Retailing the revolution: The state department store (GUM) and Soviet society in the 1920s

Journal of Social History

Volumn 37, Issue 4, 2004, Pages

  Hilton, Marjorie L ^a,b  

^a GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b Department of History ^*  (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 3142746820     PISSN: 00224529     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/jsh.2004.0049     Document Type: Review

References (117)

1. N. Kal'ma, "Pod stekliannym nebom GUMa" Vecherniaia Moskva (here-after VM), Nov 4. 1926 in Tsentral'nyi munitsipal'nyi arkhiv Moskvy (TsMAM) f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 9.
2. The workers' credit program enabled low-income individuals to buy certain consumer goods on installment at designated state stores. At the time that this story ran, credit was extended to workers and employees who earned no more than 70 rubles per month. The credit line was not to exceed half a month's salary, and 10 percent downpayment was required. The sum was to be repaid within five months. Frequently, the terms specified that credit be extended for the purchase of "basic necessities," which usually meant fabric, clothing, shoes, coats, furniture, and linens. Several state enterprises participated, including the Moscow Union of Consumer Societies stores, GUM, and the ready-to-wear trust, Moskvoshvei. Terms found in Izvestiia November 20, 1926; Pravda, December 16, 1926; and VM October 16, 1926 preserved in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 5ob, 8, 14ob.
3. The workers' credit program enabled low-income individuals to buy certain consumer goods on installment at designated state stores. At the time that this story ran, credit was extended to workers and employees who earned no more than 70 rubles per month. The credit line was not to exceed half a month's salary, and 10 percent downpayment was required. The sum was to be repaid within five months. Frequently, the terms specified that credit be extended for the purchase of "basic necessities," which usually meant fabric, clothing, shoes, coats, furniture, and linens. Several state enterprises participated, including the Moscow Union of Consumer Societies stores, GUM, and the ready-to-wear trust, Moskvoshvei. Terms found in Izvestiia November 20, 1926; Pravda, December 16, 1926; and VM October 16, 1926 preserved in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 5ob, 8, 14ob.
4. The workers' credit program enabled low-income individuals to buy certain consumer goods on installment at designated state stores. At the time that this story ran, credit was extended to workers and employees who earned no more than 70 rubles per month. The credit line was not to exceed half a month's salary, and 10 percent downpayment was required. The sum was to be repaid within five months. Frequently, the terms specified that credit be extended for the purchase of "basic necessities," which usually meant fabric, clothing, shoes, coats, furniture, and linens. Several state enterprises participated, including the Moscow Union of Consumer Societies stores, GUM, and the ready-to-wear trust, Moskvoshvei. Terms found in Izvestiia November 20, 1926; Pravda, December 16, 1926; and VM October 16, 1926 preserved in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 5ob, 8, 14ob.
5. Definition informed by Victoria de Grazia, "Introduction," in The Sex of Things: Gender and Consumption in Historical Perspective, ed. Victoria de Grazia with Ellen Furlough (Berkeley, 1996); Neil McKendrick, John Brewer, and J.H. Plumb, ed. The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialization of Eighteenth-Century England (Bloomington, 1982), 1-30; Rosalind Williams, Dream Worlds: Mass Consumption in Late Nineteenth-Century France (Berkeley, 1982), 3-10; and David Crowley, "Warsaw's Shops, Stalinism and the Thaw," in Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe, ed. Susan E. Reid and David Crowley (New York, 2000).
6. Definition informed by Victoria de Grazia, "Introduction," in The Sex of Things: Gender and Consumption in Historical Perspective, ed. Victoria de Grazia with Ellen Furlough (Berkeley, 1996); Neil McKendrick, John Brewer, and J.H. Plumb, ed. The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialization of Eighteenth-Century England (Bloomington, 1982), 1-30; Rosalind Williams, Dream Worlds: Mass Consumption in Late Nineteenth-Century France (Berkeley, 1982), 3-10; and David Crowley, "Warsaw's Shops, Stalinism and the Thaw," in Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe, ed. Susan E. Reid and David Crowley (New York, 2000).
7. Definition informed by Victoria de Grazia, "Introduction," in The Sex of Things: Gender and Consumption in Historical Perspective, ed. Victoria de Grazia with Ellen Furlough (Berkeley, 1996); Neil McKendrick, John Brewer, and J.H. Plumb, ed. The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialization of Eighteenth-Century England (Bloomington, 1982), 1-30; Rosalind Williams, Dream Worlds: Mass Consumption in Late Nineteenth-Century France (Berkeley, 1982), 3-10; and David Crowley, "Warsaw's Shops, Stalinism and the Thaw," in Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe, ed. Susan E. Reid and David Crowley (New York, 2000).
