Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 3 - From Marx to Mao

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CAPITALISM IN RUSSIA
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with systematic division of labour.* It is interesting to note
at this point the changes that took place in the organisation
of this industry between 1879 and 1895 (see Moscow Zemstvo
publication: The Brush Industry According to the Investigation
of 1895). Some well-to-do industrialists went to
Moscow to carry on the industry there. The number of industrialists
increased 70%, the increase being particularly large
in the number of women (# 170%) and girls (# 159%).
The number of big workshops with wage-workers diminished:
the proportion of establishments with wage-workers
dropped from 62% to 39%. This was due to the fact that the
masters began to distribute work to be done in the home.
The introduction into general use of the drilling machine
(for making holes in brush blocks) accelerated and facilitated
one of the main processes in brushmaking. The demand
for “setters” (craftsmen who “set” bristle in the block) increased;
and this operation, which became increasingly specialised,
fell to the lot of women, their labour being cheaper.
The women began to work at home setting bristle, and were
paid by the piece. Thus, the growing resort to domestic
industry was caused in this case by progress in technique
(drilling machine), progress in division of labour (the women
do nothing but set bristle), and progress in capitalist exploitation
(the labour of women and girls being cheaper). This
example shows very clearly that domestic industry by no
means eliminates the concept of capitalist manufacture,
but, on the contrary, is sometimes even a sign of its
further development.
7) T h e P r o c e s s i n g o f M i n e r a l P r o d u c t s
In the section relating to ceramics we get an example
of capitalist manufacture in the industries of the Gzhel
district (an area of 25 villages Bronnitsi and Bogorodskoye
uyezds, Moscow Gubernia). The relevant statistics are given
in our table of small industries (Appendix I to Chapter V,
Industries Nos. 15, 28 and 37). From these data it is evident
* The “sawyer” saws the brush blocks; the “borer” bores holes in
them; the “cleaner” cleans the bristle; the “setter” “sets” the bristle;
the “joiner” glues wooden strips on the brush backs (Statistical Returns
for Moscow Gubernia, Vol. VI, Pt. I, p. 18).