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Foreign concessions in the national economy of the USSRPeriod: 1922-1927
State publishing house 1928
Moscow 1928 Leningrad
Printed at the 1st Exemplary Printing House of Giza. Moscow, Pyatnitskaya, 71.
Glavlit No. A 613. Giz No. 2371 Order No. 4679. Circulation 3000 copies.
Operating foreign concessions and what they give to the national economy of the USSR.
Concession agreement and its main conditions.
Foreign capital can engage in industrial and commercial activities in the USSR only on the basis of a concession agreement concluded by it with the government of the Soviet Union represented by the Council of People's Commissars.
Such an agreement is necessary both in the interests of the Soviet state and in the interests of the foreign capitalist. Allowing a foreign body, such as a concession, into its national economy, the Soviet state must firmly determine the boundaries of the activity of this enterprise, establish the circle of rights granted to it, because, otherwise, it, as a capitalist enterprise, instead of being useful, may harm the socialist country. On the other hand, a foreign capitalist, taking a concession, immediately spends considerable funds, being sure that he will operate the enterprise he organizes for a number of years, on the basis of calculations made by him in advance. But these calculations would have no basis, if the government at any time could, at its own request, without the consent of the concessionaire, change the operating conditions of the enterprise. That is why a concession agreement is drawn up, in which the concessionaire assumes a number of obligations, provided that he is provided with a number of guarantees and rights that make it possible to fulfill his obligations to his own benefit and to the benefit of the Soviet state.[ 1 ].
What obligations does the concession agreement usually impose on the concessionaire, and what rights does it grant him?
We have already pointed out above that the purpose of the concessions is to attract free capital and the latest technology to us from abroad. It is natural, therefore, that one of the main points of the concession agreement is the obligation of the concessionaire to import all the capital required for the organization of the concession enterprise from abroad. This capital is imported, of course, in foreign currency, which is exchanged for chervonets at the State Bank. This improves our foreign exchange balance, because with the dollars or pounds sterling transferred to us by the concessionaire we can buy abroad the machines that our state industry needs.
Being interested in the most expedient operation of the concession enterprise, we stipulate in the contract the obligation of the concessionaire to equip this enterprise on the basis of the requirements of the latest technology and maintain it at a certain technical height throughout the duration of the contract. To this end, the concessionaire is often allowed, in the first years of the concession, to import duty-free from abroad equipment for the enterprise he organizes, according to lists approved by our government bodies.
Since the concession has as its main aim the development of the productive forces of our country, its work is naturally linked with the general plan of the national economy.
By developing this branch of industry, the concessionaire must also contribute to the growth of neighboring branches of our national economy that are economically connected with it. Therefore, concession agreements usually include the obligations of the concessionaire to acquire materials and raw materials necessary for production within the USSR. Only those materials that are not in the Union or whose value is much higher in our country than abroad are allowed to be imported from outside. This importation is allowed in limited amounts precisely specified in the contract, and only until the production of these materials or raw materials is delivered to the USSR: Bearing in mind the currency difficulties that our country is currently experiencing, concessions that should work exclusively on imported (foreign) raw materials, we rent only if our economy is particularly interested in them.
Since the granting of a concession is intended to increase the extraction or production in the USSR of certain objects and products, we are interested in seeing the concession enterprise turn out products according to a certain program. Therefore, the concession agreement usually establishes the production program of the concession enterprise, i.e., determines what is the minimum number of products or products and in what periods the enterprise must produce.
Allowing the import of equipment from abroad, striving to ensure that the concession enterprise is provided with the raw materials it needs, the concession agreement establishes that the products of the concession enterprise must meet the quality requirements of modern technology.
Usually, the concessionaire is given the right to freely sell the products produced at his enterprise, but often the government reserves the right to preferential purchase of these products at predetermined prices. In connection with the right to sell the products of the concession enterprise, there is a question about the right to export these products abroad. If such a right is granted to the concessionaire, it is specifically stipulated in the contract. If this is not stipulated in the contract, the concessionaire does not have such a right.
“In close connection with the conditions governing the production or trading activities of the concessionaire, there are conditions that determine the working conditions in the concession enterprise. From the fact that concessions are granted for the purpose of developing the productive forces of the country, it follows that the organization of concession enterprises should, on the one hand, expand the scope of the labor of Russian workers, and, on the other hand, teach them the technical skills that exist in similar industries for border. To achieve this goal, concession agreements usually provide for the percentage of workers invited from abroad to the total number of workers, and also gives the concessionaire the right to invite technicians, specialists, etc. from abroad.[ 2 ]. In doing so, the concessionaire must comply with the Labor Code at its enterprises. Often, the concession agreement also stipulates the obligation of the concessionaire to conclude a collective agreement with the relevant trade unions. But the government and its bodies do not interfere in the relationship between the concessionaire and the trade unions, since the latter are autonomous and independent organizations in our country.
When this is of special interest, the contract stipulates the obligation of the concessionaire to take on his enterprise a certain number of students from Soviet universities to teach them the new methods of work used at the enterprise.
Each concession agreement, taking into account the need to provide the concessionaire with the opportunity to receive profit from his enterprise, establishes the term of the concession so that the concessionaire, applying the usual rates of repayment of invested capital, by the end of the concession, has time to fully return to himself the funds invested by him in the enterprise and receive on them certain profit. Therefore, in the concession agreement, all the property of the concession enterprise, except for its working capital and profit, is considered the property of the state, which cannot be levied on the debts of the concessionaire and which cannot be pledged, sold or transferred to anyone. After the expiration of the concession period, the enterprise passes to the government free of charge on the go.
For granting him the right to work on the territory of the USSR and derive profit from this work, the concessionaire pays the government a share deduction from the turnover of the enterprise or the net profit of the enterprise in money or the products of the enterprise itself. If the profit of the concessionaire turns out to be higher than a certain norm established in the contract, another part of the excess profit is deducted in favor of the state in addition to the specified share deduction.
The payment of the share deduction does not release the concessionaire from the obligation to pay all taxes and fees. Large concessionaires in respect of payment of taxes and fees are usually equated not to private citizens, but to the corresponding state enterprises. This is a great benefit, since private individuals and enterprises are taxed in the USSR at a higher rate than state ones.
As a general rule, the concessionaire is granted the right to export the enterprise's net profit in foreign currency abroad. If he is allowed to import raw materials from abroad, then he is also allowed to take foreign currency abroad for the purchase of such raw materials. Finally, he, of course, has the right to take abroad those sums that remain with him after the termination of the concession.
Reserving the right to monitor the work of the enterprise in terms of the fulfillment of concession obligations under the contract, the government, however, does not interfere in the disposal and management of the enterprise. Within the limits and for the term of the concession agreement, the concessionaire is the owner of the concession enterprise.
If the concessionaire fails to comply with the main terms of the contract, in the event of a malicious breach of the contract by him or in the event of his bankruptcy, the government has the right to terminate the concession by a unilateral act before the deadline, in which case it does not pay the concessionaire the outstanding part of his capital.
Like every contract, a concession contract may, during its validity period, cause disputes and disagreements on the interpretation and execution of certain conditions. Therefore, it always provides in advance for the settlement of disputes by Soviet or arbitration courts. In the latter case, both parties nominate their judges, and the latter elect the chairman of the court, but in case of disagreement on the issue of the chairman, the latter is appointed by some Soviet or foreign scientific institution specified in the agreement (All-Union Academy of Sciences, Higher Technical School in Stockholm, etc.) .).
These are, in general terms, the most important conditions usually included in the concession agreement. The review of these conditions, of course, is not exhaustive: since each concession agreement is a special law that provides a certain given object for the use of a given private person, the terms of this agreement are individual in nature and depend on the characteristics of each given case.
However, these conditions never contradict the basic principles of our economic policy. By safeguarding the interests of foreign capitalists who come to work for us no worse than they are secured in bourgeois states, we ensure ourselves to a sufficient extent from the harm that concessions can do to us, which, for all their benefits for our national economy, are nevertheless alien to him, a foreign capitalist body.
