Soviet Brothels

Abstract

This chapter discusses the brothels in Torgsin. The foreign exchange earnings of the seaport torgsins were not great, but the ship chandlers' operations, perhaps, more than any other Torgsin activities, reveal the essence of this enterprise — a rejection of ideological principles for the sake of profits in hard cash. The opening of the seaport torgsins became part of a nationwide centralization of hard-currency operations to provide for industrial development. According to its authorities, Torgsin represented the world's first attempt at “a centralized supply of foreign ships.” Documents, however, show that Torgsin's seaport service largely followed in the footsteps of prerevolutionary practices. A significant number of Torgsin ship chandlers used to work in the private seaport trade under the tsar. They brought with them to Torgsin the “evils of capitalism” — bribes, social segregation, alcoholism, and prostitution. There were plenty of Soviet characteristics in Torgsin's seaport service as well: mismanagement, poor-quality products, and omnipresence of the political police. The political police pursued goals other than personal interests in preserving the torgsin dens: the prostitutes and speculators collected information about foreigners.