Private Entrepreneurship in Soviet Handicraft Cooperatives in Second Half of 1940s

A. A. Pass; V. M. Dida

doi:10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-523-545

Private Entrepreneurship in Soviet Handicraft Cooperatives in Second Half of 1940s

A. A. Pass, V. M. Dida

https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-523-545

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Abstract

This study investigates the interactions between cooperative enterprises and individuals engaged in prohibited private entrepreneurial activities during the years 1947 to 1950. It presents the perspectives of leading domestic and international researchers on the subject. The research utilizes a variety of sources, including published and archival documents, memoirs, and press materials. A comprehensive review of post-war government decrees is conducted, highlighting the expansion of monetary motivations and autonomous decision-making within the cooperative sector. The analysis focuses on the problematic situation that developed within the handicraft system of the Chelyabinsk region. It is argued that the acute crisis of livelihood, characteristic of a militarized Soviet society, compelled economic agents involved in meeting the everyday needs of the population to experiment with illegal business practices. An interpretative model for these practices is proposed. The study also illustrates the response of state control bodies to the proliferation of shadow operations conducted under the guise of cooperatives. The conclusion drawn is that the application of criminal and repressive measures was driven by a prioritization of ideology over pragmatic considerations, which hindered the effective use of cooperative enterprises to achieve a sustainable equilibrium in the consumer market.

Keywords

post-war USSR, consumer goods and services market, cooperative industry, private entrepreneurship, state control

About the Authors

A. A. Pass

Chelyabinsk State University
Russian Federation

Andrey A. Pass, Doctor of History, Professor, Department of Political Sciences and International Relations

Chelyabinsk

V. M. Dida

Chelyabinsk State University
Russian Federation

Vadim M. Dida, Postgraduate student, Department of Political Sciences and International Relations

Chelyabinsk

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For citations:

Pass A.A., Dida V.M. Private Entrepreneurship in Soviet Handicraft Cooperatives in Second Half of 1940s. Nauchnyi dialog. 2026;15(5):523-545. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2026-15-5-523-545

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