8. Definition informed by Victoria de Grazia, "Introduction," in The Sex of Things: Gender and Consumption in Historical Perspective, ed. Victoria de Grazia with Ellen Furlough (Berkeley, 1996); Neil McKendrick, John Brewer, and J.H. Plumb, ed. The Birth of a Consumer Society: The Commercialization of Eighteenth-Century England (Bloomington, 1982), 1-30; Rosalind Williams, Dream Worlds: Mass Consumption in Late Nineteenth-Century France (Berkeley, 1982), 3-10; and David Crowley, "Warsaw's Shops, Stalinism and the Thaw," in Style and Socialism: Modernity and Material Culture in Post-War Eastern Europe, ed. Susan E. Reid and David Crowley (New York, 2000).
9. Alan M. Ball, Russia's Last Capitalists: The NEPmen, 1921-1929 (Berkeley, 1987) and Anne Gorsuch, Youth in Revolutionary Russia: Enthusiasts, Bohemians, Delinquents (Bloomington, 2000). On the NEP commercial market, see also Randi Barnes-Cox, "The Creation of the Socialist Consumer: Advertising, Citizenship, and NEP," Ph.D. diss., Indiana University Press, 2000.
10. Alan M. Ball, Russia's Last Capitalists: The NEPmen, 1921-1929 (Berkeley, 1987) and Anne Gorsuch, Youth in Revolutionary Russia: Enthusiasts, Bohemians, Delinquents (Bloomington, 2000). On the NEP commercial market, see also Randi Barnes-Cox, "The Creation of the Socialist Consumer: Advertising, Citizenship, and NEP," Ph.D. diss., Indiana University Press, 2000.
11. Alan M. Ball, Russia's Last Capitalists: The NEPmen, 1921-1929 (Berkeley, 1987) and Anne Gorsuch, Youth in Revolutionary Russia: Enthusiasts, Bohemians, Delinquents (Bloomington, 2000). On the NEP commercial market, see also Randi Barnes-Cox, "The Creation of the Socialist Consumer: Advertising, Citizenship, and NEP," Ph.D. diss., Indiana University Press, 2000.
12. Peter Kenez has pointed out the Bolsheviks' use of various popular media, including films, books, and posters in their agitational efforts. Peter Kenez, The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917-1929 (New York, 1985).
13. This view accords with interpretations of NEP that see the period as pluralistic and experimental, with party and society as divided by alternatives and differing approaches to the building of communism. See, for example, William G. Rosenberg, "Introduction: NEP Russia as a 'Transitional Society'" in Russia in the Era of NEP: Explorations in Soviet Society and Culture, ed. Sheila Fitzpatrick, Alexander Rabinowitch, and Richard Stites (Bloomington, 1991) and Lewis Siegelbaum, Soviet State and Society Between Revolutions, 1918-29 (New York, 1992).
14. This view accords with interpretations of NEP that see the period as pluralistic and experimental, with party and society as divided by alternatives and differing approaches to the building of communism. See, for example, William G. Rosenberg, "Introduction: NEP Russia as a 'Transitional Society'" in Russia in the Era of NEP: Explorations in Soviet Society and Culture, ed. Sheila Fitzpatrick, Alexander Rabinowitch, and Richard Stites (Bloomington, 1991) and Lewis Siegelbaum, Soviet State and Society Between Revolutions, 1918-29 (New York, 1992).
15. Concerns about the influence of the West, capitalism, and the city upon Russia and upon women are discussed in Christine Ruane, "Clothes Shopping in Imperial Russia: The Development of a Consumer Culture," Journal of Social History (Summer 1995): 765-782 and Catriona Kelly and David Shepherd, "Commercial Culture and Consumerism" in Constructing Russian Culture in the Age of Revolution: 1881-1940, ed. Catriona Kelly and David Shepherd (New York, 1998).
16. Concerns about the influence of the West, capitalism, and the city upon Russia and upon women are discussed in Christine Ruane, "Clothes Shopping in Imperial Russia: The Development of a Consumer Culture," Journal of Social History (Summer 1995): 765-782 and Catriona Kelly and David Shepherd, "Commercial Culture and Consumerism" in Constructing Russian Culture in the Age of Revolution: 1881-1940, ed. Catriona Kelly and David Shepherd (New York, 1998).
