ГОЛОДОМОР І «ТОРГЗІН»: ДЖЕРЕЛА ДОХОДУ ТОРГІВЕЛЬНОЇ МЕРЕЖІ 1932–1933 РР

Анотація

Introduction. The All-Union Association “Torgsin”
operated in the USSR between 1930 and 1936. Its main
sources of income included gold, silver, valuables,
antiques received from the population, private currency
transfers from abroad and trade with foreigners. All
this constituted additional extra-budgetary revenues
for the Soviet state and became possible due to the
famine caused by the Soviet authorities. The Soviet state
managed to deprive the population of valuables and
currency for the needs of industrialization exactly under
the conditions of the 1932-1933 famine.
Purpose. The research aims to specify the littlestudied peculiarities of activities and income sources
of Torgsin in the UkrSSR between 1932 and 1933.
Results. The availability of currency values, such
as gold, silver, platinum, diamonds and foreign
currency, served as a pass to Torgsin shops. Bad harvests
in the late 1920s – the early 1930s, as well as the grain
procurement policy, collectivization and dispossession
of the kulaks, caused the mass famine and forced the
population to exchange the remaining family values
for bread in Torgsin.
There is every reason to believe that the procurement
growth rate of national gold and other precious metals
by Torgsin did not at all induce the Soviet authorities
to overcome the food crisis and provide assistance to
the starving population. The chosen strategy became a
win-win situation. The artificial creation of a food
deficit, which was compensated by the Soviet state with
Torgsin’s abundance, enabled the Soviet authorities to
“pump out” all currency values from the starving
population. The famine rates were proportionate to
Torgsin’s income growth.
Conclusion. The Torgsin system, which existed in
the early 1930s, saved thousands of human lives during
times of severe famine. However, it only helped those
who had gold and other precious things. Food products
constituted more than 80% of the goods sold by Torgsin,
about 60% of which was bread. Good intentions of
Torgsin were actually cynical and mercantile interests
of the Soviet state. Further research should study the
documents of regional archive facilities, which store
information about the activities of Torgsin’s local
trading points during the specified period of time.