Abstract: The article deals with issues related to the financing of the construction of the Trans–Siberian railway in the late XIX - early XX centuries. In the course of the study, the total cost of construction was determined, as well as the reasons for the differences in the amounts spent for individual sections of this railway were identified. The comparison of planned and actual expenses, both total and for individual items, was carried out, as well as the reasons for overspending the originally planned amounts and the circumstances that made it possible to reduce costs for certain types (stages) of work were identified. The structure of expenses is determined, the share of various items in the total amount of construction costs is estimated. A comparison of the cost structure of different parts of the Trans-Siberian Railway is carried out. The basis of the source base of this study is the materials of reports on the construction of individual lines of this railway. In the structure of expenses for all sections of the road, the most significant items are allocated, which take over the bulk of the allocated funds. At the same time, the existing differences can be explained, first of all, by the conditions of construction work, the need to construct various infrastructure facilities, bridges, tunnels. Despite the presence of miscalculations at the planning stage during the construction of the West Siberian, Tomsk branch of the Middle Siberian, both sections of the Ussuri Railway, the cost amounts did not exceed the initial estimates.

Abstract: The search for the optimal route of the Trans- Siberian Railway took more than a decade in the second half of the XIX century. The discussions on this issue involved not only government officials, but also representatives of business circles, members of Russian scientific and technical societies, and broad public circles. Russian Geographical and Imperial Russian Technical Societies' activity in the 1870s - early 1890s to develop proposals on the route of the transcontinental railway, as well as on the use of waterways in the context of solving the problems of the construction of the Trans–Siberian Railway is considered in the article. The main sources were verbatim reports, reports and other materials published following the meetings of participants of these Russian scientific societies, as well as invited speakers.   Discussions about possible directions of the future Trans-Siberian Railway line, which took place in the 1870s – early 1890s, contributed to the gradual formation of the main possible options for the route of the railway, taking into account, first of all, economic interests, financial opportunities, technical difficulties and construction deadlines. Some of the proposed solutions and recommendations were taken into account during the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway in subsequent years. In addition, thanks to the participation of scientists, engineers and other specialists in these discussions, it was possible to formulate priority tasks for further topographic, geological, hydrological, climatic and other studies of the territories of Siberia and the Far East, which were planned to be carried out with the direct participation of the state, both in the context of railway construction tasks, and in general to expand knowledge about these territories.

Abstract: The topic of the living standards of population during the World War I remains polemical, namely due to the fact that worsening of food insecurity was traditionally regarded by Soviet historiography as one of the factors of escalation of revolutionary moods in the society. The article describes the dynamics of industrial protests during the wartime, which were caused shortage and costliness of food products. The research is based on the 2019 edition of the chronicle of industrial protests during the World War I, which contains information on the higher number of conflicts than that of materials used in earlier research. Assessment of the severity of food insecurity through the prism of industrial strikes demonstrates that the situation becomes critical by the beginning of 1917, gradually changing for the worse during the wartime. In the initial stages of the war, the demands for food provision and lowering the prices were expressed during the strikes in the remote provinces. Although in 1916, the provinces of the Central Industrial District take on the leading positions, the Moscow province is not among them. The employees of light industry, and particularly textile industry, were engaged in the strikes more often. By the end of 1916, the escalation of protest activity due to food insecurity issue is observed in Moscow and Petrograd provinces, involving the workers of metal industry and defense enterprises.

Abstract: Soviet historiography features a thesis that in the course of struggle against industrial strikes in Russia during the World War I, the government applied solely repressive measures, including armed suppression of worker strikes, prosecution, imprisonment, and conscription. The reports of proceedings of Special Council on State Defense, which was composed of the representatives of key ministries, State Soviet, State Duma, as well as entrepreneurial circles and nongovernmental organizations, allowed the government representatives to more objectively understand the essence of the “employment issue” in the conditions of protracted war and possible methods of its solution, including prevention of strikes, especially at the enterprises involved in execution of defense orders. The article presents the analysis of the content of discussions and decisions on the employment issue adopted within the framework of Special Council for ensuring steady operation of factories and preventing downtime as a result of strikes and quitting of employees. It is worth noting that a considerable part of political and military figures, major industrialists supported peaceful methods of solution the employment issue, such as negotiation process, seeking compromises, creation of reconciliation chambers and other specific authorities. However, the absence of an agreement and interaction between different departments impeded the development and implementation of prompt and effective measures to address the employment issue.

Abstract:  
This article considers the questions of labor compensation of the industrial workers in prerevolutionary Russia based on the materials of one of the largest textile factories – Yaroslavl Big Manufactory (YBM). Attention is focused on the dynamics of nominal and real salaries at different phases of business cycle, as well as the ratio of salaries between high- and low-paid groups of workers in the early XX century (depending on the level of qualification and gender affiliation). The research contains the archival materials preserved in the State Archive of Yaroslavl Oblast in the fund of the Yaroslavl Big Manufactory (F. 674), including personal records of the employees and payroll registers for the period from the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX centuries. The conclusion is made that during the period of economic depression until 1908, the nominal salary of YBM employees grew faster than during the industrial ramp-up of 1909 – 1913, which was justified by the policy of factory’s administration, which in 1905 – 1907 raised the prices in order to meet the demands of the strikers. At the time of economic depression, the gap in salaries of high- and low-paid categories of workers (by professional, gender, and age groups) was reduced. In 1909 – 1913, the previous level of salary differentiation gradually came back to the situation of the period of depression. The conducted research allows formulating the hypothesis that at the time of unfavorable economic conjuncture, the entrepreneurs were oriented towards reduction of salary differentiation by raising salaries of the low-paid categories to the level of higher-paid workers; while during the years of economic upswing, the level of salary differentiation was increasing again, which was justified by intention to improve labor motivation among most qualified workers.
 

