ed the worst conditions of all in the tobacco factories, The shops where tobacco is chopped and dried are so filled with caustic dust and nicotine that each time [he] entered one of the rooms [he] had spasms in [his] throat and [his] eyes watered. If [he] stayed there very long [he] even became dizzy, though [he was] a smoker himself. He further observed women and children, some under the age of twelve, working under these conditions. The Russian industrial labourer in the pre-revolutionary period worked in a constant state of personal danger. Although there were regulations preventing this type of treatment, they were seldom enforced. Financially, the workers of industrial Russia were severely disadvantaged. The standard wages for industrial workers were minimal. Men were paid between sixteen and twenty-nine rubles monthly. Women were paid approximately half men’s wages, between nine and thirteen rubles monthly. Children were paid even less, between three and ten rubles monthly . However, fines, fees and other unscrupulous means were used to reduce and limit these standard wages. Workers were fined for offences ranging from a five ruble fine for singing in the courtyard after 9:30 pm, to a three ruble fine for the parents of a child who strikes another child. Some workers were required to pay for the rental of sleeping pallets, eventually paying far more than the real value of the crude straw mattress. In addition, most factories had irregular pay schedules. This allowed the employer to earn back an employee’s wages by forcing him to purchase goods on credit at the company store, which stocked items at inflated prices. In one factory wages are only paid twice a year, and even then the money is sent to the worker’s village elders for the payment of their taxes. These workers are left without money the entire year, forcing credit purchases and reducing their real wages. Russian workers were attempting ...
