Artel

An artel (Russian: арте́ль) was any of various cooperative associations that existed in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. They began centuries ago but were especially prevalent from the time of the emancipation of the Russian serfs (1861) through the 1950s. In the later Soviet period (1960s–1980s), the term was mostly phased out with the complete monopolization of the Soviet economy by the state.

Artels were semiformal associations for craft, artisan, and light industrial enterprises. Often artels worked far from home and lived as a commune. Payment for a completed job was distributed according to verbal agreements, quite often in equal shares. Often artels were seasonal.

In a 1918 article on Russian education and social structures (as of the late period of the Russian Empire, just before the Soviet Union took shape), Manya Gordon described the artel as follows:

"The Artel (association) is another term for the collective ownership and operation of industry. It is one of the oldest and most widespread institutions in Russia. The most ancient of these is the famous fishing Artel of the Cossacks of the Ural. This association had a membership of 15,000 to 20,000 men whose work was carried on under conditions of absolute equality. The fishing-waters, as well as the necessary equipment, were owned in common. The proceeds were divided equally among the members without regard to special skill or any other considerations. The association as a whole was divided up into groups, or minor Artels, of perhaps a score of workers. Each group had its "Elder" who supervised the work and looked after the accounts. The various branches had complete freedom of action, though they shared expenditures and profits.

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