Trebovanii͡a rabochiх Verхnego Povolzhʹi͡a v revoli͡ut͡sionnom dvizhenii 1905 g. kak otrazhenie iх mentaliteta // Klio. SPb., 2002. №2. p. 141-150; Ashmarina S.V. Sot͡sialʹnoe straхovanie v uslovii͡aх novoĭ ėkonomicheskoĭ politiki 20-х gg. 20 veka // Rabochie v Rossii: istoricheskiĭ opyt i sovremennoe polozhenie / Ed.. D.O. CHurakova. M., Editorial URSS, 2004. p. 200-202; Ali͡avdin K.G. Novye ėlektronnye resursy po istorii rabochego dvizhenii͡a v Rossii. Baza dannyх “KHronika i ee analiz. // Krug idei: istoricheskai͡a informatika v informat͡sionnom obshchestve. M., 2001.
69 Here we would like to highlight the publication of the chronicle “Working-class
movement in Russia. 1895 – February, 1917 the Chronicle” (the "Chronicle")55. Notably, the very recent past has seen a resurgence of interest in labour history of the pre-revolutionary Russia. This may be related to different reasons: certain changes in the socio-political life of Russia, the further development of methods of complex analysis of statistical materials and quantitative data proceeding from historical sources, and finally, the broad implications of the massive set of new statistical data.
The most renowned centre for Russian labour history is directed by Professor Leonid Borodkin at Lomonosov Moscow State University. The Department for Historical Information Science organizes workshops, presentations, conferences, and reunions for researchers in the field of economic, social, financial and industrial history.
In March 2002, historical sources, archive materials, articles, monographs, surveys and books on Russian workers and labour in Russia were collated for a project entitled,
“The Labour Relations Evolution in Russian Industries”56. The project was not limited to contemporary Russian history: the timeframe included the period from pre-revolutionary industrialization to the New Economic Policy (further after NEP) years.
The appearance of such a centre is a milestone in the development of Russian historical science, not only because it will allow historians to share their work, but mainly because it creates a venue for the review and reconsideration of conventional knowledge in light of new research methods and approaches that are being used for data analysis.
55 Rabochee dvizhenie v Rossii. 1895- fevral' 1917 g. Xronika. Vyp. I-IX: Vyp. I “1895 god”;
Vyp. II. “1896 god”; Vyp. III “1897 god”; IV “1898 god”; Vyp. V “1899 god”; Vyp. VI “1900 god”;
Vyp. VII “1901 god”; Vyp. VIII “1902 god”; Vyp. IX “1903 god”. (Redaktor: I.M. Pushkareva, sostaviteli: N.A. Ivanova, V.P. Jeltova, S.I. Potolov, S.V. Kalmykov i dr.) M., 1992-2005. (further –
“Xronika rabochego dvizhenii͡a”).
56 The website of the project: http://www.hist.msu.ru/Labor/english.htm.
70 In western academic circles, labour histories in general and working-class
movements in particular continue to fascinate scholars. Typically, these research projects are conducted within the frameworks of social history rather than political science or economic history. For example, at a well-known centre of labour history at Amsterdam University57 directed by Professor Marcel Van Der Linden, sociologists and social historians analyse labour conditions, strike activity, labour motivation and fluctuations in wages of workers. The research is mainly focused on contemporary history. Historians working in social history hone in on slightly different things than economic historians, and their methods and approaches are taken from the field of sociology.
The main objective of this section is to provide a brief overview of previous studies on labour history, training our sights specifically on the labour history of pre-revolutionary Russia. Thus, we will have a glimpse of what already has been accomplished, and what awaits future work.
As the body of current literature is disorganized, it seems that the best way to survey it would be to divide it into four main groups, according to the topic of the examination or working hypothesis. Because the issue is very controversial, it was
As the body of current literature is disorganized, it seems that the best way to survey it would be to divide it into four main groups, according to the topic of the examination or working hypothesis. Because the issue is very controversial, it was