Tank W. Christie M. 1940 on trials in the USSR
"Serving, that a fly - there would be a gap, he will crawl through everywhere" - Russian proverb
It is not for nothing that from a huge number of sayings, aphorisms and quotes, this one is taken as an epigraph. It very accurately reflects the activities of the government of the USSR in the international arena during the period of the NEP and post-NEP transformations of the Soviet economy. What caused the need for the penetration of Soviet "trade organizations" to the West, and how one of them acted - the topic of this article.
Relations between America and Soviet Russia in the 1920s can be characterized as a special, very peculiar period, full of contradictions, characterized by the absolute non-recognition of our country by the United States of America at the diplomatic level, on the one hand, and the rapid development of trade ties, on the other. There were several prerequisites for this. Having survived two devastating wars, the First World War and the Civil War, and even foreign military intervention, the Country of Soviets desperately needed the support of a country with a well-developed industry. The United States was just such a country. Industrial production in the early 1920s was still too lagging behind the pre-war level. An acute shortage of jobs has led to severe unemployment, especially among young people. There was no question of any developments in the field of machine-tool and machine-tool building, modern technologies that would be used in industry were completely absent … The national economy lay in ruins. And the then leadership was faced with a daunting task - to raise, develop the economy, establish production. You have to start somewhere …
SECOND WIND
Despite the huge number of restrictions and prohibitions imposed by the United States on Soviet Russia, such as an embargo on the supply of Soviet goods to their country, a ban on the issuance of long-term commercial loans, the purchase of gold of "Bolshevik origin", and the banal rejection of Soviet power by most American businessmen could not prevent the government of the Country of Soviets from looking for ways to open channels for the inflow of American capital and technology to Russia. Acting through representatives of Soviet trade societies and offices in America, our government was able to find a way out of such a difficult situation. The first was the joint-stock company "Products Xchange Corporation" ("Prodexpo"), organized in 1919. And four years later, in 1923, a branch was opened in the States from "Arkos", which is responsible for Soviet-British relations. In addition, at about the same time, a great many representative offices of the Tsentrosoyuz began to work, as well as other foreign trade companies, whose main task was to attract the maximum number of representatives of American business to market relations with the USSR.
The results of this policy were not long in coming, the dynamics of the process of conquering businessmen became positive, and now the task was to unite all the small firms scattered across America into a single enterprise that would control and organize all their work. When the merger process was completed, there was little left to do: to give the name of the future company. There were plenty of options. Three names stood out among them: TOSSOR (Trade Society of the Union of Soviet Republics), SATOR (Soviet-American Trade Society) and AMTORG (American Trade Society). The last version acquired the status of an official name, and on May 1, 1924, the “ship” with the proud name “Amtorg Trading Corporation” set off on a long journey through the waves of international mutually beneficial trade cooperation.
OUR EXPERIENCE IS YOUR PROPERTY
This phrase is reflected in the emblem of the company. What was the meaning of these words? Undoubtedly, the government of the Land of Soviets had very high hopes for Amtorg. Amtorg was created as an official trade representative and therefore was given the authority to represent the interests of the Economic Council in the States. Unfortunately, due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Russia and the United States, Amtorg was forced to operate exclusively as a private trading company. Such activities were not prohibited by US laws. But it was not recommended to talk about who was the true "owner" of the organization, and therefore all information was strictly confidential and was not subject to disclosure. Otherwise, Russia risked losing the favor of America's financiers and industrialists.
The first months the enterprise experienced certain difficulties (which is natural for the formation of any business), then things went "uphill", relations began to be established and a positive dynamic was outlined in trade and intermediary relations. Note that over the five months of intermediary activity (May-September), orders from Russia amounted to more than $ 4 million. In addition, during the same months, the joint-stock company managed to obtain long-term loans for almost $ 2.5 million. Further more. Henry Ford, Waucklane and Hamilton, Simpson, the giants of the American industry General Motors, Underwood - all of them were on the list of the main, and in the long term and permanent, trading partners of young Russia. Cooperation with 146 firms and banks is undoubtedly a good result in the development of trade relations with America. There was one more event in the history of Russia, which provided a "breakthrough" in the business circles of the North American States. It was the famous motor rally held in Soviet Russia in 1925. As a result of the rally, several American cars won prizes. At a banquet held in honor of the successful completion of the run, employees of the Soviet trade mission presented awards to the winners. The event was immediately covered in the press, received recognition and a worthy assessment in political circles. The consequence of this recognition was the inflow of foreign (especially American) capital.
Purchases of "Amtorg" were very versatile, even horses had to be bought abroad, since the Civil War so reduced the horse population that the Economic Council was forced to buy elite horses overseas, in Canada. It is known that the procurement plan was disrupted and, as a result, there was a surplus. So that the money would not be wasted, they were disposed of, but in a very peculiar way. Due to the fact that the deal was carried out through Metalloimport, the remaining money was spent on the purchase of 80 parachutes and 55 ignition kits for Liberty engines. The acquisition by Amtorg of a model of the JW Christie tank, secretly delivered from the United States under the guise of an ordinary tractor, stands apart. In addition, a contract was signed with A. Kahn to draw up a project for the Stalingrad Tractor Plant.
The Christie suspension was used on all models of our pre-war tanks that originated from the Christie tank, from the BT-2 to the T-34. Close cooperation between Amtorg and Albert Kahn Incorporation resulted in multiple contract extensions. It was they who laid the foundation for the great construction projects in Stalingrad, Chelyabinsk, Kharkov: the first tractor plants were built there, and Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod became the first cities where automobile plants were built. Amtorg, in addition to the above, purchased devices for Soviet aviation. Let us pay tribute to the employees of the trade mission, who did not forget to receive documentation for the samples, which is so necessary for the production and operation of equipment. Even horses for divorce were bought by Amtorg for the USSR! Theirs went to the Civil …
AND ONE IN THE FIELD WARRIOR
There is data that speaks about the effectiveness of Amtorg. The first year of trade with America brought 66,717.5 thousand dollars in profit. The imported goods were dominated by cotton, agricultural machinery and equipment. The export of products also grew: grain, timber, furs, and, of course, oil.
Among other things, the following fact is indicative: about 70% of the total turnover of Russia abroad was financed by banks and American companies, which was a very good indicator of the work of "Armtorg". In addition, the experience gained in the course of "business trips" overseas turned out to be invaluable. Domestic engineers made detailed reports on what they saw in factories and factories in America, what technologies were used in a particular production, what was the organization of labor. Returning to their homeland, engineers tried to apply this knowledge as fully as possible. And what about Amtorg? Was he really the forge of the Soviet defense industry? Rather, yes, although not the most important, of course. U. Christie's suspension was so popular with the court that our T-34s “drove away” on it throughout the war and owe their successes to her, and also … to “Amtorg”, without which, most likely, no one would have known about any U Christie, and who knows how the development of our economy would have gone in the war and post-war times.
