Female Entrepreneurs in Nineteenth-Century Russia

This pioneering work comprehensively examines the history of female entrepreneurship in the Russian Empire during nineteenth-century industrial development. According to Russian law, women enjoyed the same property rights as men, so the principle of separate personal property in marriage made it possible for a woman to be independent in business matters. Ulianova uses statistical information on female entrepreneurs from 1814 to 1900, and sociologically analyzes the data on a wide range of enterprises, from cottage industries to large-scale manufacturing operations. The study also includes lively case histories which reveal the background to a number of family fortunes including instances of bankruptcy and property litigations between close family members.