Cultural and educational activity of Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation in 1926-1929

Consumers cooperation as a social and economic organizationfulfils not only economic, but also cultural functions. In the middle 1920s Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation took apackage of measures of training and retraining of the cooperative staff, spreading of cooperative ideas and literature among broadmasses of population. All these measures must have been financed at the expense of cooperations resources that included budget allowancesand profits tax of cooperative societies trade and economic activity. However, the changeover to industrialization had a directimpact on functioning of all consumers cooperation. As early as in 1926 state crediting had been considerably reduced, the conditionsof receiving both commodity and monetary credits were toughened. The price-cutting and economy effort campaign, realized in 1926-1927, led to the decrease of urban and labour cooperative societies profits which affected cutting down the deduction norms for culturaland educational activities. The deficit of financing had rather been made up by the establishment of more close relationship betweencooperation and trade unions in 1920s and use of the material resources of the latter (working clubs, places of honour, etc.) for carryingout cultural and educational activity. Siberian consumers cooperation created a system of cooperative education, which allowed weakeningcritical staff shortage to a great extent. Agitation and propaganda activity was directed at the dissemination of cooperative ideasamong broad masses, rise of level of shareholders cooperative knowledge and informing the population of this cooperative societysfunctioning. Press activity of Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation contributed to the broad coverage of its successes andshortcomings and mobilization of cooperative population at the social and political problems solving. Critical materials pointed out theactivity defects for the administration of urban and labour cooperatives and contributed to its elimination. The consumers cooperationin the last half of 1920s endowed the spread of books, installation of cinema and radio in the country. Consequently, in the last half of1920s cultural and educational work became an important part of the diverse activity of Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation.It consisted of organization of cooperative education system, dissemination of cooperative ideas, increase in book sales from yearto year, liquidation of cooperative and general ignorance, useful spending of spare time.

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