Working conditions of postal and telegraph employees of the Tambov province in the second half of the XIX – early XX century

Abstract

Introduction. The article deals with the problems of working conditions of postal and telegraph employees in the Tambov governorate in the second half of the XIX - early XX century. The relevance of the study is determined by the significant role of communication tool in the life of society and the state.Materials and methods. The research is based on a wide range of archival and published sources. The research is based on the materials from the funds of the State Archive of the Tambov region. A significant part of the archival documents used in the work is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The following methods of scientific research were used: comparative-historical, statistical, analysis, synthesis etc.Results. We study the material position of postal and telegraph employees, content of professional duties, working hours, the system of fines and benefits. The influence of working conditions on the revolutionary activity of communication workers is considered. The author comes to the conclusion that during the period under study, the socio-economic position of postal and telegraph employees was not easy. A long working day, a large number of work duties, the absence of leave for a number of categories of employees, the wage system – all this contributed to the involvement of signalmen in revolutionary activities. Nevertheless, even during the revolution of 1905-1907, the majority of postal and telegraph workers of the Tambov governorate as a whole remained loyal to the state authorities.

Keywords

• post office
• telegraph
• telephone
• postal and telegraph employees
• working conditions
• socio-economic position
• communication
• tambov governorate