17. Decree on elimination of private trade in Sobranie uzakonenii i rasporiazhenii. 1917-1949 (Moscow, 1920-50). 1917-1918, No. 83, art. 879. Information on municipalization and other measures in Krasnaia Moskva, 1917-1920 gg. (Moscow, 1920), 288-291; Vestnik narodnogo komissariata torgovli i promyshlennosti No. 13-14 (December 1918), 68-73; and Ball 1-7. For a general discussion of the confiscation of private property from October 1917 through the civil war, see K. V. Kharchenko, Vlast', imushchestvo, chelovek: peredel sobstvennosti v bol'shevistskoi Rossii, 1917-nachala 1921 gg. (Moscow, 2000).
18. Decree on elimination of private trade in Sobranie uzakonenii i rasporiazhenii. 1917-1949 (Moscow, 1920-50). 1917-1918, No. 83, art. 879. Information on municipalization and other measures in Krasnaia Moskva, 1917-1920 gg. (Moscow, 1920), 288-291; Vestnik narodnogo komissariata torgovli i promyshlennosti No. 13-14 (December 1918), 68-73; and Ball 1-7. For a general discussion of the confiscation of private property from October 1917 through the civil war, see K. V. Kharchenko, Vlast', imushchestvo, chelovek: peredel sobstvennosti v bol'shevistskoi Rossii, 1917-nachala 1921 gg. (Moscow, 2000).
19. Decree on elimination of private trade in Sobranie uzakonenii i rasporiazhenii. 1917-1949 (Moscow, 1920-50). 1917-1918, No. 83, art. 879. Information on municipalization and other measures in Krasnaia Moskva, 1917-1920 gg. (Moscow, 1920), 288-291; Vestnik narodnogo komissariata torgovli i promyshlennosti No. 13-14 (December 1918), 68-73; and Ball 1-7. For a general discussion of the confiscation of private property from October 1917 through the civil war, see K. V. Kharchenko, Vlast', imushchestvo, chelovek: peredel sobstvennosti v bol'shevistskoi Rossii, 1917-nachala 1921 gg. (Moscow, 2000).
20. Decree on elimination of private trade in Sobranie uzakonenii i rasporiazhenii. 1917-1949 (Moscow, 1920-50). 1917-1918, No. 83, art. 879. Information on municipalization and other measures in Krasnaia Moskva, 1917-1920 gg. (Moscow, 1920), 288-291; Vestnik narodnogo komissariata torgovli i promyshlennosti No. 13-14 (December 1918), 68-73; and Ball 1-7. For a general discussion of the confiscation of private property from October 1917 through the civil war, see K. V. Kharchenko, Vlast', imushchestvo, chelovek: peredel sobstvennosti v bol'shevistskoi Rossii, 1917-nachala 1921 gg. (Moscow, 2000).
21. "V Golofteevskom passazhe (Moskovskie vpechatleniia)," Izvestiia No. 270, December 10, 1918, 4.
22. Richard Stites, "Iconoclastic Currents in the Russian Revolution: Destroying and Preserving the Past," in Bolshevik Culture: Experiment and Order in the Russian Revolution, ed. Abbott Gleason, Peter Kenez, and Richard Stites (Bloomington, 1985), 1-24.
23. Mark von Hagen, Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship: The Red Army and the Soviet Socialist State, 1917-1930 (Cornell, 1990). Van Hagen argues that the civil war experience molded the men who assumed leading posts in politics and the economy, a situation that led to the "militarization" of Soviet society. A masculine culture also reigned on factory floors. See Diane P. Koenker, "Men Against Women on the Shop Floor in NEP Russia: Gender and Class in the Socialist Workplace," American Historical Review Vol. 100, no. 5 (December 1995): 1438-64.
24. Mark von Hagen, Soldiers in the Proletarian Dictatorship: The Red Army and the Soviet Socialist State, 1917-1930 (Cornell, 1990). Van Hagen argues that the civil war experience molded the men who assumed leading posts in politics and the economy, a situation that led to the "militarization" of Soviet society. A masculine culture also reigned on factory floors. See Diane P. Koenker, "Men Against Women on the Shop Floor in NEP Russia: Gender and Class in the Socialist Workplace," American Historical Review Vol. 100, no. 5 (December 1995): 1438-64.
25. Izvestiia No. 13, January 19, 1919, 4.
26. Moscow and St. Petersburg both lost nearly half of their inhabitants, and, on average, the population of Russia's 23 largest cities declined by 25 percent. Daniel K. Brower, " 'The City in Danger': The Civil War and the Russian Urban Population," in Party, State, and Society in the Russian Civil War, ed. Diane P. Koenker, William G. Rosenberg, and Ronald Grigor Suny (Bloomington, 1989).
