The article examines the views of V. P. Vorontsov (1847–1918) on the situation of handicraft industry and the discussion that developed around this issue between narodniks and Marxists. The subject of the dispute was the degree of development of domestic capitalism, the prospects for preserving the small-scale way of life and its use in creating an alternative model of the economy.

The article analyzes the views of V.P.Vorontsov (1847–1918) on the state of handicrafts in the 1870s–1880s. His attention was drawn to specific issues: handicraft production and cooperation, the sale of handicrafts, commercial and industrial capital, credit for artisans, their work at home, the quality of handicrafts, the connection of crafts with agriculture. The study of statistical data led Vorontsov to the conclusion about the stability of traditional forms of production to destructive capitalist tendencies.