Classification of public organizations in the USSR in 1920-1930s (on materials of Central Black Earth region)

The article suggests different variants of classification of public organizations in the 1920-1930s, used by central and regional authorities and by scientists of various branches of science. The author proposes a new classification of public associations built on the principles of grouping social needs: the first group included those enterprises, which were engaged in problems of interaction between society and nature; the second - engaged in interactions of different parts of society (classes, various social groups, etc.); the third - related to problems of an individual. Public organizations of the first group explored the natural environment for the purpose of economic development; the environmental challenge of protecting nature at that time had not yet been delivered at the regional level. Public organizations of the second group were the most numerous in the region: children's and veterans' organizations, trade unions, associations of people connected with the machinery, recreational organizations and so on. The third group of NGOs was related to the solution of personal problems: life and death, health, personal physical and spiritual development. This proposed classification of public organizations of the 1920-1930s is universal and allows covering the full composition of the social associations of the region.