27. M. M. Zhirmunskii, Chastnyi kapital v tovarooborote (Moscow, 1924), 3-4 and R. W. Davies, "Industry," in The Economic Transformation of the Soviet Union, 1913-1945, ed. R. W. Davies, Mark Harrison, and S. G. Wheatcroft (New York, 1994), 135.
28. M. M. Zhirmunskii, Chastnyi kapital v tovarooborote (Moscow, 1924), 3-4 and R. W. Davies, "Industry," in The Economic Transformation of the Soviet Union, 1913-1945, ed. R. W. Davies, Mark Harrison, and S. G. Wheatcroft (New York, 1994), 135.
29. Discussion of widespread corruption, bag men, and the rise of the black market in Ball, 6-9, 33-34, 88, 110-118. See also Mauricio Borrero, "Hunger and Society in Civil War Moscow, 1917-1921," Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1992 and Alec Nove, An Economic History of the USSR, 1917-1991 (New York, 1992), 54-55.
30. Discussion of widespread corruption, bag men, and the rise of the black market in Ball, 6-9, 33-34, 88, 110-118. See also Mauricio Borrero, "Hunger and Society in Civil War Moscow, 1917-1921," Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, 1992 and Alec Nove, An Economic History of the USSR, 1917-1991 (New York, 1992), 54-55.
31. M. A. Bulgakov, "Torgovyi renessans: Moskva v nachale 1922 goda," reprinted in Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniia No. 1 (1988): 137-138.
32. Ball, 2-25.
33. Leon Trotskii, Problems of Everyday Life (New York, 1973). Posters preserved at Russian State Library, Moscow.
34. Prior to the revolution, journalists working for various trade journals, including Torgovoe delo (Odessa), Torgovyi mir (Odessa), and Torgovlia, promyshlennost' i tekhnika (Moscow), pleaded with merchants to forsake these familiar customs, which they regarded as primitive and dishonest. The penny press was also full of complaints about merchants' deceitful practices. See Daniel K. Brower, "The Penny Press and its Readers," in Cultures in Flux: Lower-Class Values, Practices, and Resistance in Late Imperial Russia, ed. Stephen P. Frank and Mark D. Steinberg (Princeton, 1994) and Louise McReynolds, "V. M. Doroshevich: The Newspaper Journalist and the Development of Public Opinion in Civil Society," in Between Tsar and People: Educated Society and the Quest for Public Identity in Late Imperial Russia, ed. Edith W. Clowes, Samuel D. Kassow, and James L. West (Princeton, 1991). Following 1917, business leaders voiced the same criticisms.
35. Prior to the revolution, journalists working for various trade journals, including Torgovoe delo (Odessa), Torgovyi mir (Odessa), and Torgovlia, promyshlennost' i tekhnika (Moscow), pleaded with merchants to forsake these familiar customs, which they regarded as primitive and dishonest. The penny press was also full of complaints about merchants' deceitful practices. See Daniel K. Brower, "The Penny Press and its Readers," in Cultures in Flux: Lower-Class Values, Practices, and Resistance in Late Imperial Russia, ed. Stephen P. Frank and Mark D. Steinberg (Princeton, 1994) and Louise McReynolds, "V. M. Doroshevich: The Newspaper Journalist and the Development of Public Opinion in Civil Society," in Between Tsar and People: Educated Society and the Quest for Public Identity in Late Imperial Russia, ed. Edith W. Clowes, Samuel D. Kassow, and James L. West (Princeton, 1991). Following 1917, business leaders voiced the same criticisms.
36. Created in 1922, Mossel'prom was one of the largest trusts. It maintained its own retail stores, kiosks, and street vendors, operated a mail-order division, and installed vending machines in factories, trams, and theatres. Moskvoshvei maintained 24 divisions throughout the USSR, including ones in Ukraine, Samara, the Urals, and Irkutsk. Information gathered from articles in VM No. 57, March 10, 1925, 2 and No. 61, March 16, 1925, 2; Rabochaia Moskva (hereafter RM) No. 172, July 28, 1926, 4 and No. 185, August 14, 1926, 4.
