The Specifics of the Development of Consumer Cooperation during the First World War (Based on the Materials of the Ufa Province)

Introduction. The subject of the study is the history of the development of consumer cooperation in Ufa province during the First World War, as well as the specifics of this process in the regional dimension. The article shows that consumer cooperation was caused by the development of stationary (capitalist) trade. Materials and Methods. The source base of the study is represented by a set of archival documents, pre-revolutionary publications and modern monographs devoted to the problem of analyzing the formation and development of consumer cooperation during the First World War. The article was written using general scientific and special historical method. Results. The article proves that if at the beginning of the war in the South Urals there was a reduction in the network of consumer cooperatives, then later, in the conditions of the stationary trade network disorder, the region (as well as in many places of the empire), on the contrary, saw a different increase in consumer societies that supplied the population with priority goods in wartime conditions. The fact, specific for Ufa province, that wealthy representatives of the Tatar population of Ufa province were the most active members of consumer cooperatives stands out. Discussion and Conclusion. The logical outcome of the rapid development of the consumer cooperative system during the war years was the formation of large consolidating associations after 1915 – “Ufa Union”, “Muslim Society” and others. After 1917, the development of consumer cooperatives continued in a specific form, i.e. under the control of the Soviet authorities.