Information Potential of Archival Sources on Wage Differentiation in the Industry of the Central Industrial District in the 1910s-1920s.

Aletkina Ekaterina Yur'evna Postgraduate student, Department of Historical Information Science, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University 119192, Russia, g. Moscow, Lomonosovskii pr-t, 27 k 4 sun_shine1996@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Wages are an important indicator reflecting the level of inequality in society. Discussions on remuneration issues are in an interdisciplinary field and involve various groups of specialists, including historians.

In recent decades, the topics of analyzing the dynamics of the level of wages and its differentiation in late Imperial and early Soviet Russia have increasingly become an object of research. According to the subject of research, such works can be conditionally divided into four large groups, which reflect: 1) regional features ^{[6, 7, 13, 15, 21 etc.]}; 2) industry aspects ^{[1, 8, 19, 20, etc.]}.; 3) features related to categories of employees ^{[1, 2, 4, 6, 15, 19, 20, 21 and etc.]}; 4) general works that give a cumulative assessment of indicators ^{[8, 12, 14, 16, 17]}. If we classify such works according to the sources on the basis of which the study was conducted and from which statistical data were selected, three groups are identified: 1) archival sources ^{[1, 7, 19, 20]}; 2) published sources ^{[2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15]}; 3) archived and published ^{[16, 17, 21]}. At the same time, quite a few works have been devoted to the issues of the information potential of archival sources on this topic ^[5].

The purpose of this work is to characterize archival sources on the dynamics and differentiation of wages in the CPR of the period under review. Their identification work was carried out in two directions: on the basis of federal and regional archives. Moreover, an attempt has been made to study these topical issues related to wage inequality from the standpoint of macro- and micro-historical approaches. Using the example of two regional archives, the information potential of archival sources reflecting information about the issues raised at the level of specific enterprises is considered.

Relevant documentation of federal archivesThe search for information about sources on the dynamics and differentiation in wages in the 1910s -1920s. it is logical to start with the funds of statistical offices.

In the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), such information is presented in the A-374 fund (Central Statistical Office of the RSFSR - CSU of the RSFSR), which was created by Decree of the SNK of the RSFSR dated 25.07.1918 and functioned until its liquidation as a result of the formation of the CSU of the USSR in 1923, but four years later the CSU of the RSFSR was re-established by decree XIII All-Russian Congress of Soviets. It should be noted that the documents for the first five years of the existence of this structure are stored in the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE) as part of the fund 1562 (Central Statistical Office (CSB) under the Council of Ministers of the USSR). Of particular interest to our research within the framework of this fund is inventory 15 (Department of Labor and Wage Statistics (1918-1939). Documents containing wage statistics are divided into tools, summary tables of the CSU of the USSR, provincial statistical bureaus, payroll accounting cards, etc. ^{[17, l.11-13]}.

The documents identified in the federal archives are, as a rule, aggregated in nature - without division into categories of employees; first of all, these are generalizing data at the level of the RSFSR. Next, we will consider the main types of sources identified in the archive in the State Archive of the Russian Federation.

An example of this kind is a handwritten document "Information on the accounting of the number and wage fund of employees in industry in 1927" from the fund F. A–374. GARF (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Archival document "Accounting of the number and wage fund of employees in industry". Source: GARF. F. A-374. Op. 20. D. 7. L. 2. ^[10].

In tabular, machine-readable form, a fragment of this source is presented, reflecting data on the Central Industrial Region of the RSFSR (see Table No. 1)

Table No. 1

"Accounting of the number and wage funds of employees in industry"

Source: GARF. F. A-374. Op. 20. D.7. L. 2. ^[10].

In this case, data is recorded by administrative-territorial units, which makes it possible to compare the average monthly salary of employees in various industry categories (industry, trade, public communications, etc.). Categories of employees are divided into three sectors: public, cooperative, private. There are also general indicators for the average salary in red rubles for the previous two years, but their comparison with the current indicators is difficult, since the characteristics of this indicator are not reflected: whether it is generalized, how it relates to the sectors of the economy mentioned earlier. In addition, there are significant discrepancies when checking the data indicated in columns 16 and 19 and the results obtained by directly multiplying the original data of columns 14 and 15, as indicated in the formulas of the annual salary fund.

Figure 2 shows a different type of source – interval data on the distribution of workers by earnings for professions in a number of industries at the level of the RSFSR (see Figure 2).

Fig. 2. The document "Distribution of workers by earnings in March 1927".

Source: GARF. F. A-374. Op. 20. D. 5. L.1. ^[9].

The data in Fig. 2 allow us to determine the ratio of the highest-paid and lowest-paid workers, to estimate the decile coefficient and the Gini index. It is important to emphasize that the data are presented in sections for the categories: "both sexes", "men", "women", "teenagers", which also allows you to compare their earnings.

