Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation of new economic policy period in the Soviet historiography of 1920s

Studying the history of the cooperativemovement in Russia was one of the main directions of native historiography. It is determined by the enormous role of cooperation associo-economic organization. Urban and labour consumers cooperation of Siberia in the new economic policy period took main positionsin the retail trade of cities and industrial centres, which had attracted interest of researchers to the various parameters of its activityin the 1920s already. Moreover, until the end of 1920s the opportunity of a relatively free discussion of cooperative building problemshad remained. Thus, authoritative theorists and practitioners of pre-revolutionary cooperative movement - V.F. Totomiants, S.P. Prokopovich,M.I. Tugan-Baranovskiy and others  had a big impact on the historiographic situation of this period. At ones full capacitythe creative potential of such scholars, as A.V. Chayanov, N.D. Kondratyev and others revealed in this period. However, in the boundaryof 1920s-1930s non-Marxist courses in the humanities run absolute defeat, and their representatives were subjected to repressions. Inthe historical science the supremacy of Marxist-Lenin ideology gained a foothold. Lenins cooperative plan became the theoreticalbasis of the cooperative movements Soviet historiography of 1920s, the essence of which was finding arguments in support of the necessityof transition from sale and supply forms of cooperation to production. First historians of Siberian urban and labour cooperationbecame the practitioners of cooperative building - I. Vasilyev, V. Mahov, I. Pankratov, L. Strikovskiy, as well as party and Soviet leaders.These works are of great value due to the cooperative statistics in their basis, which allows defining primary parameters of tradingand economic activity of Siberian urban and labour cooperation in the new economic policy period. The attempts of analysing big factualmaterial collection and its systematizing, separate generalizations and conclusions combined with practical recommendations andpopularisation of the cooperative movement achievements. In the second half of 1920s in view of the Siberian cooperative movementsdevelopment working out of this theme became more intense. Works that were especially dedicated to this topic interesting for us werebrought out. Their value lies in the direct reflection of the cooperative buildings practice, as well as in bringing in statistical materials,which allows imparting the nature of sources for them. As a whole, in the 1920s in spite of the fact that development of history of consumersurban and labour cooperative movement had just begun, the factual foundation of its studying had been laid down. Specialvalue of these works for modern researchers is determined by the presence of unique factual material, which attaches great source significanceto them. Yet, among the defects of most publications of this period their agitation and propaganda orientation, weakness ofscientific analysis of the problems concerned, lack of works of complex character should be mentioned. The cultural and educationalactivity of Siberian urban and labour consumers cooperation remained non-examined.

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