The history of entrepreneurship in prerevolutionary Russia is a very multifaceted and almost inexhaustible topic. An adequate picture of the business world of Russia at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries can be obtained only by studying the activities of both big and medium-sized, even small-scale entrepreneurs. It is necessary to study also the business biographies of completely forgotten manufacturers. This direction of research can give very interesting results. An example of this is the life and work of Pavel Akifiev, a textile manufacturer and shareholder. He has not yet been mentioned in scientific publications of regional and all-Russian scale. The author came to the conclusion, that P. Akifiev was one of the most progressive manufacturers in Ivanovo-Voznesensk at the turn of the XIX—XX century. It was at the Pokrovskaya Manufactory, which he headed for more than a decade and a half, that many technical novelties of the time, including automatic looms, were the first to appear in the city. The attitude to workers at this enterprise, thanks to Akifiev, was significantly different from that practiced in other enterprises of the city. In this factory workers could solve problems without resorting to strikes, by negotiating with the factory administration.
For citation:
Baldin K.Ye. Forgotten manufacturer from Ivanovo-Voznesensk Pavel Akifyev: proponent of technological progress and social experimentalist (late XIX — early XX century), Ivanovo State University Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2023, iss. 2, pp. 70—80.