Urban consumer cooperation in Siberia at the beginning of 20th century: school of public activity

Urban consumer cooperation in Siberia at the beginning of 20 th century is considered in line with the concept of «civil society». The author reveals the process of development of public activity and the practice of democratic principles of self-management in the Siberian city and worker cooperatives. Because of its comprehensive (co-op) form a consumer cooperative is an economic fiction and merely reflects the aspirations of its members. This explains the fact that the cooperation manifests its public (non-trading) side, which in Russia received wide development. The formation of the social activity in the Siberian city consumer cooperatives is evident in the protocols and records of its General meetings, performances of cooperative workers in the press, the observations of the police. Self-regulation was undertaken on the basis of the rule of the General meeting, the collective leadership of elected bodies, equitable vote of the shareholders that legislate in the Normal Charter of consumer societies, approved by the Ministry of the interior in 1897. The development of cooperative democracy was marked by sharp disagreements, conflicts, the struggle of factions and personalities. At General meetings a partial resolution of the contradictions between the democratic norms of self-governance and control enshrined in the charters and their actual implementation has been occurred. Urban cooperatives encouraged large groups of citizens to public work, has shaped the culture of membership participation, created a real model of social self-government. In addition to commercial work cooperatives raised and dealt with complex social issues. These included: development of the complex problems of organizational and economic functioning of cooperative model; critical-oppositional attitude toward the existing social and political system and demanding democratic reforms; the equitable distribution of scarce resources; cultural work, charity. Participation in the solution of the urgent question of food together with the city authorities during the First World war gave the cooperative functions of local self-government. The connection in the practical work of consumer cooperatives and local government could be one of the main factors of formation of civil society at the regional level.