Female Factory Owners in the Industry of Moscow, 1840s–1860s

This chapter considers a group of female factory owners operating in Moscow industry in the mid-nineteenth century—the era that was stated as a period of rising female business activity, which corresponds to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Russia. Examination of the Moscow province registers of factories from 1843 to 1871 shows that women were actively engaged in business and owned a range of industrial enterprises. In the period between the 1840s and 1871, the proportion of women-owned factories and plants was between 10 and 13%, the number of factories amounting from 79 to 99, and most of them had been equipped with steam engines and power looms, wishing to take the technological advantages of the Industrial Revolution for their economic benefits.