Three Aspects of the Russian Revolution
was exceptional. And if, apart from those cases where skilled labour is rare, the system of the eight-hour day does not tend to diminish the total output of the country, it does dimmish the output per man. It thus increases the net cost; and this brings us to the question of wages.
5. The Rise in Wages.
Wages have risen considerably since the Revolution, and no one would dare state that they will not rise yet more. Before the downfall of the Empire the best machinists in Petrograd often earned only four roubles; to-day they earn generally fifteen or sixteen.
But to appreciate this enormous increase we must not lose sight of the fact that there had been no important rise since the beginning of the war, with the result that the increase in the cost of labour, which in other countries has been spread over three years, has taken place within three weeks in Russia.
In Russia, as in the West, this is due principally to the increase in the cost of
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