page 534

    In the majority of West-European countries, strike statistics were placed on a proper footing comparatively recently -- some ten or twenty years ago. In Russia there are strike statistics dating from 1895 only. The chief defect in our official statistics, apart from understatement concerning the number of participants, is that they cover only workers in enterprises subordinated to the Factory Inspectorate. Railwaymen, metallurgical workers, tramway workers, workers in trades subject to excise, etc., miners, building and rural workers are not included in the statistics.

    Here are summarised data for the entire period covered by Russian strike statistics.

 
page 535

    The extent to which these figures are understated may be judged, for example, from the fact that such a cautious writer as Mr. Prokopovich cites another figure for 1912 -- 683,000 strikers, but "according to another estimate, 1,248,000 in factories, and in addition a further 215,000 in enterprises not under the Factory Inspectorate", i.e., 1,463,000 or almost a million and a half.

    The number of economic strikes (from 1905) is as follows:

    In general, the average number of strikers a year in Russia over the eighteen years was 345,400. In Germany the average for fourteen years (1899-1912) was 229,500, and for Britain the average for twenty years (1893-1912) was 344,200. To give a clear picture of the connection between strikes in Russia and the country's political history, we cite the figures for 1905-07 in three-month periods (quarters ):

 
page 536

Year  .  .  .  .  .  .  .	1905				1906
Quarters .  .  .  .  .  .	I	II	III	IV	I	II	III	IV
Number of strikers  (thousands) per  quarter .  .  .  .  .  . Total  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Economic .  .  .  .  .  . Political  .  .  .  .  .  .	Beginning of revo- lution 810 411 399	481 190 291	294 143 151	Revolu- tion   1,277  275 1,002	269  73 196	First  Duma   479 222 257	296 125 171	63 37 26

Year  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .	1907
Quarters .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .	I	II	III	IV
Number of strikers (thousands)  per quarter.  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Total  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Economic .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . Political  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .	146  52  94	Second  Duma 322  52 271	77 66 11	193  30 163

    The strikers in the main branches of industry were distributed as follows;

 
page 537

    The strikes are grouped in accordance with their causes in the following way (for 14 years, 1895-1908): political, 59.9 per cent of the strikers; on wage issues, 24.3 per cent; on the issue of the working day, 10.9 per cent; labour conditions, 4.8 per cent.

    In respect of the results of the strikes we get the following division (if the number of strikers whose strikes ended in a compromise be divided equally between "won" and "lost"):

    In conclusion we give brief data on the distribution of strikes according to the size of the enterprise and according to the location of the enterprise:

 
page 538

page 587

  [151] Lenin wrote this article for the pocket calendar Sputnik Rabochego (Worker's Handbook ) for 1914, issued by the Priboi Party Publishing House in December 1913. It contained essential information on labour legislation in Russia, the Russian and international working-class movement, political parties, associations and unions, the press, etc. The Worker's Handbook was sequestered but the issue was sold in one day before the police could confiscate it. When Lenin received a copy of the Handbook he wrote in a letter to Inessa Armand that 5,000 copies had already been sold. A second, amended edition was published in February 1914 with deletions and amendments made for purposes of censorship and with a list of books for self-education added. Altogether 20,000 copies of the Handbook were sold.    [p. 534]

  ^[152] For details of the strike at the Morozov mills see "Explanation of the Law on Fines Imposed on Factory Workers", V. I. Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 2, pp. 29-72.    [p. 535]