Abstract

Mid-19th century is the turning period of the development of Russia, stands at a historical crossroads of choice, the Russians uneasy. How to get rid of the social crisis, the majority of people die from the poverty was the tsarist government needed to solve the problem as well as advanced people troubled by Russia's doubts. Cooperative movement in this conditions emerge as the times require. Before the October Revolution the ideas and practices of Russian cooperatives have the following purposes：

The first is to sort out co-operative ideology in Russia spread and development process, describes the famous cooperative theory of cooperative thinkers. About 1840, the co-operative thought is coming t Russia, initially with a fantasy likes utopian socialism, and its representative is Petra Tomasevski and Chernyshevsky. They opposed the serf system and the capitalist system, longing for socialism, Russia can be envisaged without capitalism, directly from farmers through the cooperative transition to a socialist village. Their activities opened the door of Russian cooperative theory. If the utopian socialists trying to jump across the stage of capitalist development, the idea of directly into the socialist cooperatives failed to achieve, then the noble intellectuals advocated the concept of cooperatives is to produce the Russian cooperative movement theory of the source. They will co-capitalist society as an effective tool for democratic reform that the cooperatives can reduce the process of capitalist development to the peo ple plundered the capital to bring the suffering of the citizens of the serfs to reduce extreme poverty in the process, to prevent the rural proletariat.

The second is to describe the whole picture of the cooperative movement in Russia before the revolution. Since 1865, the first cooperatives established until 1917 before the October revolution, the Russian cooperative movement can be divided into four stages: embryonic stage、cradle stage、development stage and perfect stage. During this period, the cooperative system has been initially established, it experiences from the grass-roots organization to the cooperative alliance, then to the All-Russian Cooperative Committee. In terms of number and the number of participants of cooperatives, Russia is the forefront in the world.

The third is to analyze the attitude of tsarist government to the cooperative movement. Tsarist government holds dual attitudes, both want to solve economic problems through cooperatives, but also worried about the development of cooperatives would threaten its rule. The contradictory state of mind led to the ruling class policy of the cooperative movement wavering. On the one hand, thinking of promotion of cooperatives cautious monitoring of the cooperative activities severely. On the other hand, support given to the development of cooperatives, to provide it with loans, and give the tax breaks. Into the 20th century, with the commencement of the cooperative movement, the ruling class worried that“some people with ulterior motives” anti-government activities by cooperatives, cooperatives worried a free position. So all-round monitoring of cooperatives, limit its activities in the formalities, to delay and obstacle on the procedures of the cooperative alliance establishment. Their essence is to control the leadership of the cooperative movement, and its ultimate goal is to maintain the stability of autocratic system.

The fourth is to analyze the role of cooperatives. To some extent, after joining cooperatives, members are reducing the dependence on middlemen and loan sharks, and their living standards and cultural level has increased, self-awareness can be improved.

For these purposes, the author does a more systematic study of the cooperative movement in Russia before the October Revolution. By carefully combing the existing research results and collected a large number of in-depth analysis of native and foreign information, getting the following conclusions：

First, the establishment of cooperatives can not do without the people with lofty ideas of co-promotion and to public. Co-founded and disseminators of ideas（Owen, Fourier, Saint Simon, Shu Limining, gold Rafah and so on）adhering to the different and sometimes conflicting ideas for the establishment of cooperatives to running and crying: from provide assistance to poverty and unemployed to improve the capitalist system, from create conditions to the small producers into the economic market to develop the middle class, from ease the social conflict to do fundamental changes in society. Whether Petra Tomasevski or Chernyshevsky, even though have they the fantasy of the cooperative philosophy and ultimately failed to achieve, but its activities in Russia opened the door of cooperative theory. Subsequently, in Vassilitch Cove, Yakovlev and others unremitting efforts, the Russian co-operatives can be established.

Second, the establishment of cooperatives in Russia is closely related with the“great reform”in 19th century 60s. On the one hand, the reform is getting farmers from the shackles of serfdom, making it to be a village freeman. They can make all kinds of deeds, contracts, the right to freedom of business, setting up factories, adding a variety of guild. Be reformed to encourage private sector development, local self -government institutions began to build, open trial, Russia has entered a new era of development. New evidence for the social development created the conditions for the establishment of cooperatives.

On the other hand, the reform is promoting the development of capitalist economic, but also to retain a large number of serfdom. Economic activities of farmers and legal rights are still subject to the village, every move of their lives by the village community monitoring of public officials. Reform of the landlord class is essentially a large-scale plundering of the peasants. After the reform, not only farmers lost a lot of land, and because of debt to pay huge ransom. Forced to survival pressure, they formed the labor union to work in cities, but the results are often nothing. How to improve their living, and prevent the farmers to be proletariat has become a pressing social problem. In this case, co-operative are concerned.

Third, commodity money relations, the autonomy of the general public awareness and education, and the government's attitude towards cooperatives are important factors in the development of cooperatives.

Fourth, the cooperative activities have following results. On the economic front, improve the living conditions of the members and reduce the dependence of small producers on loan -sharking business, brokers, and large industrial capital, make the loss of farmers and small producers from out of the state to save. In the field of culture and education, co-workers established a library, museum, offering exhibitions and members of the training school, to a certain extent, enhance the member's independence, self-awareness and sense of responsibility. At the same time against the autocratic government of the allround cooperative control, the struggle for legal rights, actually enhance the members of the civic awareness, promote the establishment of the history of civil society, it has become the process of civil society to from a force to be reckoned with. With the development of the achievements of cooperatives, it also has many deficiencies. Cooperative system is not perfect, fund is not sufficient, lack of co-leading cadres, members are still plagued with high consciousness, etc. These are still troubled by the problem of cooperative development.