37. Created in 1922, Mossel'prom was one of the largest trusts. It maintained its own retail stores, kiosks, and street vendors, operated a mail-order division, and installed vending machines in factories, trams, and theatres. Moskvoshvei maintained 24 divisions throughout the USSR, including ones in Ukraine, Samara, the Urals, and Irkutsk. Information gathered from articles in VM No. 57, March 10, 1925, 2 and No. 61, March 16, 1925, 2; Rabochaia Moskva (hereafter RM) No. 172, July 28, 1926, 4 and No. 185, August 14, 1926, 4.
38. Created in 1922, Mossel'prom was one of the largest trusts. It maintained its own retail stores, kiosks, and street vendors, operated a mail-order division, and installed vending machines in factories, trams, and theatres. Moskvoshvei maintained 24 divisions throughout the USSR, including ones in Ukraine, Samara, the Urals, and Irkutsk. Information gathered from articles in VM No. 57, March 10, 1925, 2 and No. 61, March 16, 1925, 2; Rabochaia Moskva (hereafter RM) No. 172, July 28, 1926, 4 and No. 185, August 14, 1926, 4.
39. Created in 1922, Mossel'prom was one of the largest trusts. It maintained its own retail stores, kiosks, and street vendors, operated a mail-order division, and installed vending machines in factories, trams, and theatres. Moskvoshvei maintained 24 divisions throughout the USSR, including ones in Ukraine, Samara, the Urals, and Irkutsk. Information gathered from articles in VM No. 57, March 10, 1925, 2 and No. 61, March 16, 1925, 2; Rabochaia Moskva (hereafter RM) No. 172, July 28, 1926, 4 and No. 185, August 14, 1926, 4.
40. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
41. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
42. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
43. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
44. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
45. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
46. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
47. Published sources on GUM include A. M. Kochurov, GUM: vchera, segodnia, zavtra (Moscow 1974) and V. S. Akselrod, V. S. Kak my uchilis' torgovat' (Moscow, 1986). Information also in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 474, opis' l. Information on Mostorg in "Historical Background," TsMAM, f. 1953, opis' 1; Georgii Ivanovich Fokin, Flagman sovetskoi torgovli (Moscow 1968), 3; and Doklad chrezvychainomu obshchemu sobraniiu aktsionerov "Mostorg" o deiatel' nosti obshchestva & polugodie: Noiabr' 1923 g.-Aprel' 1924 g. (Moscow, 1924), 11. Founding of Larek in V. A. Arkhipov and L. F. Morozov, Bor'ba protiv kapitalisticheskikh elementov v promyshlennosti i torgovle (Moscow 1978), 66-67 and Vseukrainskoe paevoe torgovoe t-vo Larek" Otchet pravleniia za 1924-25 gg. (No city or date), 6-7, 14-16.
48. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
49. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
50. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
51. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
52. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
53. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
54. Sources on Abrikosov & Sons in Irina Potkina, Delovaia Moskva: Ocherki po istorii predprinimatel'stva (Moscow, 1997), 31-32 and A. V. Mikhalkov, Ocherki iz istorii Moskovskogo kupechestva: Ch'i predpriiatiia sluzhili Moskve posle revoliutsii (Moscow 1996), 10-15, On Siu and Filippov's, see Potkina, 30-35. On Eliseev's, see Vsia Moskva v karmane na 1924-25 (Moscow, 1924), 271. Brocard in Mikhalkov, 38-41. Ralle in Potkina, 46 and Mikhalkov, 44-47.
55. The former Chairman of the Board of Muir & Mirrielees, Walter Philip, and Managing Director, Willie Cazalet, were arrested without charge sometime in late summer or early fall of 1918, although both were eventually released. Cazalet returned to England. Philip, however, stayed on in Moscow, working for a short time for the Control Committee set up to run the store before he was dismissed in January 1919. He fell ill and died in June of the following year. Harvey Pitcher, Muir & Mirrielees: The Scottish Partnership that Became a Household Name in Russia (Cromer, Norfolk, 1994), 178-183.
56. Gal'pershtein's remarks in Ekonomicheskaia zhizn' (hereafter EZ) No. 39, February 18, 1922, 1. Commentary on the advantages - and dangers - of operating department stores in the Soviet Union in D. Mar, "Univermagy," EZ No. 12, January 17, 1922, 1.
57. Gal'pershtein's remarks in Ekonomicheskaia zhizn' (hereafter EZ) No. 39, February 18, 1922, 1. Commentary on the advantages - and dangers - of operating department stores in the Soviet Union in D. Mar, "Univermagy," EZ No. 12, January 17, 1922, 1.