Knowing now what a concession agreement is and what its main conditions are, let's move on to familiarize ourselves with those concessions that we have on the basis of concession agreements.
operating concessions.
As of November 1, 1927, 163 concession agreements were concluded, of which by that time 50 had ceased their activities for a number of reasons. Of the 113 agreements in force, 92 are concession agreements in the true sense of the word, i.e., agreements granting foreign capitalists the right to organize or participate in the organization of industrial and commercial enterprises in the USSR or to provide technical assistance to our Soviet enterprises. The remaining 24 are either the charters of joint-stock companies, which contain an exemption from existing laws (Dobrolet, Khladeksport, Elektroselstroy) and therefore fall into the list of concessions, or the charters of joint-stock companies whose activities take place outside the USSR and in which, along with state capital, private ( Perskhlopok, Russpersbank, Mongolian Bank, etc.), or, finally, agreements on financing by foreigners of ours; export operations, which also take place on a concession basis.
The 92 concession agreements in force on November 1, 1927 are distributed as follows:
What gave concessions to our national economy[ 3 ]
Trade concessions.
As of November 1, 1927, in the field of foreign trade, we have 9 trade concessions, of which 6 are attended by foreign and Soviet capital. These concessions are designed to help us win a place in the world market, to promote the development of our export operations and to involve foreign firms in the industrial life of the USSR. All their activities, of course, proceed within the strict framework of our foreign trade policy and under the direct supervision of the People's Commissariat of Trade. It is the monopoly of foreign trade that explains the fact that out of the total number of 16 mixed companies operating in our country, 6 are trading. These mixed societies work on trade with Germany, Austria, Turkey, Persia and Poland. According to preliminary data compiled by the People's Commissariat of Trade, as of January 1, 1926, about 9 million rubles were invested in these companies. In addition to this, in the course of their current operations, they attracted about 38 million rubles in their operations for 2 business years - 1923/24 and 1924/25. in the form of foreign loans.
In the first years of the activity of these societies, when we did not have sufficient experience, the foreign capitalists pressed more for the import of their goods to us than for the export from us. They exported only profitable types of raw materials, mainly furs. The strict policy pursued since 1924 in relation to concession enterprises in the field of foreign trade had as a consequence a change in the nature of the activity of these enterprises in the direction of increasing the export of our products abroad and reducing the import of foreign goods to us. If in 1922/23 goods were imported for 11 million rubles, and exported for 8.5 million rubles, which gave our country a loss in the overall balance of about 2.5 million rubles, then in 1924/25 only 6.5 million rubles have already been imported, and 23.5 million rubles have been exported, that is, 17 million rubles have remained in our favor. currencies. Trading operations of these societies in 1925/26 they also gave an active balance, this time in the amount of 16.2 million rubles. In total, during the entire period of operation of our trade concession enterprises, more goods were exported from the USSR than imported, in the amount of 27.8 million rubles.
In relation to the total turnover of foreign trade of the USSR, the role of trade concessions is still insignificant: in 1922/23 their turnover was 3.8%, in 1923/24 - 3.6%, in 1924/25 - 2.7 % and in 1925/26 - 3% of the total foreign trade turnover of the USSR. Their participation in the last 3 years in exports is 3.7%, in imports - 2.6%. For certain types of exports, however, the share of concession enterprises is much higher. In 1923/24, concession companies exported furs 25%[ 4 ], guts - 30%, bristles - 20% of the total export of these goods from the USSR. In 1924/25, they exported 100% of cement, 74% of intestines, 70% of fluff, 55% of coal, 74% of cocoons, 42% of wool, 21% of eggs from the total export of these same goods from the USSR. But since the main export items - grain, timber, butter, etc. - did not pass through these societies, their role in the total export of the USSR this year is only 4.1%.
Their role in import operations is even less: in 1924/25 they imported 1.6%, and in 1925/26 - 2.3% of the total import of goods into the USSR; but here, too, in the import of certain types of goods, the participation of trade concessions is more significant: tools and appliances they imported, for example, in 1924/25 - 27.6%, haberdashery - 21%, yarn - 14% of the total import of these goods into the USSR.
If at first the majority (up to 60%) of imported goods were sold by concession trading companies to private individuals and organizations, now state and cooperative organizations acquire 90% of the goods they import, and only 10% falls into the hands of private individuals.
As a result of their activities, trade concession enterprises receive significant profits. Since the state usually holds at least 51% of the shares in mixed trading companies, it receives a significant income from the operation of concessions. In general, about 30% of the net profit of the enterprise is deducted in favor of the state, not counting the profit on shares. On top of this, these societies contribute appropriate taxes and fees. In 1924/25 the state received 3.9 million rubles from these mixed companies as revenue to the treasury. In 1925/26, they contributed taxes and fees in the amount of about 3.5 million rubles. About 1,000 employees work in these enterprises, of which only about a hundred are foreigners.
Although trade concessions play an insignificant role in the total trade turnover of the USSR with foreign countries, they fulfill their task both by strengthening our ties with foreign commercial and industrial enterprises and by providing a solid net income to the state. However, with the strengthening of our trading apparatus abroad, they, of course, begin to lose their significance.
Forest concessions.
By the end of the blockade, when the possibility of exporting timber abroad opened up, significant stocks of timber had accumulated in the Severo-Belomorsky region, which belonged to foreign timber merchants before nationalization. The export of this timber was then under the threat of a boycott by foreign buyers and even the possibility of seizing it. As a result, already in 1922, negotiations began with foreign firms, the largest owners of nationalized timber reserves, on the organization of mixed joint-stock companies. The formation of such societies, which have all the rights of legal entities abroad, guaranteed the unhindered sale of forest products and aroused the interest of foreign buyers in our forest. This explains the significant concessions made by the government in organizing these societies. At the same time, these were also the first steps of foreign capital in its work with us. By this time, the organization of three mixed joint-stock companies: Russ-, Anglo-, Hollando and Norvegoles.
The fixed capital of the company " Russnorvegoles " is set at 300,000 pounds sterling. The concession is located along the Onega River basin, with an area of about 2 million acres. The company's capital was covered by the proceeds from the sale of timber materials that belonged to the foreign firms that entered into the contract before nationalization. The proceeds from the sale of timber sums were divided in half between the Soviet and foreign groups, and each half paid for the shares of the parties. Russnorvegoles exported annually up to 35,000 timber standards worth up to £450,000 (in 1923/24 and 1924/25).
Implementation of the trust "Severoles" for the same time - 125,000 standards.
Thus, the company exported almost 30% of the export of "Severoles" in terms of quantity and value, while the area exploited by it is 10-12% of the area exploited by the state industry of the North.
The area of the concession joint-stock company " Russangloles " is located in the Komi region and covers about 1.200.000 hectares.
The annual possible release of a sawlog is determined at 268,000 pieces of logs, which corresponds to approximately 13,000 standards.
Joint-stock company "Russangloles" received for lease use one sawmill near the city of Arkhangelsk.
The company has committed to putting the plant into operation and refurbishing it so that it can fully process the sawn wood that may be released from the concession area.
The company spent about 420,000 rubles on the re-equipment of the plant and stock exchanges, which is twice the value of the property received. The share capital of the company was determined at 150,000 pounds. erased The capital is formed from the sale of nationalized materials and transferred by the government on an equal footing to Severoles and the concessionaire.
The area of the Russhollandoles concession covers about 1,600 thousand hectares and is located in the region of the Komi region.
The annual possible release of sawlogs from the concession area is determined by about 280,000 sawlogs per year, which corresponds to 17,500 sawn timber standards.
The Company has leased a sawmill located near Arkhangelsk, having assumed the obligation to re-equip this plant or build a new one in order to fully ensure the processing of timber available for sale.
The cost of the company's capital expenditures for the first two years of activity (1922/23 and 1923/24) is determined at 600,000 rubles, which amounted to about 45% of the share capital.
