FACTORY LEGISLATION ” AND THE PROLETARIAN STRUGGLE ( Concerning the Two Laws of November 15 )

There was a time when our labour movement was in its initial stages . At that time the proletariat was split up into separate groups and did not think of waging a common struggle . Railway workers , miners , factory workers , artisans , shop assistants , and clerks – such were the groups into which the Russian proletariat was divided . Moreover , the workers in each group , in their turn , were split up according to the towns , big or small , they lived and worked in , with no link , either party or trade union , between them . Thus , there was no sign of the proletariat as a united and indivisible class . Con sequently , there was no sign of the proletarian struggle , as a general class offensive . That is why the tsarist gov ernment was able calmly to pursue its ” traditional ” policy . That is why , when the ” Workers ‘ Insurance Bill ” was introduced in the State Council in 1893 , Po bedonost sev , the inspirer of the reaction , jeered at the sponsors and said with aplomb : ” Gentlemen , you have taken all this trouble for nothing ; I assure you that there is no labour problem in our country . … ” But time passed , the economic crisis drew near , strikes became more frequent , and the disunited prole tariat gradually organized itself in a united class .