In the course of development there arose under the Centrosoyuz even productive societies, which produced goods which the peasants could not create. The co-operatives distribute not only food stuffs, but also garments, cloth, silk and other articles.
After the outbreak of the October revolution, the co-operatives developed with considerably greater rapidity than before, ,as will appear from the figures given above. One of the most active men was Tugon Baranovski, a friend of Peter Kropotkin's. But these newly arisen consumers' unions had only a short life. Through the decree of the soviet government of March 28, 1918, the consumers' unions or co-operatives were nationalized, and all of the consumers' unions founded by the workers themselves were deprived of their independence and inserted among the state organs.
The vicarious chairman of the executive committee of the present nationalized "Centrosoyuz," P. L. Voikoff, related in an interview which we had with him on June 22, 1920, that the bolsheviks after the outbreak of the October revolution desired use the existing co-operatives as organs of the new state for th< distribution of food stuffs. But difficulties arose, for the cc operatives, represented by their old leaders, made active resisl ance to the nationalization. But the government, which desi] to lead the consumers' unions into new channels, removed th< persons which stood in its way and installed a new executiv< committee) which consisted of men who carried out the intentic of the government. This new executive committee consists of members, who all belong to the Communist Party (bolsheviks)
According to the opinion of the old, dismissed leaders of th( Centrosoyuz, the consumers' unions were associations of free citizens, but the tendency of nationalization was against the charactei of the organization. The government desired to "democratize" th( unions, as they called it. For this purpose the whole populatioi had to _ enter into these unions. The government issued a decree, according to which every citizen had to be a member of the cc sumers' union. By the decree of March 18, the old committ( of the consumers' union were forced by the state to call in an assembly ; in this assembly a new committee was elected. In the elections for this committee the whole population could take whether they were members of the old consumers' unions or not each one had the right to vote. This is what they called "demon cratization." This committee, which is to be found in all localities, in every commune, elects a representative to a district committee, and this district committee elects the members of the executive committee of the Centrosoyuz.
This is, however, the case only theoretically, for, according to the statements of the vicarious chairman already referred to, the executive committee was, in practise, not elected but appointed by the government, by which process only members of the Communist Party were picked out.
One representative of this Centrosoyuz is Krassin, and he is not only ,a representative of the Centrosoyuz, but, the Centrosoyuz being a state organ, he is also an official representative of the Soviet government. As such he was received by the English government. Krassin represents the commercial interests of the Soviet government, and for lack of a different apparatus the government is using this Centrosoyuz. Through the Centrosoyuz the Soviet government will carry on import and export business with foreign countries.
But if the Centrosoyuz is an official organ of the government as regards foreign countries, such is not the case domestically. The official government organ is the Food Stuffs Commissariat. But as this proved itself incapable of handling the provisioning of the population, the Soviet government makes use of the consumers' unions.