The share capital is determined by the founding agreement at 50,000 pounds. erased This capital is also formed from the sale of nationalized materials transferred by the government on a parity basis to Severoles and the concessionaire.
The state trust " Dvinoles " has concluded an agreement with foreign firms for the development and exploitation of forest areas in the area of the Western Dvina and its tributaries.
The fixed capital was determined at 100,000 pounds. erased The government owns 51% of the shares, the foreign group - 49%.
The society does not have any industrial enterprises within the USSR. Timber cutting is carried out in Riga, the annual harvest is determined at 8 million cubic meters. foot. The treaty ends in 1929.
The agreement of the Autonomous Karelian SSR with the company " Repola Wood " aims to develop the forests of Karelia, which are located along the water system of the Tuulioki and Lieksa rivers flowing into Finland.
Karelia takes upon itself the harvesting of timber and its rafting to the border of Finland. The company undertook to build a sawmill in Finland, with an annual production of 6-7 thousand standards, to accept logs harvested by Karelia on the borders of Finland and deliver them to the plant, to saw logs, sell and perform other actions related to these operations, pay Karelia the last amount due for logs and provide the funds necessary to carry out contract-related harvesting and rafting operations.
The agreement was concluded in 1924 for a period of 10 years.
To fulfill the contract, the company bought a sawmill in Finland, built in 1918/19 for 12 frames with an annual output of about 20,000 standards, i.e., much more capacity than was stipulated by the contract.
The capital of the joint-stock company "Repola Wood" formed is 3,000,000 Finnish marks.
The sawmill acquired by the company is one of the exemplary in Finland and is equipped with the latest technical improvements.
Labor productivity at the plant is much higher than the general Karelian: at the Repola Wood plant, by 1,000 cubic meters. foot. raw materials require 10 workers, while in Karelia - 19 people.
In September 1923, 2 concession agreements were concluded with the German joint-stock company " Mogoles " - one main for a forest concession and another additional - for the completion of the railway section "Budogoshch - Pestovo" and "Pestovo - Red Hill" Mga-Rybinskaya railway. d., up to 300 versts.
The concessionaire was granted the right to exploit one-year-old logging sites on an area of more than one million acres located along the line of the Mga-Rybinskaya railway under construction and in the basin of the upper reaches of the Mologa River.
The concessionaire has undertaken to build in the concession area: 1) several sawmills for a total of 6 frames, 2) a sleeper impregnation plant with a capacity of 1,000,000 sleepers, 3) 10 plants for the chemical processing of stumps and 4) after 10 years of the concession - pulp mill.
The concessionaire undertook to complete the construction of the Budogoshch-Red Hill section, spending 7,000,000 rubles on this completion. The term of the concession is set at 25 years.
During the operation of the enterprise, the concessionaire built sawmills for a total of 12 frames, the approximate cost of which is determined at 2.5 million rubles. In addition, for the completion of railway. about one million rubles were spent on the road.
During 1925/26, the concessionaire was released for procurement on the territory of the concession 244,000 cubic meters. soot wood, Foam fee, the concessionaire contributed 1.430 thousand rubles. The turnover of the concession with timber for this year was expressed in the amount of 14.5 million rubles. These data indicate a significant object of the concession, which turned out to be beyond the power of the concessionaire, and by the end of 1926 the balance sheet of the Mogoles company was withdrawn with a significant loss - 4.5 million rubles. The unprofitability of the enterprise is explained solely by the fact that the concessionaire did not have its own working capital. The initial capital was determined at 300,000 marks. Nevertheless, the operations of the company were carried out at the expense of borrowed capital, provided that it was paid with exceptionally high interest.
An analysis of the balance of the concession for 1925/26 confirmed that with a normal ratio of fixed and circulating assets of the enterprise, the profit was expressed in 1.400 thousand rubles. This state of affairs led to the conclusion of an agreement with the concessionaire to terminate the concession agreement. By the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of May 18, 1927, a special commission was formed, which accepted all the enterprises of the company on the go, and the further operation of the enterprise was transferred to the Sevzaples state trust.
In total, in 1926 there were 6 foreign forest concessions. In April 1927, an agreement was concluded with the Japanese Forest Syndicate for a period of 6 years for the exploitation of 1,100,000 hectares of forest area in the Far East, in the Primorsky region.
The total number of workers and employees employed in 1926/27 on forest concessions is determined at 33,300 people. (including workers: permanent - 3,000 people, seasonal - 29,000 people, employees - 1,100 people, of which 50 people are foreigners.
Payments to the government under forest concessions for the entire period of their validity amounted to 16.384 thousand rubles. In addition, 1.685 thousand rubles were contributed to social insurance for the same period.
The cost of harvested timber materials for the entire duration of the concessions is determined in the amount of 29.5 million rubles, of which 27 million rubles fall to the share of exports. This does not include the harvest of Mogoles for 1925/26, whose products are fully sold on the domestic market.
The results of the work of forest concession enterprises for the entire period of their activity were unprofitable. The total amount of losses on all forest concessions for the period from 1922 to 1926 is determined, approximately, in the amount of 3.278 thousand rubles.
The unprofitability of forest concession enterprises (with the exception of Mogoles) should be attributed exclusively to export operations.
The main reasons for the unprofitability are: the insignificance of the share capitals of the companies, which forced them to widely use credit and thereby significantly increase the cost of production: a systematic decrease in prices for timber products in the foreign market from year to year and unfavorable interval relations.
Timber concessions, in spite of this, have taken a prominent position in our timber exports along the European border, reaching in 1924/25 27% in terms of quantity and 20% in terms of export value. The year 1925/26 shows a sharp reduction in the export of concession timber enterprises, which is explained by the main and well-known difficulties of all our timber export organizations, and mainly by the state of interval relations.
Although the role of forest concessions in the Union's timber exports is more significant than other concession enterprises, they should be considered as the first steps towards the further development of the concession policy in forestry, especially since most of the existing concessions are of secondary importance and do not have a special impact on the development of the national economy.
In connection with the improvement in the state of the world timber market, the significant demand for Russian timber and the special benefits now established by the government for timber export organizations, it must be assumed that the situation of timber concession enterprises operating for export will improve significantly, especially if, along with timber export, they they will put processing it into cellulose, etc.
Agricultural concessions.
At present, we have 5 agricultural concessions in operation, by the beginning of 1926/27 there were 7 of them. The first of these concessions - the Krupp concession for cultivating land in the Salsk district of the Don region - was concluded in March 1922 for 36 years. It covers 23 thousand acres of land. Joint stock company " Druzag " - seed concession concluded for 31 years, occupies about 10 thousand hectares of land.
The German-Volga Agricultural Credit Bank, under an agreement concluded in 1923 for 36 years, occupies 100,000 acres of land.
The "Holland-Ukraine" syndicate received 1,200 acres of land in the Melitopol district for the organization of an agricultural cultural enterprise on it. The concession is for 12 years.
The Prikumsk Russian-American Partnership received concessions in the North Caucasus for 5,700 acres for 15 years.
Finally, the mission Nansen had a concession for 5,700 acres in the Saratov province. and in Ukraine[ 5 ].
Thus, by the beginning of 1927/28, there were about 140,000 acres of land under concessions. If we remember that the first concession plan provided for the concession of several million acres of land, we will see that the number of lands handed over in concession is very small.
The start of our agricultural concessions was unfavorable. It coincided with a period of crop failures that hit the economy of the concessions very painfully, which had not yet had time to look around and create the necessary prerequisites for work. With the exception of the Prikumsky concession, where 100% of the land is cultivated by tractors, mechanization is moving slowly in other concessions. So, for example, " Druzag " cultivated 90% of the land with the help of hired peasant labor. In 1924, Krupp cultivated 41% of the arable land by the forces of the peasants, and in 1925 - 51%. This, of course, affects the nature of cultivation, significantly reducing the yield and profitability of the land.
