Folk Crafts and Trades of Romenshchyna in the 1920s-1930s

Author

Kotsur Yuliya – a Ph.D. in History, a head of Research Department of the National Museum Memorial to Holodomor Victims

Folk Crafts and Trades of Romenshchyna in the 1920s-1930s

Abstract

The article examines the 1920s–1930s Romenshchyna folk crafts and trades. With the aid of archival materials and oral evidences collected by authoress, it can be observed that there was a pressure on rural craftsmen and artisans who did not want to join the newly established cooperatives of peasants. The authorities departed more and more from principles of voluntary association and forced them to join the newly formed groups by levying immoderate taxes. It is also given an informative reference on the level of development of various crafts on Romenshchyna and on the welfare standards of craftsmen both prior to collectivization and within collectivized economy. A particular attention is paid to researching the circumstances of craftsmen and their families at the time of the 1932–1933 Famine. The authoress distinguishes the domestic trades, which met predominately everyday necessities of peasants, being, however, as a means to escape from death. Available is an analysis of new trades which appeared on Romenshchyna in the 1930s. There is a review of the state of development of crafts and trades in the region in the late 1930s. The author comes to the conclusion that craftsmen were compelled to accommodate themselves to working conditions established in artils and cooperatives. In the issue, their handicrafts were inferior in quality than in private industry. Upon craftsmen’ withdrawing from peasant cooperatives, the former were mostly replaced with inexperienced people who had never been involved in such kind of work. This has led to the deterioration of product quality and artificial decline of crafts.

Keywords

craft, craftsman, artisan, handmade goods, collectivization, bond, tax, artil (cooperative of peasants).

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