stages even helping to fit out the armies fighting the Communists.
Previous to the revolution and for some time afterward, the Communists paid but little attention to the co-operative movement. They looked upon it as petty bourgeois institution of no great consequence in the revolution, and concentrated their attention upon the fighting organs of the proletariat: the political parties and the trade unions. In the general movement to nationalize the industries the properties of the co-operatives were exempted. But once in power, the Communists soon learned that they had to give the co-operative movement serious consideration: first, because it was a stronghold of reaction which could not be tolerated, and second, because they needed its elaborate economic machinery.
To begin with the Communists met the reformist co-operators and tried to get them to turn their movement to the advantage of the new order. But the latter were flinty in their opposition, refusing to allow their stores to function in the general scheme of things and forcing the Government to organize a rival distributive system. Finally tiring of this hositility, the Communists took the situation firmly in hand. They declared open war upon the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionists controlling the co-operative movement, and proceeded to break their power, so that that great organization could be utilized for the revolution.
For this purpose a variety of means were used. For one thing the Communists fought the reformistic co-operators in all the organizations, gradually weakening their influence and eventually ousting them from leadership. In addition to this interior fight, the Government ordered a number of structural and functional changes in the co-operatives, all calculated to adapt them to the Communist social organization. The first of the more important of these came in April, 1918, when by a decree all the citizens of Russia were made members of the co-operatives. As an inducement to join they were exempted from the tax of five per cent which was levied upon all purchases made from private merchants. The system of holding stock in the co-operatives was abolished, the former shareholders being reimbursed by the Government for their shares. Also, from time to time orders were issued amalga-
61
