"The Temple of NEP Civilization" in a provincial town: History of the Tyumen Branch of GUM (1922–1926)

The history of Moscow GUM is covered quite fully in the works of Russian scientists and the media. Based on the principles of historicism, comprehensiveness and objectivity, this article examines previously untouched facts about the fate of the first Soviet department store, which concern provincial branches, more precisely, the Tyumen Branch of GUM. The study aims to characterize the trading activities of GUM in provincial Tyumen in 1922-1926 and to determine its role in the formation and development of state universal trade. The article covers the main decisions of the Soviet government in organizing state universal trade during the NEP period. The author analyzes the effectiveness of pricing policy and government measures in the fight against speculation. The study reveals the methods of supplying goods to the provincial branch of the department store, and identifies the role of the Tyumen Raw Materials Fair (19241927) in expanding the range of outlets of the local GUM. The anthropological approach allowed analyzing the relationship between the buyer and the seller, as well as the attitude of society to various events that arose in the trade sector, of which the Tyumen GUM was a part. The focus in this case shifted from events to human participation in them, including the charitable activities of the local department store. Comparing the advertising campaigns of the provincial and capital GUM, the author sought to establish both similarities and differences. The use of the ideographic method of scientific knowledge allowed forming an individual image of the Tyumen Branch and noting its strengths and weaknesses in matters of developing the state trade sector in a provincial city. In the course of the study, the author also established the reasons for the liquidation of the Tyumen branch of GUM. As a result, it was proven that the Tyumen Branch of GUM remained the main center of state universal trade in the city during the NEP. The remoteness from Moscow made it difficult to deliver goods to the Tyumen GUM, but stimulated the management to search for other sources of replenishment of the store's assortment. As a result of active advertising campaigns, GUM managed to avoid the absorption of its retail network by a cooperative in 1924 and its closure in 1925. Its active charitable work helped to promptly and effectively solve the city's social problems. The accumulated experience in organizing universal state trade in the 1920s was successfully applied by the local authorities in the 1930s. The transfer of most of the retail outlets of the Tyumen Branch of GUM to the state trade sector "Uraltorg" after its liquidation contributed to the displacement of trade cooperatives to the village in the 1930s and the expansion of the network of state retail outlets in the city. This phenomenon was of an all-Russian nature. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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