Bridging Traditions and Modernity. Guilds in St. Petersburg in the Era of Industrialisation: New Perspectives

About the author:

Andrei V. Keller, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Laboratory for the Study of Primary Sources, Institute for the Arts and Humanities, Ural Federal University (Yekaterinburg); a.v.keller@urfu.ru

Abstract:

The present article analyses the development of trade institutions in St. Petersburg (guilds in particular) from the pre-reform period to the beginning of the 20^thcentury. Functioning as the basis of the urban economy even after the appearance of large factories, craft industry was the fundamental supplier of food-related goods, clothes, shoes, and other household items. The increased demand for “European” goods facilitated the adaptation, development, and support of European technical standards, which gave an impetus to the implementation of new technologies. In the “European” capital, the guilds bore both an estate and a professional character: they were the best possible basis for launching craft education, since they provided both structure and training to professionals.

The author of the article shows that craft guilds can be considered as the drivers of development in the capital's craft industries. The author demonstrates that crafts in the period of the Industrial Revolution (and particularly during the intensive growth of the 1890s) continued to develop actively, contributing towards the diversification of professional education and mastering new professions, thus maintaining a great deal of technological variety.

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