Abstract
The craftsman has been a prominent figure in Russia’s social and economic history of the 18th — early 20th centuries. In the absence or underdevelopment of manufactory and factory production, he was the main producer of goods, which an urban citizen could not exist without. Since 1720s, St. Petersburg craftsmen were united into craft guilds, which existed until 1917 (German craft guilds until the outbreak of the First World War). However, scholars have virtually overlooked this social group. The article is based on published and archival documents and considers some aspects of daily life of German craftsmen in 19th century St. Petersburg. It analyses the evolution of their civil and legal status. It also describes the procedure of joining the craft guild as well as arising issues, some of which were artificially created by the shop foremen in order to control the number of masters and preserve their own monopoly. The author examines the main aspects related to the opening and maintenance of a craft guild. The mechanism of internal regulation of masters’ activity, which was supposed to prevent the competition between them, is presented on the example of a bakery guild. The main source of labor force in craft guilds were journeymen and apprentices, whose position was regulated by the relevant documentation. It is concluded that the government was not sufficiently attentive to craftsmen within the framework of the class policy. The main normative legal acts defining their position appeared at the end of the 18th — first half of the 19th century. The capital’s German craftsmen were included both in Russian and foreign craft guilds. They used the existing guild organization to consolidate their dominant position in bakery, music and instrument making, bookbinding and some other industries. While maintaining guild insularity as much as possible, the foreman helped prevent unscrupulous competition between the masters of the same guild. He also regulated the relationship between the master, journeymen and apprentices.
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