With regard to the area under sowing and the development of the territory of the leased concessions, the picture is also not very favorable. In 1924/25, only 30,000 acres were sown out of the total area leased for concession. The main disease of most agricultural concessions is the insufficiency of invested capital, as a result of which the mechanization of farms has not been properly organized. As of July 1, 1927, about 4,500 thousand rubles were invested in these concessions, which gives Krupp and Druzag” 40.75 rubles. fixed and circulating capital per 1 tithe of convenient land, while in state farms 78.8 rubles fall per 1 tithe of convenient land. Unfavorable soil and climatic conditions interfere with work. It is natural, therefore, that most of the concessions do not differ much from neighboring peasant farms in terms of yield and quality of products. The exceptions are " Prikumsky partnership " and Nansen , which give high-grade seeds. On a local scale, the production of concession farms plays a minor role. Its cost in 1924/25 is expressed in the amount of 1,400 thousand rubles. In total, 693,000 poods of grain products and 850,000 poods of hay were produced.
The number of workers on agricultural concessions is insignificant: on October 1, 1927, there were 572 workers and 103 employees, including 43 foreigners.
As of October 1, 1927, the state received a total of 300 thousand rubles in the form of share deductions, taxes and fees for 4 concessions (“Druzag” was exempted from them until 1927, and Nansen completely).
Of the 7 concessions that were in effect in 1925/26, 5 were built on capitalist principles, while the concessions of the “ Prikumsky partnership ” and Nansen pursue agricultural goals. Both of these concessions came to the aid of the poorest peasantry with tractors, threshers, seeds, laborers and cattle. Over the past 2 years, various organizations, collectives and individual peasants have received a concession to them. Nansen released about 40 thousand pounds of high-grade seeds.
Since, due to soil conditions, not the entire area of the Krupp concession turned out to be suitable for grain farming, in August 1927 a new agreement was concluded with the concessionaire, according to which the main branch of the concession economy (for 18,000 dess.) will be sheep breeding. Only 5,000 acres are allotted for grain farming. By 1935, the concessionaire undertook to increase the herd of sheep to 35,000 heads.
The share of agricultural concessions in our agriculture is, of course, negligible. The convenient area of land under concessions occupies 0.037% of the entire convenient area of the RSFSR. If we compare them with agricultural trusts, then two, for example, concessions - "Krupp" and "Druzag" - together in their production in 1925 amounted to 11.07% of the production of Sevkavseltrest.
Despite the comparatively small results of the activities of agricultural concessions so far, it must nevertheless be noted that they have all the possibilities for setting up mechanized farms, which will become islands of cultural influence on the peasant economy. The process of this mode of management is proceeding in a sure, albeit slow, way, and this gives grounds for assuming that in the near future agricultural concessions will carry out the great cultural tasks that confront them.
Industries.
On November 1, 1927, there were two fur-hunting concessions - the Aalesund Union of seal breeders and the Norwegian joint-stock company for the fight of whales " Vega " - and one fishing industry: " The Economic Union of German Fishermen ".
In 1926, the Aalesund Union of seal breeders killed 250,000 seals, while Vega killed 286 whales. In 1925, about 75,000 rubles were deducted from these concessions to the income of the USSR.
From an economic point of view, these concessions are of little interest to us.
Mining and mining industry.
As of November 1, 1927, there were 19 active mining concessions, of which 5 were in the gold industry, 4 in the silver-lead industry, 1 - aluminum exploration, 2 - oil exploration and production, 3 - coal exploration and production, 1 - manganese mining, 1 - asbestos mining and 2 technical assistance contracts.
The concession agreements provide for the investment of capital for the implementation of the minimum construction and production program established by the agreements under these concessions, about 50 million rubles.
Gold industry.
The largest gold mining concession is Lena Goldfields” (England). This concession, in terms of the scale of its work and capital investments, is the largest foreign concession in the USSR. The territory of the concession consists of three groups of mining allotments: in the Lensko-Vitimsky region - gold mining, in the Zyryansky-Zmeinogorsky region (in Altai) the development of copper-zinc-lead ores and in the Isertsko-Revdinsky region (in the Urals) - the development of copper, iron and other ores of the region. To supply fuel to its Altai and Ural enterprises, the concessionaire received areas of coal deposits in the Kuznetsk basin and in the Yegorshinsky region in the Urals. Along with the right to extract and process ores, the concessionaire has been granted the right to develop forest resources and use the water energy of the rivers flowing in the concession areas.
The term of the concession is 30 years. The concessionaire undertook to invest in the gold mining business, and in particular in its mechanization, 10 million rubles. The minimum production program for gold mining was set at 400 poods annually, and the concessionaire undertook to introduce a 17-foot dredge into the USSR for work on the concession no later than 1929. To execute the program under the entire contract, the concessionaire must invest 25 million rubles in the concession. In the very first year of his work, he exceeded the production program for gold adopted by the contract, extracting 499 poods of gold. Already in 1926, that is, 3 years before the deadline, he imported a dredge, which is the largest in the world.
If we remember that Lena Goldfields is in the hands of the largest gold mining enterprise in the USSR, then it will not surprise us that in the field of gold mining it currently covers about 30% of all its production in the USSR, which is now estimated at 1,800 pounds.
As of January 1, 1927, about 13 million rubles were invested by Lena Goldfield in the concession enterprise. In payments to the government in the form of shared contributions, 1.5 million rubles were received. (it deducts in different areas from 5 to 7% of the extracted products[ 6 ]). About 12,000 workers are employed at its enterprises (only about a dozen of them are foreigners).
“The economic significance of this concession is determined by a significant investment in the fixed capital of the industry of the USSR, an increase in the amount of precious metals produced in the country, a corresponding improvement in our balance of trade and a favorable effect on our monetary policy, an increase in the amount of wages remaining in the hands of the workers, and a favorable influence, which this enterprise will provide to the general turnover ... "[ 7 ].
Other gold mining concessions are, of course, much less important.
The concession of Iotar Tanaka (Japan) (concluded in 1925) is aimed at extracting gold at the Lida mine in the Kamchatka province. The production program for 1925/26 was set at 60 kg of schlich gold, in subsequent years it is set by the government depending on the wealth of the mine. The term of the concession is 10 years. On October 1, 1926, the concessionaire imported equipment worth 25,000 rubles.
The Vint concession (USA) operates along the Semertak River system in the Amur Region for 2 versts. The concessionaire is obliged by exploration to fully determine the gold reserves in the concession territory and to extract annually about 50 kg of slip gold by dredging. As of October 1, 1926, 400,000 rubles were invested by the concessionaire in the enterprise. For 3 years, 147 kg of gold was mined.
The “ Holter and Borgen ” concession aims to produce gold prospecting in the Bureinsky mining district. The completion date for exploration work is October 1929. If gold is found by this time, it has the right to develop it for 24 years.
The concession " Shova-Kinko Kabushiki Kaisha " began to work in the Okhotsk region in the autumn of 1927. It should produce at least 160 kg of gold per year. Its validity period is 22 years.
The role of these concessions in the gold industry of the USSR, of course, is negligible, but since they operate in very remote and little explored taiga regions and, moreover, are mined mechanically, their existence must be recognized as useful.
Ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
In the development of this group of metals, as well as in the gold industry, the largest place belongs to “ Lena Goldfields ”. It must extract and process in Altai 180,000 pounds of lead and 920,000 pounds of copper a year, spending 5.5 million rubles on mines and copper smelters. At present, it is only beginning to fulfill its obligations under this part of the contract, assuming in 1928 to start building a large Degtyarinsky copper smelter. From the Revdinsko-Isertsky deposit in the Urals, the concessionaire mined and processed into pig iron and iron in 1926 58,000 tons of metal.