58. Two studies of the department store that explore these aspects are Michael Miller, The Bon Marché: Bourgeois Culture and the Department Store, 1869-1920 (Princeton, 1981) and William Leach, Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture (New York, 1993).
59. Two studies of the department store that explore these aspects are Michael Miller, The Bon Marché: Bourgeois Culture and the Department Store, 1869-1920 (Princeton, 1981) and William Leach, Land of Desire: Merchants, Power, and the Rise of a New American Culture (New York, 1993).
60. Mar, 1 and VM No. 40, February 19, 1922, 2.
61. VM No. 240, October 20, 1927, 2. Kommunar did not implement many of Orgstroi's recommendations, and the store was not ready for opening by the 10-year anniversary. Criticisms of the plan and Orgstroi's complaints against Kommunar's failure to implement it in VM No. 268, November 24, 1927, 2 and No. 293, December 23, 1927, 2.
62. VM No. 240, October 20, 1927, 2. Kommunar did not implement many of Orgstroi's recommendations, and the store was not ready for opening by the 10-year anniversary. Criticisms of the plan and Orgstroi's complaints against Kommunar's failure to implement it in VM No. 268, November 24, 1927, 2 and No. 293, December 23, 1927, 2.
63. VM No. 240, October 20, 1927, 2. Kommunar did not implement many of Orgstroi's recommendations, and the store was not ready for opening by the 10-year anniversary. Criticisms of the plan and Orgstroi's complaints against Kommunar's failure to implement it in VM No. 268, November 24, 1927, 2 and No. 293, December 23, 1927, 2.
64. The idea of applying disciplined, efficient movements to work routines entered the retail sector as a part of the rationalization campaign of 1927 to make industry more efficient. Gastev and his Central Institute of Labor are discussed in Richard Stites, Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution (New York, 1989), 149-56.
65. Maiakovskii had been engaged in the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) during the civil war and later at Glavpolitprosvet (a division of political enlightenment under the Commissar of Education), where he produced agitational posters. Rodchenko had worked in the art studio of the Moscow soviet during the civil war, creating sketches for posters. Constructivism's contribution to Bolshevik propaganda and Soviet advertising is discussed in Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863-1922 (London, 1962), 259, 269-74; Mikhail Anikst, Soviet Commercial Design of the Twenties (London, 1987) 18-29; Elena Barkhatova, ed., Russian Constructivist Posters (Moscow 1992), 3-9; and Stephen White, The Bolshevik Poster (New Haven and London, 1988).
66. Maiakovskii had been engaged in the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) during the civil war and later at Glavpolitprosvet (a division of political enlightenment under the Commissar of Education), where he produced agitational posters. Rodchenko had worked in the art studio of the Moscow soviet during the civil war, creating sketches for posters. Constructivism's contribution to Bolshevik propaganda and Soviet advertising is discussed in Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863-1922 (London, 1962), 259, 269-74; Mikhail Anikst, Soviet Commercial Design of the Twenties (London, 1987) 18-29; Elena Barkhatova, ed., Russian Constructivist Posters (Moscow 1992), 3-9; and Stephen White, The Bolshevik Poster (New Haven and London, 1988).
67. Maiakovskii had been engaged in the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) during the civil war and later at Glavpolitprosvet (a division of political enlightenment under the Commissar of Education), where he produced agitational posters. Rodchenko had worked in the art studio of the Moscow soviet during the civil war, creating sketches for posters. Constructivism's contribution to Bolshevik propaganda and Soviet advertising is discussed in Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863-1922 (London, 1962), 259, 269-74; Mikhail Anikst, Soviet Commercial Design of the Twenties (London, 1987) 18-29; Elena Barkhatova, ed., Russian Constructivist Posters (Moscow 1992), 3-9; and Stephen White, The Bolshevik Poster (New Haven and London, 1988).
68. Maiakovskii had been engaged in the Russian Telegraph Agency (ROSTA) during the civil war and later at Glavpolitprosvet (a division of political enlightenment under the Commissar of Education), where he produced agitational posters. Rodchenko had worked in the art studio of the Moscow soviet during the civil war, creating sketches for posters. Constructivism's contribution to Bolshevik propaganda and Soviet advertising is discussed in Camilla Gray, The Russian Experiment in Art, 1863-1922 (London, 1962), 259, 269-74; Mikhail Anikst, Soviet Commercial Design of the Twenties (London, 1987) 18-29; Elena Barkhatova, ed., Russian Constructivist Posters (Moscow 1992), 3-9; and Stephen White, The Bolshevik Poster (New Haven and London, 1988).
