Artisan production as a component of development of capitalism in rural areas in mid-19th – early-20th century, according to records of Semenov uyezd (district) and Makary uyezd (district) of Nizhny Novgorod gubernia (province)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of artisan production of Semyonov district and Makary district of Nizhny Novgorod province in the mid-19^th – early-20^th century. The study focuses on the high socio-economic significance of the cottage industry for the local population. Scrutinizing the zemstvo statistics and local periodicals, the author identifies the core types of local artisan production. The factual material selected by the author describes the development of the artisan production of the local region. The analysis allows to determine the factors that influenced the changes in the artisan production of the northern areas of the Nizhny Novgorod province. The article gives a classification of local artisans on the bases of their property status. The author comes to the conclusion that artisan production in rural areas had transition nature. Under the influence of objective economic processes, it transformed from an initially progressive phenomenon to an instrument of financial enslavement of small and medium producers by the turn of the 20^th century.