Insurance laws of the Russian empire in 1861-1862 and their significance in the development of social rights of workers

In the Russian Empire, the first trade union organizations began to appear only at the very beginning of the 20th century (1905) at a number of enterprises in St. Petersburg. Before that, for a long time during the 19th century, industrial workers had very weak social guarantees, which, moreover, applied only to state-owned plants and factories. The situation began to change after the abolition of serfdom, and not immediately, but almost two decades later, when, not without the influence of the expanding revolutionary movement, laws were adopted (1881 and 1882) in the sphere of social insurance of industrial workers. The article reveals the content of these laws, shows their importance in the context of strengthening social guarantees. It is noted that the general direction of the considered normative legal acts was, of course, positive, in particular, the introduction of auxiliary funds, certain compensation for workers and their families as a result of industrial injuries and death. However, in reality, the owners of industrial enterprises, pursuing their interests, with consolidated efforts did not allow the introduction of compulsory social insurance, and even more so the creation of trade unions, and in this form the limited social rights of workers were in effect until the beginning of the next century.