The Interaction of Power and Big Capital in the System of Fur Exports and Provision of the Population of North-Eastern Siberia at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Abstract

The main purpose of the publication is to analyze the interaction between the authorities and representatives of big business in the organization of trade operations in the north-east of Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century to supply the population of the region with consumer goods and export valuable Siberian raw materials in the interests of the state. Achieving this goal involves the widespread use of previously unpublished and not introduced into scientific circulation sources, most of which are office materials of central and local governments. The article notes that on the eve of the First World War, favorable conditions developed in the sphere of cooperation between the authorities and big business in resolving issues of supplying the population of the region with consumer goods and exporting furs. In the annual meetings under the governor of the Yakutsk region I. I. Kraft was attended by prominent representatives of the Siberian merchants and bankers. Issues of arrangement of land and sea routes of communication were discussed. During the hostilities, the Russian government imposed a number of restrictions on the export of furs. Large firms in North-Eastern Siberia faced the problem of finding new markets for furs and wholesale suppliers of goods. At the meetings, the actions of entrepreneurs were coordinated, commercial agreements were concluded, and supply issues were resolved. The process of interaction between government and business was built quite effectively. Changes in the political system of Russia in 1917 led to the emergence of new forms of interaction between government and big business. One of these forms was government contracts and orders. In 1918–1919 firms completed orders worth 700–900 thousand rubles and solved the problem of food shortages in the Yakutsk region. In 1920, in the context of the nationalization of the property of companies, they completed the final state order for the export of furs and the supply of consumer goods to the region.