69. Photographs of Mossel'prom building and kiosk in Anikst, 27. Additional information on building provided in Vsia Moskva v karmane (Moscow-Leningrad, 1926), 91 and VM No. 12, January 15, 1925, 2.
70. Photographs of Mossel'prom building and kiosk in Anikst, 27. Additional information on building provided in Vsia Moskva v karmane (Moscow-Leningrad, 1926), 91 and VM No. 12, January 15, 1925, 2.
71. Babaev candy wrappers and TEZhE labels preserved in Gosudarstvennyi Istoricheskii Muzei. Otdel pis'mennykh istochnikov (GIM OPI) f. 402, opis' 1, d. 853. Bolshevik Confectioners' product line featured in 1927 catalog housed at Russian State Library, File Y9 (2) 421.512.1. Photographs of Red Star and Our Industry agitational candy wrappers in Anikst, 41-43, 93.
72. The State Mail-Order Company's 1928 and 1929 catalogs in Russian State Library collection, Collected File, 1920-31.
73. Volzhanin, "Bol'she vnimaniia pokupateliu i... prodavtsy," Golos Rabotnika (hereafter GR) No. 9, May 15, 1924, 8.
74. K. Prussak, "Protiv Ogula," GR No. 10, May 31, 1924, 5.
75. K. Remtzen and V. Tsuberbiller, Organizatsiia roznichnoi torgovli (Moscow 1925), 81-83.
76. In feudal Russia, the term prikazchik designated a person engaged either in commerce or on a manor estate who fulfilled the orders of his master, and, having his confidence, oversaw the other serfs. A. Gudvan, Ocherki po istorii dvizheniia sluzhashchikh v Rossii (chast' pervaia do 1905) (Moscow, 1925), 4.
77. Documents on GUM's founding and mission in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 24, ll. 2, 5 and d. 205, ll. 59, 73-73ob.
78. Several individuals occupied the position of director during the 1920s. Belov and his assistant were dismissed in 1922, after a trial in which they were found guilty of making unprofitable deals for GUM. Iakov Markovich Gal'pershtein succeeded Belov in 1923, followed by Kovalev in 1926, and Gol'dberg in 1927. Members of the board listed in "Postanovlenie," TsMAM f. R-474, opis 3, d. 24, l. 2. Management team reported in EZ No. 47, February 28, 1922, 1 and No. 53, March 6, 1922, 4. Information on start-up, capital and financial and other operational problems in "Dokladnaia zapiska" f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, l. 69-70.
79. Several individuals occupied the position of director during the 1920s. Belov and his assistant were dismissed in 1922, after a trial in which they were found guilty of making unprofitable deals for GUM. Iakov Markovich Gal'pershtein succeeded Belov in 1923, followed by Kovalev in 1926, and Gol'dberg in 1927. Members of the board listed in "Postanovlenie," TsMAM f. R-474, opis 3, d. 24, l. 2. Management team reported in EZ No. 47, February 28, 1922, 1 and No. 53, March 6, 1922, 4. Information on start-up, capital and financial and other operational problems in "Dokladnaia zapiska" f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, l. 69-70.
80. Several individuals occupied the position of director during the 1920s. Belov and his assistant were dismissed in 1922, after a trial in which they were found guilty of making unprofitable deals for GUM. Iakov Markovich Gal'pershtein succeeded Belov in 1923, followed by Kovalev in 1926, and Gol'dberg in 1927. Members of the board listed in "Postanovlenie," TsMAM f. R-474, opis 3, d. 24, l. 2. Management team reported in EZ No. 47, February 28, 1922, 1 and No. 53, March 6, 1922, 4. Information on start-up, capital and financial and other operational problems in "Dokladnaia zapiska" f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, l. 69-70.
81. Opening day advertisements in RM No. 37, March 22, 1922, 8 and EZ No. 68, March 25, 1922, 4 Departments in GUM circa 1927 listed in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 213, ll. 77-80.
82. Opening day advertisements in RM No. 37, March 22, 1922, 8 and EZ No. 68, March 25, 1922, 4 Departments in GUM circa 1927 listed in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 213, ll. 77-80.
83. GUM divisions and branch stores listed in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 200, ll. 20ob-22ob, Information on manufacturing enterprises and other concerns in d. 204, ll. 25, 55 and d. 24, l. 28.
84. Example in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 8.
85. See ad in Prozhektor No. 6 (1924), inside cover. Citation from presentation of Randi Cox-Barnes at 2001 AAASS National Convention, Crystal City, Virginia. Discussion of poster imagery in Victoria Bonnell, "The Representation of Women in Early Soviet Political Art," The Russian Review vol. 50 (1991): 267-288.
