Industrialization led to the formation of the working class, which began to dominate the population structure of large cities, including both capitals. However, the country remains predominantly peasant: the share of the rural population was 73% by the beginning of the 20th century, while in the UK the population structure was reversed: 75% of the inhabitants were in cities.
The development of labor (factory, labor) legislation, designed to limit the arbitrariness of factory owners, begins.
In the 1880s, there were about 450 strikes, the Morozov strike was especially notable. The abolition of serfdom made it necessary to streamline labor legislation. On June 1, 1882, the work of children under 12 years of age was prohibited, and children from 12 to 15 years of age were allowed to work no more than 8 hours, the work of children at night, on Sundays and holidays is prohibited. A factory inspection was established in 1884. In 1899 there were 250 inspectors throughout the empire.
The manufacturer is obliged to conclude a written contract with the worker and a pay book indicating the period of employment, wages and penalties; hang out the price of work on the walls of the factory. It was forbidden to reduce wages, reduce the number of working days, pay wages in products or coupons, set fines for more than a third of wages, and fines should be spent only on the needs of workers. The length of the working day for men is 11.5, and at night no more than 10 hours.
On the eve of the First World War, the workers did not cease to show dissatisfaction with working conditions: they did not suit the length of the working day; a large difference in wages between men and women; low wages (in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the war, an average of 24 rubles, with a living wage of 21 for a single person and 32 for a family); lack of effective safety precautions (frequent injuries and accidents); a lot of fines, reaching up to 40% of the salary; cramped living conditions.
Part of the requirements is satisfied: in 1884 it is forbidden to pay wages in coupons. Since 1903, state insurance has appeared in case of disability, but it applies to a small number of enterprises. The working day is limited to 11.5 hours. Trade unions have been allowed since the beginning of the 20th century. (Court councilor S. V. Zubatov founded the first "police" trade unions under his patronage, see Zubatovshchina).
The social agitation of the left parties was most successful among the proletariat with a low standard of living and high literacy (almost all workers fit the definition). The percentage of political strikes increases from 20% to 50%. Since 1897 there have been demands to declare May 1 a public holiday. There is a "Petersburg industrial war". May 7, 1901 "Obukhov defense" (a strike with an armed clash with the police). In November 1902, the Cossacks dispersed the strike in Rostov-on-Don; on March 13, 1903, the strike in Zlatoust was shot down.n July-August 1903 there was a general strike with 200,000 workers. By 1905, up to one and a half million workers were on strike, and 75% of them were political. The village, the army, and the navy are also infected with unrest (on June 14, 1905, the battleship Prince Potemkin rebelled, on November 11 the cruiser Ochakov). 1912 - "Lena execution", dissatisfied with living conditions.
Priest Georgy Gapon, at the head of a meeting of St. Petersburg factory workers, is preparing a Petition for workers' needs, in addition to economic demands (replacement of indirect ones with direct income tax, the introduction of an 8-hour working day), political ones were also concluded: to convene a Constituent Assembly, stop the war at the will of the people, etc. [72]. This procession of workers to the Zimny was dispersed by military units, which, in turn, provoked the revolutionary unrest of 1905-1907.
