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FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COOPERATIVE SYSTEM IN
AGRICULTURE OF UZBEKISTAN (1918-1929)
Ganiev Akhrorbek Abdurahim Ugli
Assistant of the Department of Social Sciences and Sports,
Fergana State Technical University.
Annotation:
This article analyzes the socio-economic and political foundations, stages,
and evolution of the agricultural cooperation system formed in the Republic of Uzbekistan in
1918-1929. The article covers economic management implemented through cooperatives, the
impact of state policy, reforms during the NEP period, and stages of preparation for
collectivization. The impact of this system on the lives of farmers, production efficiency, and
market relations will also be studied.
Keywords:
Uzbekistan, agriculture, cooperation, NEP, collectivization, peasantry,
agrarian reform, Soviet policy, economic management, 1918-1929.
The years 1918-1929 are an important historical period, characterized by the formation
and development of the cooperative system in the agriculture of Uzbekistan. During this period,
when the new Soviet system was being established in place of the former Turkestan Governor-
Generalship, fundamental socio-economic reforms began in the agrarian sphere. After the
October Revolution of 1917, land ownership was nationalized, and many large landowners were
deprived of their lands.
The state also began to actively promote cooperative structures for the purpose of
centralized management and regulation of agriculture. Agriculture of Uzbekistan is a set of
economic structures created for the purpose of uniting farmers, coordinating production and
supply. This system manifested itself mainly in the following forms:
● Consumer cooperatives - the supply of everyday goods to farmers at affordable prices;
● Credit cooperatives - support for production by providing low-interest loans to farmers
and artisans;
● Cotton and trade cooperatives - establishing connections with the market by centralizing
the purchase, processing, and sale of products;
Production cooperatives - the creation of a basis for collective farming by combining land
and labor resources. This system was viewed by the Soviets as a means of gradually building a
socialist economy. Especially from the second half of the 1920s, the struggle against large land
ownership through cooperatives intensified, and special attention was paid to the voluntary
unification of small peasant farms. Cooperation was initially introduced on a voluntary basis. He
mediated the land reform and the establishment of economic ties between the new landowners -
small and medium-sized peasants.
Especially under the conditions of the New Economic Policy (NEP), introduced from
1921, cooperatives acted as a kind of bridge between the state and the private sector. As the main
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forms of cooperation, credit cooperatives, consumer cooperatives, production cooperatives, and
trade and exhibition units were formed. Through them, farmers gained access to means of
production, seeds, equipment, financial assistance, and connections with the market.
By the mid-1920s, the scale of agrarian reforms in Uzbekistan expanded. Due to the
special strategic attention of the Soviet government to cotton growing, a large part of agricultural
cooperatives was directed to the organization and processing of raw cotton. These cooperatives
played a decisive role in the implementation of state cotton policy at the local level, in particular,
in the collection, delivery, and pricing of cotton.
Also, through these cooperatives, farmers were encouraged to produce on the basis of
quotas established by the state. Cooperatives began to become a unified supply and sales system
for farmers.
At the same time, during this period, cooperatives were actively used not only as an
economic tool, but also as a political tool. Through them, the Soviet government sought to
strengthen its social base in rural areas. The Soviet system, viewing cooperation as a tool of class
struggle, served to displace the wealthy peasant (kulak) stratum. Nevertheless, until the end of
the 1920s, the cooperative operated on a relatively voluntary basis and in a form adapted to the
economic interests of the peasants. By 1929, the situation changed dramatically. Starting this
year, the Soviet leadership, headed by Stalin, began a policy of general collectivization.
As a result, cooperatives previously formed on a voluntary basis will be transformed into
collective farms - collective farms - under state pressure. At this stage, the cooperative system
became an administrative tool of the Soviet regime, preventing the peasants from gaining
economic freedom.
In conclusion
, between 1918 and 1929, the cooperative system in Uzbekistan's
agriculture gradually took shape, initially functioning as a means of coordinating economic
relations and later at the level of political strategy. This system developed in accordance with the
needs of the peasantry under the conditions of the NEP policy, but by 1929 it was subordinated
to the authoritarian collectivization policy.
REFERENCES:
1. Юлдашева, Т. С. (1974). Роль сельскохозяйственной кооперации в социалистическом
преобразовании сельского хозяйства Узбекистана (1925–1929 гг.) [Автореф. дис.].
Российская государственная библиотека.
2. Абдуллаева, Н. Т. (2019). Кооперация и земельные реформы: исторический опыт и
уроки. История и развитие, 4(12), 27–35.
3. Джалилов, Ф. М. (1983). Сельскохозяйственная кооперация в Узбекистане: опыт и
проблемы (1918–1930 гг.). Ташкент: Фан.
4. Аминова, Р. К. (1976). Кооперация и политика НЭПа: Социально-экономические
преобразования в Узбекистане. Ташкент: Илмий мерос.