Moving from more general types of sources aggregating data at the level of industry in the RSFSR as a whole to more specific cases, it is necessary to note the importance of cases from the funds of commissions of various trade union committees. Such sources contain rather disparate data, therefore, difficulties may arise when trying to systematize them. For example, while working in the State Archive of the Russian Federation, an article "Wages of printing workers" was discovered, containing the results of a questionnaire survey of categories of printing workers in 1907 (GARF. F. R-6864. Op. 1. D. 90.). In another source, data on monthly surveys of trade unions with average monthly wages in 1928 were revealed (GARF. F. R-5515. Op. 26. D. 28.). Different time frames of cases do not allow comparing indicators with each other, and even more than that - there is no way to build dynamics on their basis at least for one indicator; therefore, they are uninformative.  However, among the cases of this group, one can single out the case of the activities of the "Commission for the Study of the History of the Professional Movement under the central committee of the Professional Union of Chemists." Below is a fragment of this source in machine-readable form (see Table 2).

Table No. 2

"Statistical data on the wages of workers in the chemical industry for 1913-1916. (men and women)"

Source: GA RF. F. R6876. Op. 1. d. 79. l. 1. ^[11].

Presented in Table.2 the survey results included six chemical industries, wages for which are presented for four time periods for male and female workers, depending on the form of their remuneration, and showed three values: minimum, maximum and average.

Thus, on the basis of federal archives, sources of employees' wages are identified with the division of indicators by regional, professional aspect, but they do not reflect, as a rule, the division directly into categories of employees (minimally - "workers/ employees" or in more detail).

Relevant documentation of regional archives The identification of sources characterizing the differentiation and dynamics of wages in the funds of regional archives was carried out with the orientation of using them in microhistoric research.

At this stage, the focus was on individual enterprises of the Central Industrial Region. The main attention was focused on studying the materials of the archival funds of the regional archives of the Tver and Tula regions. Let's consider these archival sources separately for the pre-revolutionary and early Soviet periods.

As an object of research on the basis of the State Archive of the Tula region, the Tula Arms Factory (TOZ) (GATO. F. 187), formed in 1712, acted as an object of research. The archival materials of the TOZ are presented:

1)      Books for recording the issue of wages to masters and factory workers (for example, GATO. F. 187. Op. 1. Vol. 3. d. 9152.);

2) Cases on the payment of salaries and allowances to TOZ employees for 1908-1916 (demanding statements for the payment of salaries and appropriations are attached) (GATO. F. 187. Op. 1. Vol. 3. D. 9589, 9590, 9591, 9592; Op. 1. Vol. 4. D. 9632, 9633, 9634, 9635; Op. 2. D. 49, 212, 213, 214, 258, 261, 374, 401, 416.);3)     

Demanding statements of payment, for the performance of daily and monthly foremen and workers of workshops TOZ works (GATO. F. 187. Op. 2. d. 417, 418, 418a, 522, 523, 591, 592, 592a, 592b, 685, etc.);

4) Invoices for the issuance of wages of artisans and workers of various workshops for 1917 (F. 187. Op. 2. d. 690 – 702).

The main source of data on the dynamics and differentiation of wages of the Tula Arms Factory after 1917 can be considered "Information on the wages of workers, employees and craftsmen" (GATO. F. R-220. Op. 1. Vol. 1, 430, 431, Op.1. Vol. 2. D. 900-905, 915-917, 1050-1053, 2032, 2054, 2571, Op. 5. D. 59, 594, 595), allowing to compare the indicators of these categories of workers.

In the State Archive of the Tver Region, the fund of the Tver Carriage Building Plant (GATO. F. 28) was chosen as the object of research. First of all, it should be noted that the fund's materials revealed "A brief historical sketch of the activities, survey questionnaires of the plant, information on the fulfillment of orders, the availability of materials, equipment and finished products, the number of workers, wages in 1898-1918" (summary table) (GATO. F. 28. Op. 1. d. 951.).

Specific data on the salary of TVZ employees are contained in the circular and instructions of the factory inspector of the Tver province to the director of the plant. These materials also include information on the number of workers by age at the plant, on the average daily earnings of workers in 1915 (GATO. F. 28. Op. 1. d. 6.). Despite the fact that other indicators indicated in the circular were considered for a longer chronological period, data on salaries they are not presented systematically.

One of the informative sources on the dynamics of workers' earnings inequality are "Acts, agreements between workers and the administration of the Tver Plant on the payment of pensions and remuneration for 1897-1911" (GATO. F. 28. Op. 1. d. 21) and for 1904-1911 (GATO. F. 28. Op. 1 d. 142), in which, in addition to dynamic indicators, give examples of labor conflicts between the management of the plant and workers.

Another group of identified sources is represented by payslips that allow information about the earnings of workers from different workshops of the plant to be arranged in dynamic rows (but they will have some gaps) (GATO. F. 28. Op. 1. D. 120, 301, 356, 395 – 401, 463, 586, 685 – 696, 781-788, 955 – 964, 975).

Identification of documents on remuneration issues at the plant in the early Soviet period (circulars, tariffs, rates, correspondence) also allows us to proceed to the compilation of dynamic series that can determine the trend of the degree of differentiation in remuneration.

Thus, with regard to cases from the funds of federal archives that affect the issues of wages and its differentiation, first of all, it is necessary to note their dispersion, as well as the aggregated, statistical level of information presentation. At the same time, the materials of the regional archives are more detailed, reflecting the processes studied at the micro level. The combination of these data creates opportunities for studying the processes of wage differentiation in Russian industry both before the revolution and in the 1920s.