From the history of the development of tourist and excursion business in Nizhny Novgorod in the 1920s.

Abstract

The subject of the study is the study of the development of tourist and excursion business in the Nizhny Novgorod province in the first decade of Soviet power. The purpose of the work is to analyze trends in the development of tourism, contradictions between commercially oriented tourism and the ideology of Soviet power. The article describes the first tourist and sightseeing routes. A detailed description of long-distance excursions to the resorts of the Crimea and the Caucasus, as well as to the industrial centers of the country is given. The role of trade unions in providing benefits when paying for vouchers is indicated. The methodology of the work is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, as well as a systematic approach that allows a comprehensive examination of the subject under study. The novelty of the scientific work lies in the identification and generalization of historical sources, the involvement in scientific circulation of archival data showing the activities of the Excursion Bureau of the Nizhny Novgorod Province in the period under study. The conducted research showed that tourist and excursion activities, despite its important role in the ideological propaganda of the Soviet government, were characterized by insufficient funding. Attempts to commercialize this type of activity, to achieve the possibility of making a profit have not been successful. The reason for this was the low incomes of the population (therefore, trade unions had to subsidize tourist trips), and the ideological orientation of this type of activity. Therefore, with the beginning of the "Stalinist modernization" of the country and the end of the NEP, the concept of the so-called "proletarian tourism", with its idea of organizing a voluntary society of amateur tourism, is becoming increasingly popular.