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

468
V. I. LENIN
data for establishments of which the totals have at various
times included various numbers of small flour-mills, oilpresses,
brick-sheds, etc., etc. Let us take as a criterion
the employment of not fewer than 16 workers in the
establishment, and then we shall see that the number of
such industrial establishments in European Russia in 1866
was a maximum of from 2,500 to 3,000, in 1879 about
4,500, in 1890 about 6,000, in 1894-95 about 6,400, and
in 1903 about 9,000.* Consequently, the number of factories
in Russia in the post-Reform period is growing, and growing
fairly rapidly.
III. AN EXAMINATION OF HISTORICO-STATISTICAL DATA
ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE-SCALE INDUSTRY
We have noted above that to judge the development of
large-scale industry from factory statistics it is necessary
to separate the relatively useful material in these statistics
from the utterly useless. Let us, with this in view, examine
the main branches of our manufacturing industry.
* The data concern all trades (i.e., including excise-paying)
except mining. For 1879, 1890 and 1894-95 we have computed the data
from Directories and the List. From the data in the List we have excluded
printing works, of which no account was taken formerly in factory
statistics (see Studies, p. 273) [See present edition, Vol 4, “On the
Question of Our Factory Statistics.”—Ed.]. For 1866 we have
according to the data in the Yearbook for 71 trades, 1,861 establishments
each employing 16 and more workers, out of a total of 6,891 establishments;
in 1890 these 71 trades accounted for about four-fifths of the
total number of establishments with 16 and more workers. The criterion
adopted by us for the term “factory” is, in our view, the most
exact, since the most varied programmes for our factory statistics
have undoubtedly accepted the inclusion of establishments with 16
and more workers among the factories, and this for all branches of
industry. There can be no doubt that the factory statistics never could,
and cannot now, register all establishments employing 16 and more
workers (see instances in Chapter VI, §II), but we have no grounds
for thinking that there were more omissions formerly than now. For
1903 the data are from the Collection of Factory Inspectors’ Reports.
In the 50 gubernias of European Russia there were 8,856 factories
and works with over 20 workers 41 each.