The next concession in this group is the Amur Mining and Industrial Syndicate (England). the contract with which was concluded in July 1925 for 36 years. Object, concessions - exploration and development, silver-iron-lead ores in the Amur province. The concessionaire was provided with 26 silver-lead-zinc branches (about 1,600 acres) and 16 iron-ore ones (about 1,200 acres). This concession provides for capital construction in the amount of about 15 million rubles. The concessionaire is obliged to spend at least 400,000 rubles on preparatory and exploration work. during the first three years of the concession. So far, operational work on the concession has not yet begun.
Concession “ T etyuhe Mining Corporation” (England), concluded in 1924 for 35 years, is engaged in prospecting, exploration and development of silver-lead-zinc and other ores in the Primorsky province (30 miles from the Pacific Ocean). She was given 15 allotments, with a total area of about 1,400 acres. For exploration and drilling during the first 5 years, the concessionaire must spend at least 20,000 pounds. sterling. He is to set up a concentrating plant and a lead-smelting, silver-recovering plant with a capacity of 3,000 tons of metallic lead and 6,000 tons of silver per year. "Tetyukhe" worked at the site of the current concession before the war. In 1926, she restored the enterprises dilapidated during the war and the revolution, reequipped the processing plant, conducted exploration and preparatory work for the operation of the enterprise. By early 1927 the concessionaire completed the equipment of the first flotation factory in the USSR on the scale stipulated by the concession agreement. The processing plant produced 4,560 tons of zinc concentrates and 295 tons of lead. As a result of exploration work, the concession produced 477,000 tons of ore.
The concessionaire has already invested 1.5 million rubles in the enterprise; About 800 workers and employees work at the enterprise (of which 240 are foreigners).
The value of the three concessions discussed above in the field of mining and processing of non-ferrous metals in the USSR as a result of their development will be quite large. In 1926/27, state enterprises will satisfy 17.8% of the country's need for lead, the concessionaires will not provide lead this year, but in 1930/31, when state enterprises cover 31.3% of the country's need for lead, the concessionaires will cover 13 .3% of this need. For zinc in 1926/27, the state will cover 25.3% of the needs of the Union, while the concessionaires will not provide zinc; but in 1930/31, when the state has satisfied 39.1% of the country's zinc needs, the concessionaires will cover 33.7% of this need. As for copper, in 1926/27 the smelting of state enterprises will cover 61.8% of the country's demand for copper, and the smelting of concessionaires - 4.7%.
In 1930/31, when the country's internal demand is fully satisfied, the state provides 111.7% of the country's demand for copper, while the concessionaire - 16%. If we add to this that with the government spending 68 million rubles on non-ferrous metallurgy in the five years. concessionaires "Lena" and "Tetyukhe" will spend 20 million rubles, then there will be nothing surprising in the fact that by 1930/31 the share of concession enterprises in all production of the USSR will be 45% for lead (11,300 tons out of 24,780 tons) , for zinc - 26% (10.000 tons per 38.950 tons) and for copper 19% (15.400 tons out of 80.460 tons). And at the same time, only copper will be fully covered, even with a surplus, the need of the Union. It is therefore natural that the work of concession enterprises in this sector of our national economy is of great interest to us, because it improves our balance of accounts by reducing imports of non-ferrous metals,
Manganese.
Harriman 's manganese concession is the second largest and most important foreign concession in the USSR and the largest American concession in our country.
Under a concession agreement revised in 1927, Harriman was granted the right to explore, mine and export ferro-manganese and peroxide in the Chiatura region (Caucasus) for 20 years. The concessionaire exports the mined ore abroad without paying duties, licenses and other export fees. He has the right to use the water and water energy of the rivers and can build hydro-electric power stations. To serve the enterprise, the concessionaire is allowed to build and equip access roads, as well as build telephone and telegraph lines. During the entire term of the concession, he can import from abroad all the items and machines necessary for the development, equipment and operation of the enterprise. The concessionaire for the rights and privileges granted to him must pay to the government per ton payments from each ton of washed ore he exports. In addition, he pays an annual fee per hectare for each hectare of the allotment area throughout the entire concession territory, within which he is granted the right to mine ore, and for plots of the land surface provided for factories, yards, warehouses, etc. During the concession period, the concessionaire is obliged take out at least 18 million tons of washed manganese and peroxide ore. After 3½ years, industrial and processing plants must be built, equipped or re-equipped with all the latest technical improvements. The total investment of the concessionaire to fulfill all obligations under the contract is 12 million rubles. provided for factories, yards, warehouses, etc. During the concession period, the concessionaire is obliged to export at least 18 million tons of washed manganese and peroxide ore. After 3½ years, industrial and processing plants must be built, equipped or re-equipped with all the latest technical improvements. The total investment of the concessionaire to fulfill all obligations under the contract is 12 million rubles. provided for factories, yards, warehouses, etc. During the concession period, the concessionaire is obliged to export at least 18 million tons of washed manganese and peroxide ore. After 3½ years, industrial and processing plants must be built, equipped or re-equipped with all the latest technical improvements. The total investment of the concessionaire to fulfill all obligations under the contract is 12 million rubles.
During the first year of its work, the concessionaire invested 2,700 thousand rubles in the enterprise. and took abroad 763 thousand manganese in the amount of 6 million rubles.
During the same time, he made an advance payment to the government to ensure the correct fulfillment of the contract and to pay off payments for operations in the first year of work 4.200 thousand rubles. The concessionaire conducted exploratory railway work, but did not start building the road, but raised the issue of easing obligations under the contract, considering them too heavy. In this regard, he reduced the number of workers at the enterprise (January 1, 1926, there were 3,000 people, October 1, 1926 about 2,500 people) and reduced the extraction of ore - in March 1926 he mined 90 thousand tons, in October - about 20 thousand tons.
The Chiatura concession is of world importance. Before the war, Chiatura produced ¾ of the world's manganese production, but now they provide about 25% of this production. In 1925/26, 47% of the total production of manganese in the USSR was mined in Chiatura, in 1926/27, 34.7%, while in exports from the USSR, Chiatura accounted for 75%.
No less great is the political significance of this concession. It must show American capital that there is every opportunity to work in the USSR, that the capital invested in our economy will pay off a hundredfold.
Aluminum.
Aluminum is of great importance in the national economy of our country. Questions of defense and the development of aviation are closely connected with the development of our aluminum industry. Until now, all the aluminum we consume is imported from abroad. Naturally, for this reason, the work of the American Aluminum Company , which searches for and explores bauxites throughout the USSR, is of great interest to us . The exploration contract ends on November 1, 1927. At the end of the exploration period, a concession contract for the production of aluminum and the construction of a hydroelectric station must be concluded. The concessionaire spent 100 thousand rubles in the first year of exploration.
Coal and oil.
As of November 1, 1927, we had 2 oil and 3 coal concessions. Of these concessions - 1 in the Caucasus and 4 on the island of Sakhalin.
The concession of the Italo-Belgian Society in the Shirak steppe in Georgia is aimed at the exploration and extraction of oil, gas, kir and ozocerite. In the summer of 1926, the concessionaire brought in equipment worth 1.5 million Belgian francs.
So far, they have been paid 7,500 rubles for the use of the exploration area. Although this concession has not yet launched its work, it is of great interest to us, because it works in little explored, but obviously rich places, and with the establishment of oil production, it can become a major factor in the national economy of Georgia.
The next 4 concessions - 1 oil and 3 coal - were concluded by us with the Japanese. These concessions have just begun their work, and the result of their activities has not yet been determined. However, it can be said in advance that these concessions will play a large role in the economy of Sakhalin, since the Japanese receive half of the explored oil sources and coal developments, and, moreover, we are just starting to exploit our sites.
Asbestos.
The asbestos concession of the American United Company in the Urals is one of our first concessions (concluded in 1921). In the first five years, the concessionaire had to extract 200,000 poods of asbestos, 10% of which he had to hand over to the government in the form of share deductions. By October 1, 1926, the concessionaire extracted only 50,000 pounds, having invested about 360 thousand rubles in the enterprise. Giving in comparison with the trust “ Uralasbest ” only about 7% of the production of the latter, this concession, of course, plays an insignificant role in our asbestos economy[ 8 ].
