War Communism Dawn of the NEP: the Fishing Industry Management of the Northern Ob-Irtysh Region (1920-1921)

Abstract

The author analyzes historiography of soviet fishing industry establishment at the Northern Ob-Irtysh region and examines sources from the funds of Sibrevcom authorities and all-Siberian co-operative organizations that have not been earlier introduced into scientific research of the problem of establishment of the NEP policy in the provinces. This allowed validating a conclusion about complex interaction between cooperative organizations and food activities, and about contradictions between all-Siberian and Tyumen organizations. In 1920, cooperation actively used individual suppliers, individual agents, traders, salespeople and manufacturers to fulfill state procuring tasks. Cooperative organizations were interested to establish equivalent barter in the Northern part of Tyumen province. Creation of state trust Oblastryba aimed to exclude co-operation from organization of fishery. The task was solved by concentration of all resources in the possession of food establishments and neglection of taken liabilities. Thus, beginning of NEP in the Northern region coincided with tightening of administrative pressure on cooperative unions, depriving them of the opportunity to buy fish. These led to formation of monopoly in fishing industry in the Northern Ob-Irtysh region with the help of administrative pressure of Oblastryba that could procure by interaction with different economic sectors. Thus, establishment of NEP in the North of West Siberia coincided with weakening of competition and straightening of centralization in fisheries sector.