Abstract: In the years of the first five-year plans, the phenomenon of wage delays in the country's industry was quite massive and systematic in nature, which caused discontent among workers and created conflicts at work, including those that then turned into strikes (at the beginning of the first five-year plan) accompanied by the disuse of equipment. The article examines the scope of the event of the untimely payment of earned sums, identifies its causes, the workers' reaction, and also analyzes the effectiveness of the actions implemented by local and central economic bodies, financial organizations, trade unions, court institutions and prosecutors in eliminating these violations that reduced the effectiveness of the mobilization policy of the Soviet leadership during the years of industrialization. The source base of this study is made up of mainly archival documents stored in the collections of the State Archive of the Russian Federation (SARF), which are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Many of these documents are classified as "Secret", "Top Secret ", "Not to be disclosed. " The study demonstrates that the violation of the terms of earnings payment to industrial workers in the years of the first five-year periods was the result of a number of unfavorable factors: lack of banknotes in local branches of the State Bank, shortcomings of the Soviet credit system, overuse of wage funds and their, in general, “free” treatment, failure to fulfill production programs, failures in the system of mutual settlements between suppliers and customers, the accumulation of a large number of unsold products in warehouses, etc. The measures taken could not completely eliminate this problem, but in the second half of the 1930s, the frequency of occurrences, terms and amounts of arrears gradually decreased.

Abstract: The task of restoring Donbass as the key fuel base of the country was one of the priorities for the Soviet government at the start of the New Economic Policy. With the obvious limitations of external and internal resources, the government relied heavily on labor productivity growth and the dedication of the workers to the cause. Based on an analysis of the reasons behind conflicts and strikes in the mines of Donbass in the early years of the New Economic Policy, the article identifies the "bottlenecks" in the system of labor incentives for miners and also describes the features of the practiced methods of seeking qualified personnel and high performance. The research is based on archival materials preserved in the State Archive of the Russian Federation. This includes above all the collections of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (F. 5451) and the Central Committee of the Professional Union of Miners of the USSR (F. 5459). The combination of micro and macro approaches has made it possible for the author to consider specific cases and practices in the context of general events in Russia. The study demonstrates that for workers the most important thing was still the material component in the system of labor incentives, expressed in a decent amount and timely payment of wages, ensuring acceptable living conditions and the supply of essential goods. It was not possible to solve these issues in the short time given, but the task of securing skilled workers in the mines of Donbass became more and more urgent. It was precisely this reason that prompted the local trade union and economic bodies to take the uncommon step that involved the allocation of land plots to miners. Despite the fact that the practice of “land distribution” lasted until the end of the 1920s, it could not reverse the situation of high staff turnover and a shortage of skilled workers.

Abstract: The system of labour relations in the Russian industry which took shape during the period of the pre-Revolution industrialisation was subjected to drastic changes after 1917. However, conflicts in their diverse forms, including their most acute manifestations (strikes), continued to be a significant indicator of the workers’ mood, of their perception of the new developments in the system of stimulating labour and organising production activity and daily life. The examination of the causes of conflict in industrial enterprises during the years of the New Economic Policy (1922–1928) is conducted on the basis of archival and published documents. Attention is predominantly focused on the question of the relationship between workers, on the one hand, and representatives of factory-plant administration and engineer-technical workers, on the other hand. The negative attitude of the workers towards “specialists” and “red directors” could result in serious and prolonged conflicts ending with assaults and even assassinations of engineers, masters, and managers. This kind of “opposition” stood in the way of the enterprises’ stable production, leading to equipment failures and losses in employee salaries. The use of microanalysis methods has allowed to investigate in detail the reasons for the workers’ discontent and to conduct a comparison of it with analogous data indicative of conflicts in the pre-Revolution Russian industry.

Abstract: During the years of the first Soviet Five-Year Plan one of the key questions was the increase of labour productivity, which compelled plant managers to devote particular attention to the creation of work stimulus. A significant role was played by the quality of the social services that the plants could offer their workers: housing, provision of essential commodities, etc. Undoubtedly, the ideological setting had its effect and the struggle for the creation of a “socialist way of life”, which by definition had to be of better quality in comparison to the pre-Revolutionary one, forced the development of the social sphere. At the same time, plant managements were well aware that the household disarrangement lowered productivity, labour quality and discipline. This research, based on archival material and directed at the study of the social factors in labour motivation on a separate plant during the years of the first Five-Year Plan (1928–1932), permits a detailed analysis of the precise measures undertaken in this sphere by the party and economic managements, their effectiveness, including as opposed to the earlier period. In this case at the heart of the study is the large textile plant with a rich pre-Revolutionary history – the Trekhgornaya factory.