Concessions in the manufacturing industry.
25 manufacturing concessions in effect on November 1, 1927[ 9 ] consist of a number of relatively small enterprises, specialized in items produced in our country in insufficient quantities, or not produced at all. By granting this kind of concession, we free our trade balance from the importation of a whole range of foreign products.
These concessions are distributed as follows: 7 metalworking (produces ball bearings, kerosene lanterns and burners, lead and zinc products, fire extinguishers, dishes), 1 electrical industry, 1 food flavoring (hops processing), 1 printing (produces pencils, pens, pens), 5 haberdashery (produce buttons, combs, hooks, etc.), 1 woodworking (shoe lasts), 1 paper processing (typewriter ribbons and carbon paper), 5 chemical (production of hygienic and cosmetic products, paintwork, ammonia, compressed gases , film films) and 3 textile (felt and knitted fabrics and products).
Freeing up our currency for other needs, these enterprises, moreover, by their existence help us in the fight against smuggling and, above all, make it possible to invest state funds in branches of the economy more essential for socialist construction.
For the most part, these concessions are grouped in Moscow (16) and Leningrad (6). 10 of them are still under organization.
Operating in the period up to July 1, 1927, concessions in the manufacturing industry invested in enterprises 19.700 thousand rubles. 10 organized concessions should invest about 4.500 thousand rubles. (except ASEA). On October 1, 1927, the number of workers and employees at operating enterprises was 2,260 people. The gross value of the products sold by these enterprises is approx. 23 million rubles 90% of this production came into the hands of state and cooperative organizations.
Like concessions in other sectors of the national economy, concessions in the manufacturing industry pay share contributions, undertake to equip enterprises with the latest technology, undertake to fulfill a certain production program, etc.
The following concessions play a more or less prominent role in the respective manufacturing industries.
Joint Stock Company of Ball Bearing Plants - SKF (Sweden) is a monopoly manufacturer of ball and roller bearings in the USSR. Under the concession agreement, SCF satisfies the market demand not only by manufacturing within the USSR, but also by importing its products from abroad. In 1925, the concessionaire satisfied 18.5% of the demand with domestic production, in 1926 - 26.5%, in 1927 he had to satisfy 35% of the Union's need for ball bearings. In terms of quality, SCF products in the USSR are not inferior to English ball bearings.
Stock - produces shoe fittings, which, before the concessionaire's products appeared on the market, were imported annually from abroad in the amount of at least 500 thousand rubles. The work of the concession sharply reduced the market prices for shoe fittings (by 300%) and eliminated the commodity shortage observed here before. Naturally, the concessionaire in this area of work receives very solid profits.
The Hammer concession , which manufactures pencils and nibs, accounts for 35% of this kind of product entering the market. Technically, the factory is very well equipped and will not yield to similar factories abroad. The quality of its products is also not lower than the quality of products of good foreign firms.
The Raabe concession manufactures nails and shoe lasts. It provides 29% of shoe nails produced in the USSR and 4.2% of lasts. The profits of this enterprise are also very significant. With a capital invested as of January 1, 1926 of 320 thousand rubles. the concessionaire received in 1925 137 thousand rubles. arrived.
Of the other concessions in the manufacturing industry, it should be noted: Zhest-Vesten , a mixed company, organized an enterprise in Rostov-on-Don with the goal of producing annually 450 thousand pounds of iron-enamelled dishes and 50 thousand pounds of steel-polished dishes; Yan Serkovsky - production of kerosene burners, lamps and lanterns (with the USSR’s planned need for burners of 30 million in the coming years, Soviet enterprises will cover only 15 million - naturally, the role of the concessionaire, who has already invested 600 thousand rubles in the enterprise, is here will be very noticeable) Berger and Wirth - paint and varnish production; " Leo " - production of hygienic and cosmetic products (Chlorodont paste), etc.
Of great importance in our electrical industry will be the concession agreement concluded in May 1927 with the General Swedish Electrical Joint Stock Company (ASEA).
Under this concession agreement, the government granted ACEA the right to build, equip and operate an electromechanical plant in Yaroslavl for the production of AC electrical machines with a capacity of ¼ to 700 horsepower.
The term of the contract is set at 35 years.
The concessionaire undertook to begin within three months the completion and equipment of the electromechanical plant, so that in 1929/30 the production capacity of the plant would make it possible to produce 2,000 tons, and in 1931/32, 4,000 tons per year of the plant's products.
The concessionaire has been granted the right to import raw materials and materials necessary for production from abroad. However, this right can only be exercised by the concessionaire if the concessionaire's needs for such raw materials cannot be satisfied within the USSR.
The concession agreement further provides for certain imports of items of the electrical industry and their sale by the concessionaire within the USSR. However, this right of sale is limited by state and cooperative organizations, as well as joint-stock companies in which state capital participates. The concessionaire does not have the right to transfer the amounts obtained in this way abroad, but invests them in the concession enterprise.
Upon the expiration of the term of the concession agreement, the entire concession enterprise in good working order and in accordance with the production capacity achieved in the last two years, free of charge and free of debt, passes to the government, which pays the concessionaire only the outstanding part of the costs incurred by the concessionaire during the last five years, in order to , however, that these costs were incurred by agreement with the government.
In terms of the scale of the proposed capital investment, ACEA will be the largest concession we have in operation in the manufacturing industry.
As of October 1, 1926, all the concessions in the manufacturing industry that had been in force until that time contributed to the treasury income of share deductions, taxes, rent, etc., about 2,700,000 rubles. Thus, these concessions not only filled the gaps in the market for mass consumption, but also gave the state, at no cost to it, a relatively large income.
Transport and communication.
Concessions in this area are reduced almost exclusively to granting the right to foreign enterprises to operate air and sea routes of communication and telegraph lines.
The mixed society " Deruluft " maintains regular communication between Moscow and Berlin and is of more political than economic importance, because it does not generate income, but also receives subsidies from the state.
Two telegraph concessions - the English " Indo-European Telegraph Society " and the Danish " Great Northern Telegraph Society " - are concessions of international importance.
The Indo line goes from England through Germany and Poland, passes the USSR through Odessa, Crimea and Tiflis, and follows from Julfa to Persia to Tehran.
The BSTO concession links Western Europe with China. This is the first concession concluded by the Soviet government. Its line goes through Leningrad to Irkutsk, where it branches into three lines: Irkutsk - Harbin - Beijing, Irkutsk - Ulaanbaatar - Beijing and Irkutsk - Vladivostok - Nagasaki - Shanghai. Thanks to this line, Europe and the Far East are connected by a harmonious and fast-acting system, which gives us a significant foreign exchange income.
In 1925, 14,000 telegrams passed through the BSTO, 4,000 telegrams through the Indo.
During its activity, the BSTO contributed about 8,500,000 rubles to the income of the USSR, about 200,000 rubles to the Indo.
Building concessions.
As of July 1, 1927, we actually had 1 construction concession: " Russgerstroy " - a mixed joint-stock company whose task is to carry out construction work on the construction of workers' dwellings. Russgerstroy was approved in October 1926 and has just started work. They are scheduled to work in Moscow, Donbass and Rostov-on-Don with an estimated estimate for the first year of 12 million rubles. From our side, this society includes Tsentrozhilsoyuz.
Technical assistance.
A special position in our country is occupied by the form of work of a foreign entrepreneur, which also receives its registration in a concession order, the so-called technical assistance.. As of November 1, 1927, we had 23 agreements on technical assistance in force. The purpose of such contracts is to assist the relevant state enterprise in setting up or improving the production of certain items. A foreign firm usually provides us with drawings, patents, descriptions, familiarizes us with instructions and methods of work, allows the technical forces of our trust to study production at its factories, sends its engineers and technicians to the enterprises of the trust to direct production according to its own methods. Technical assistance contracts are usually built on the basis of mutual assistance, that is, the trust, for its part, undertakes to keep the company providing technical assistance informed of its inventions, improvements, etc. The principle of payment for services is different: either the amount is fixed,
Of the 23 technical assistance agreements, 11 were concluded with metal industry trusts, 4 with trusts in the electrical industry, 2 in the coal industry, and 6 in the chemical industry.