86. See housewares ad in Rabotnitsa No. 21, January 1926, inside cover.
87. Vse, chto trebuet zheludok, telo, ili, um - vse cheloveku predostavliaet GUM. Reprinted in Kochurov, 7.
88. Khvataites' za etot spasatel'nyi krug! Dobrokachestvenno, deshevo, i pervykh ruk! Ad reprinted in Anikst, 54.
89. Vechernye izvestiia (Odessa) (hereafter VI) No. 486, December 28, 1924, 4.
90. Chelovek - tol'ko s chasami. Chasy tol'ko Mozera. Mozer tol'ko u GUMa. Ad reprinted in Anikst, 55.
91. Pravila vnutrennogo rasporiadka dlia sluzhashchikh Gosudarstvennogo Universal'nogo Magazina GUM (Moscow 1925), 5.
92. Procedure outlined in Pravila, 5. Descriptions also found in memoirs, for example, Alexander Wicksteed, Life under the Soviets (London, 1928), 6-7.
93. Procedure outlined in Pravila, 5. Descriptions also found in memoirs, for example, Alexander Wicksteed, Life under the Soviets (London, 1928), 6-7.
94. RM No. 280, December 3, 1926, 3 and No. 300, December 28, 1926, 3.
95. RM No. 280, December 3, 1926, 3 and No. 300, December 28, 1926, 3.
96. Ads in VM August 25, 1926, RM August 22, 1926, and VM March 22, 1926. Ad for 1925 fall and spring bazaars in TsMAM f. R-474, d. 204, ll. 68, 103ob.
97. Ads in VM August 25, 1926, RM August 22, 1926, and VM March 22, 1926. Ad for 1925 fall and spring bazaars in TsMAM f. R-474, d. 204, ll. 68, 103ob.
98. Ads in VM August 25, 1926, RM August 22, 1926, and VM March 22, 1926. Ad for 1925 fall and spring bazaars in TsMAM f. R-474, d. 204, ll. 68, 103ob.
99. Holiday sales in VI No. 445, November 6, 1924, 5 and Rabochaia gazeta November 3 and 7, 1926 in TsMAM f. 474, opis' 3, d. 204, l. 10. Larek contest advertised in VI No. 449, November 13, 1924, 4. It is not clear how many, if any, new parents claimed their prizes. Although Larek promised to publish a list of those who received gifts, no list ever appeared in the newspaper, an indication that the fashion of giving revolutionary names to children was not particularly popular in Odessa or that no children of communist parents happened to be born on that day. Treasure Campaign in Anikst, 38-39.
100. Comments on the bazaar from GUM's Chairman of the Board in VM August 25, 1926.
101. TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, l. 71.
102. Report in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 200, l. 132.
103. "Dokladnaia zapiska: Po voprosu o reorganizatsii GUMa," TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, l. 71.
104. Survey of provincial stores, October 1927-28 in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 200, ll. 178-183ob.
105. Details on expansion in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 205, ll. 69ob-74 and d. 221, ll. 35-35ob.
106. "Obsledovaniia Baumanovskogo Univermaga GUMa," TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 213, ll. 286-307.
107. TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 1, d. 229, ll. 92-94ob.
108. Andree Viollis, A Girl in Soviet Russia, trans. Homer White (New York, 1929), 38.
109. Walter Benjamin, Moscow Diary, ed. Gary Smith, trans. Richard Sieburth (Cambridge, 1986), 23.
110. M. A. Bulgakov, "Pod stekliannym nebom" reprinted in M. M. Gorinov, "Moskva v 20-kh godakh," Otechestvennda istoriia no. 5 (1996): 8.
111. M. A. Bulgakov, "Pod stekliannym nebom" reprinted in M. M. Gorinov, "Moskva v 20-kh godakh," Otechestvennda istoriia no. 5 (1996): 8.
112. TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 1, d. 229, l. 395.
113. I b i d.
114. TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 25, ll. 171-172.
115. Files of complaints entered in complaint books at individual GUM stores and letters to editors are preserved in TsMAM, f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 213, 218, 225, and 229.
116. Specifics of the complaints compiled in these reports are not detailed. Reports in TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 218, ll. 99-100; d. 225, l. 5; d. 213, ll. 187-ob; and opis' 1, d. 229, ll. 92-94ob.
117. TsMAM f. R-474, opis' 3, d. 213, l. 232.