Practical Aspects of Factory Inspectorate Activities in the Voronezh and Kursk Provinces (1882–1905)

The aim of the study. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that the analysis of the formation and functioning of the institute of factory inspectorate in the field of supervision of compliance with the established norms and rules of labour protection of minors and women, regulation of labor relations between employees and manufacturers will allow rethinking the history of the development of factory legislation in the Russian Empire and analyze the possibilities and disadvantages of state regulation of relations between workers and entrepreneurs.

Conclusions. As a result of the study of the practical activities of the factory inspectorate on the territory of the Voronezh and Kursk provinces, where mainly small factory enterprises with agricultural specialization were located, there was a general tendency to use the labour of minors and women in industrial enterprises, as a consequence of the cheapness of their labour and non-resistance. The author concludes that the activities of the factory inspectorate had an important impact on the implementation and practical useof the adopted legislative norms regulating the work of women and minors. Firstly, the number of violations of the rules on the work of minors and women recorded by the factory inspectorate decreased. Secondly, extensive statistical material was collected on industry and working conditions of workers, their gender and age composition, the number of women and children, their share in various industries, which was not unimportant for the further development of factory legislation in Russia in the second half of the XIX century.