The following technical assistance agreements are in force in the metal industry .
Agreement with the firm " Metropolitan-Vickers " on the subject of rendering technical assistance to "Lenmashtrest" in the production of turbines according to the methods of " Vickers ". The latter undertook to transfer to the trust all the inventions and patents of the company, drawings, technical calculations, constructive and laboratory information related to turbine construction, which it needed in its work, to allow the trust engineers to enter its factories and to inform them of all information of a secret nature. For this technical assistance, the trust pays " Vickers " a certain amount over a period of 10 years. Since the treaty came into force relatively recently, there is still no information about the results of its implementation.
Of great interest to us is the contract "Orgametal" with " Faudewag " concluded in May 1926 for 3 years. Under this agreement, Faudewag provides us with technical assistance in the development of projects for new and refurbishment of old plants. "Orgamel" has already received a project for a bolt factory for YuMT, projects have been developed for equipping a bicycle factory and re-equipping a sewing machine factory in Podolsk with a capacity of 600,000 machines per year.
Then there are two agreements on diesel building: the company " Man " with the trust "Gomza" and the company " Zulzer " with "Mashinostroy". The first contract was concluded in March 1925 for 10 years, the second - in April 1926 for the same period. "Gomza" has already received a number of drawings and materials and has produced several dozen engines of the " Man " system. Since the types of engines of the “ Man ” system are highly improved compared to the types of engines that Gomza produces, the latter completely switches over in its production to the types “ Man ”.". The agreement with the Man firm completely transformed the production of engines at the Kolomna and Sormovo plants. Thanks to him, we began to produce engines that had not been manufactured in our country before. The same that we produced before is produced with a more modern design, stronger and cheaper than before, by 20-25%. The Mashinostroy agreement with the Sulzer firm has only recently begun to be put into practice.
The Deutz firm provides technical assistance to Mosmashtrest in the production of oil engines under an agreement concluded in October 1926. Since the agreement has recently entered into force, its result is still unknown.
The next agreement in the metal industry is an agreement between Gomza and Tegel Borsig for technical assistance in the manufacture of refrigeration machines, concluded in March 1926 for 6 years. Under this agreement, installations for 700 thousand calories have already been made; the shop of refrigeration units at the Bryansk plant was equipped and expanded. "Gomza" should receive from the company in the near future drawings of refrigeration devices for Tashkent and Yalta.
For technical assistance to "Mosmashtrest" in the production of refrigeration units, an agreement was concluded with the firm " Man Riedinger ". Currently, the production of refrigeration units at Mosmashtrest plants is based on outdated technical data, as a result of which the cost of one calorie is about 60 kopecks. Technical assistance of the well-known German company “ Man Riedinger ” in this industry” will reduce the cost of one calorie to 30 kopecks. If we take into account that the production program of Mosmashtrest provides for the construction of refrigeration equipment at an average of 4 million calories per year in the coming years, then the savings as a result of the use of technical assistance will be about 400,000 rubles a year, and during the term of the contract - about 2.800.000 rub. During the entire contract, Mosmashtrest will have to pay Man Riedinger about 3% of the cost of equipment produced during the same time, while maintaining its own technical bureau would cost the trust at least 5% of the cost of equipment.
This is followed by an agreement with the company " Keber " - for technical assistance to "Melstroy" and "Maslozhirsindikat" for the production and installation of equipment for the extraction and refining of vegetable and animal oils and fats. In the USSR there is not a single machine-building plant that would be engaged in this production. Meanwhile, it is very important for our oil industry. Therefore, technical assistance in this production is of great interest to this industry. The agreement contains conditions similar to those of other technical assistance agreements. It was concluded in March 1927 for 6 years.
With the technical assistance of the Austrian company " Fritz Neumeier ", Leningradmashtrest established a new production of large water turbines and received a wealth of design and calculation material. Thanks to this agreement, the trust produced a number of hydraulic turbines (up to 40), which are already operating at the stations of Zemoavchalskaya, Batumskaya, Erivanskaya, Tashkentskaya and others.
Unfortunately, due to the self-liquidation of the company, this agreement, which brought excellent results, ceases to be valid.
In the coming years, a significant proportion of the funds allocated for new metal works will go to the metallurgical industry. Therefore, the Supreme Council of National Economy considered it necessary, first of all, to use foreign technical assistance in new construction in this particular sector. The choice was made on the American firm Frain , because at the present time metallurgy has been placed at the highest technical level in America.
Frain 's firm has produced in America in recent years a number of large metallurgical installations, which have produced a great technical and economic effect in their work.
She will be involved in the discussion of the objects of our next major construction in the field of metallurgy. In practical work with Frein, we send some of our engineers to America to get acquainted on the spot with the construction and operation of the largest metallurgical enterprises. With this arrangement - using foreign advice from the best firm and checking the technical achievements of foreign countries on the spot by our engineers - our construction of metal plants will go even better than in Western Europe.
The last contract in the metal industry was concluded at the end of 1927 with a large foreign firm for technical assistance in the production of powerful aircraft engines.
The next group of contracts are contracts in the electrical industry .
The General Electricity Company (AEG) provides technical assistance to the State Electrical Engineering Trust in the production of high current appliances and machines. The trust received drawings, photographs, descriptions of structures and electrical products. With the assistance of AEG, the production of large turbogenerators, which are now manufactured with a capacity of up to 22,000 kilowatts in a separate unit, has been set up by the GET, mass production of normal machines has been set up by a conveyor method. Mass production of tram engines, various electrical equipment and installation materials is also organized according to the instructions of the AEG. The contract is concluded for 5 years.
The General Wireless Telegraph Company provides technical assistance to the State Electrotechnical Trust of Low Current Plants. The agreement was of great benefit to the trust in setting up radio production, especially in the first period of its development. The trust received up to 58,000 drawings, which made it possible to significantly reduce the price of radio products. In the part where the trust cannot yet rely on its achievements and technical strengths, in the remaining year of the contract (its term is 1923-1928) it has the full opportunity to use the latest successes of the French in radio engineering.
The well- known Swedish company Ericsson , which supplied all of Russia with its telephones before the war, is providing technical assistance to the same trust in the field of automatic telephone installations. Thanks to this assistance, automatic telephone exchanges will be built in Moscow, Kharkov, Kyiv, Rostov and Petrozavodsk in the near future. The contract was concluded in October 1925 for 6 years.
In July 1927, an agreement was approved between the People's Commissariat for Postal Service and the Telefunken firm for technical assistance in the transmission of images by radio and the production of radio devices. " Telefunken " by December 1, 1927 should establish an experimental transmission of images by radio along the Berlin-Moscow line, " Telefunken " is a world company. Her help to us should be of great importance for the development of our radio engineering.
Of great importance for our chemical industry is the technical assistance agreement with the German Paint Industry Joint-Stock Company, which is undoubtedly one of the most interesting concession agreements for us . His technical assistance extends to a number of items in the anil-color industry, the basic chemical industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. “ IG ” assumed responsibility for the flawless construction and equipment of chemical plants, which will use his technical assistance in production . Representatives of the Supreme Council of National Economy can get acquainted with the production at the best factories of " IG ".
The Swedish firm " Vikander " provides technical assistance to the trust "Centroprobizol" in the production of expansite (insulating material). Since the methods of production of expansite used by the trust are far from corresponding to modern technological achievements, and the need for expansite is higher than our production is able to give, the trust was forced in May 1927 to turn to foreign technical assistance. The contract is concluded for 5 years, after which the trust retains the right to use all inventions, information and data obtained during the term of the contract without compensation.
