Russia's Factory Children: A Review

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Russia’s Factory Children: A Review
Russia’s Factory Children tells the account of the evolving role children played in day to day affairs in the Russian workplace. It covers from just before the industrialization of the Russian society up to the end of the Romanovs in 1917, which is when the Communist Revolution takes place. While it details the laws that would form the perspective of most Russians of towards their own children in the workforce, it also tells of the ever-changing landscape of children’s labor rights and practices. The Author, Boris B. Gorshkov, takes an in depth look into the daily routines, work place environments, lower than adult wages, risks taken, and dangers to the well-being of the children who worked in conditions that would seem deplorable by today’s standards.
While child labor is of course illegal in most industrialized countries today, it was not only acceptable, but encouraged at the onset of the industrial revolution. Many parents saw these new job opportunities as a way for their children to learn a new trade, or apprentice in trades they themselves were employed in. Though some parents, not to mention those who owned serfs, exploited this new found child labor, it was not always seen as just a way to make a quick ruble. Some owners of the first factories found that children were easier to train to work the new machinery than their adult counterparts, as they didn’t have bad habits to break and were very teachable. While many of these first child laborers were forced to work these jobs because of their status as serfs, things would soon change with the Emancipation Reform of 1861.
Along with the changing land scape of industrialization, came the growth of the capitalist market system in...

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...ortant contribution to the growing field of children’s history, as well as creating a cogent case for a balanced, and historically sensitive, understanding of late imperial Russian social relations.” (American Historical Review n.d.) The assertions made in this book make one realize that Russia is not this rule with an iron fist place that we are all taught growing up. The fact that their children worked in factories is not out of the norm or unusual. They seem to have gotten a bad reputation for their mistreatment of their child labor force, though most other industrialized countries have had the same growing pains with the onset of technological advance. The book is “an overview of child labor in Russia, and Gorshkov favors meta-analysis over detailed case studies. This makes the book accessible to both experts and students of Russian history.” (Retish 2011)

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