Russian local government during the war and the Union of Zemstvos

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1794855874

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-179223

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Polner, Tichon I. http://d-nb.info/gnd/172311195

Title:: Russian local government during the war and the Union of Zemstvos

Place of publication:: New Haven

Publisher:: Yale Univ. Press

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: XXV, 317 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XI. Work in the army

Collection:: Economics Books

228 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR A period of feverish activity now began. All the buying was to be ‘done by the Moscow Central Cooperative Society, which had branches all over Russia. The Union’s committee of the western front organized a retail stores department and a central warehouse. Each army corps had a special administration in charge of the re- tail stores. The latter had at its disposal a number of instructors and inspectors who made the rounds of the stores and collected the cash receipts. In Moscow an agency was established to hasten the buying and dispatch of the merchandise. A simple, effective system of accounting was organized, involving separate store and cash ac- counts for each store. The Zemstvo Union did not intend to derive a profit from the retail stores, but the expenditure on administra- tion and transport, especially horse transport, was so heavy that it was necessary to add 25 per cent to the cost price of articles sold to avoid losses. Prices were uniform and price lists were posted on the walls. The selection of articles offered for sale was made in accord- ance with the experience gained in Poland and was specially adapted to the needs of the troops at the front. At first, fifty-five different articles were provided, but this number was gradually reduced to forty-five. In spite of the additional 25 per cent charge, the canteen prices still defied all competition on the part of private merchants, for the prices demanded by the latter were two and even three times as high. The success of this undertaking was definitely assured and, aided by the active interest taken in it by the representatives of the codperative societies of Moscow, the organization began to develop rapidly, especially after February, 1916, when the business began at last to run smoothly and efficiently. At the beginning of Septem- her, 1916, 100 stores, 19 depots, and 14 bakeries were already in operation on the western front. There was also a cigarette factory at Minsk employing 525 men and women, as well as a number of other undertakings. The working capital of the retail stores on the western front was altimately increased to 3,000,000 rubles. The steady growth of the work is made clear by the following figures.

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