Wladimir S. Woytinsky and Public Works in Saint Petersburg in 1906–1908: To the Problem of Studying the National Experience of Fight Unemployment

The article is devoted to as relevant as ever today the problem of unemployment and explores a little-known national experience of solving problems of employment in St. Petersburg in the early XX century associated with activity of the famous social Democrat and economist W. S. Woytinsky. The reaction of the government and society to the problem of unemployment is studied. There are noted the first experience of registering the unemployed in the history of Russia, and there are shown the unique nature of the first Public Works for the unemployed in Russia and the  largest in Europe at that time, organized jointly by the workers ' organization — the St. Petersburg Council of the Unemployed — and the St. Petersburg City Duma. There are noted negative impact of unemployment on the general situation in the capital during the First Russian revolution, as well as on the condition of the personality of factory worker. The research perspective of the problems raised in the article is outlined.