The French company " Brezha " provides technical assistance to the military-chemical trust in the recovery of alcohol and ether vapors. The recovery method used by this company is one of the best in the world and provides up to 98% recovery, requiring simple and inexpensive equipment. The contract was concluded in May 1927 for 5 years.
Prodasilicate's contract with Owens Bottle-Corporation for the production of Graham's glass machines has not yet yielded great results.
The agreement between Sevkhimtrest and the " Casale Amonia Society " on technical assistance in the production of synthetic ammonia gave us the best of the currently existing methods for obtaining synthetic ammonia - still unknown in the USSR. The technical assistance of the " Stockholm Superphosphate Plant " and the same trust turned out to be very valuable in the construction of the carbide and cyanamide plants.
Two of the current technical assistance agreements relate to the mining industry. These are the contracts of the Thyssen and Stuart, James and Cook firms with Donugl. An agreement with Thyssen - for the production of contract work for the sinking of mines. This agreement has only just begun to be implemented, but since the Thyssen firm has achieved great improvements in this area, this agreement will certainly be of great help in the construction of new mines in the Donbass.
" Stuart, James and Cook " should acquaint Donugol with American experience, the application of which will significantly reduce Donugol's costs.
The overall assessment of technical assistance contracts should be positive. For relatively small sums paid to foreign firms, we get acquainted with the latest achievements of technology, and in those sectors where production has already been established, where we have invested sufficient funds for its development, foreign technical assistance no less than concessions contributes to the industrialization of our country. . And of course, if we had sufficient capital for industrialization, we would prefer this type of work for foreign firms to concessions, which, after all, are a capitalist growth on the body of our socialist economy.
Liquidated concessions.
During our concession practice (1922-1927), 50 concession agreements with foreign entrepreneurs ceased to be valid. In addition, by November 1, 1927, 3 treaties were on the way to liquidation.
Of the 50 liquidated contracts, 9 ceased to exist due to the expiration of the terms for which they were concluded, while the remaining 41 - either due to the financial weakness of the concessionaires and therefore failure to fulfill their obligations, or due to miscalculations of the concessionaires in the value and profitability of concession objects. This also includes contracts that have lost their concession character.
The largest number of contracts terminated before the deadline falls on Germany - 12 contracts, England - 8 contracts, United States - 6 contracts.
Such a large number of concessionaires, who were unable to fulfill their obligations, is due mainly to the lack of solidity of the firms that came to work with us in the first years of our concession policy. In the absence of reserve capital, and often the necessary initial capital, any change in the market naturally puts the concessionaire in a difficult position.
Among the early terminated concessions - 8 concluded in 1922, 15 concluded in 1923, 13 - in 1924, 3 - in 1925 and 2 - in 1926.
Among the liquidated concessions, 19 falls on trade and financing contracts, 4 - on transport, 4 - on agricultural, 3 - on crafts, 9 - on mining, 8 - on manufacturing, 1 - on timber, 2 - on other sectors of the economy .
General economic results.
Summing up the results of the activities of concession enterprises in the USSR, we must state that, despite the relatively short period of their work, concessions justify their existence - on the whole they unconditionally contribute to the development of the productive forces of the Soviet Union.
1. The existing concessions have attracted from abroad the capital that our economy badly needs. So: mining concessions involve investing 50 million rubles in our economy, processing concessions should invest at least 32 million rubles, other types of concessions will invest at least 10 million rubles, that is, our existing concession agreements will give the national economy of the Union fresh capital from outside over 90 million rubles. Of this amount, by July 1927 more than 50% had already been invested - about 58 million rubles.[ 10 ].
Of these, 19.7 million rubles were invested in the manufacturing industry, and 15 million rubles in the forestry industry. and in the mountain - 18.3 million rubles. Simultaneously with their own investments, concessionaires attract foreign loans to their enterprises. In 1923/24, such loans were received in the amount of about 23 million rubles, in 1924/25 - about 28 million rubles. and in 1925/26 - 32 million rubles.
2. Concessions gave a solid income to the state treasury in the form of share deductions from the turnover of enterprises, in the form of taxes, rents, duties, fees, etc. In 1923/24, the state's income from concessions amounted to about 14 million rubles, in 1924/25 - about 14 million rubles. and in 1925/26 - about 26 million rubles. During the entire period of our concession policy from 1922 to 1926, the largest income was generated by: forest concessions - about 16 million rubles, then trade - about 11 million rubles, telegraph - 8.6 million rubles, mining - 6 million rubles, manufacturing industry - 3 million rubles.
3. The creation of new enterprises entailed an increase in the number of goods thrown onto the market. The turnover of concession enterprises reaches tens of millions of rubles. The value of the gross output of concession enterprises in 1924/25 was equal to 19 million rubles, in 1925/26 - 49 million rubles, according to the plan for 1926/27 it was planned in the amount of 70 million rubles. In the general system of our national economy, these are, of course, insignificant figures.[ 11 ], but in some sectors of this economy, the products of concession enterprises are quite noticeable. " Lena Goldfields " provides 30% of the total gold production of the USSR, Harrimangives 35% of all manganese mined in the Union. Now concessions are only being developed in the production of non-ferrous metals, but by the end of the five-year period they will provide 45% of all lead mined in our country, 26% of zinc and 19% of copper. In the field of timber exports, timber concessions give 10-12%, the turnover of trade concessions is 3% of our total foreign trade turnover. The total output of concessions in the manufacturing industry is negligible - 26 million rubles, but the role of their products in the market for mass consumption is undoubtedly noticeable. Thanks to the work of these enterprises, we already now refuse to import from abroad a number of items produced by them; along with this, we are also reducing their smuggling flow, which on average annually reaches the amount of 45-50 million rubles, of which, in recent years, almost half fell on haberdashery, manufactory and leather goods.
The further development of concession enterprises that manufacture these items will not only rule out their legal importation, but will also hurt smuggling.
4. Existing concession enterprises contribute to the reduction of unemployment. As of October 1, 1927, about 25,000 workers and employees were employed at the concession enterprises, moreover, about 30,000 seasonal workers still worked annually at the forest concessions.
5. Export concessions improve our balance sheet. Thus, in 1924/25, the export of mining and timber concession enterprises attracted foreign currency to the USSR in the amount of 11 million rubles, in 1925/26 - 16 million rubles, in 1926/27 this amount will increase to 18 million rubles Trading companies, during their work, gave an active balance in the amount of 27.8 million rubles.
The foregoing is enough to assert that we should continue to follow the path of drawing foreign capital into those branches of the national economy that are in particular need of an influx of capital from outside. The intensification of our concession policy must be firmly in the field of vision of the leading bodies of the Soviet country.
Notes :
[ 1 ] See B. A. Landau , Concession Law of the USSR, ed. Law and Life, 1925, p. 43.
[ 2 ] B. A. Landau , Concession law in the USSR, p. 54
[ 3 ] Since we had in mind to give a more or less complete outline of the role of concessions in our national economy, we will have to dwell in the future both on the existing concessions, and partly on those that have already ceased to exist, but during the period of their activity something or invested in our national economy.
[ 4 ] Currently, the export of furs is entirely transferred to Gostorg.
[ 5 ] The concession is now, at the request of Nansen , liquidated.
[ 6 ] These figures also apply to the part of the concession that targets copper, lead, zinc and iron. See below for more on this.
[ 7 ] Yu. Pyatakov , Pravda, 1925
[ 8 ] This concession is on the way to liquidation.
[ 9 ] This figure does not include 21 technical assistance contracts.
[ 10 ] The largest amount of capital was invested in our concession by November 1927. Germany - about 21 million rubles, then England - about 16 million rubles, the United States - about 5 million rubles, Sweden - 2.5 million rubles, Norway - 1.5 million rubles. etc.
[ 11 ] Compared with the production of state industry, which in 1925/26 amounted to 8.5 billion rubles, the production of concession enterprises for the same year gives 0.52%, in 1926/27 with the production of state industry 9.7 billion rubles it is only 0.64%.