Torgsin
Torgsin (Russian: Торгсин) were state-run hard-currency stores that operated in the USSR between 1931 and 1936. Their name was an acronym of torgovlia s inostrantsami (Russian: торговля с иностранцами), "trade with foreigners." Unlike the later Beryozka stores, Torgsin stores were open to all Soviet citizens, provided they had access to hard currency, gold, or jewels. Initially, Torgsin stores were only accessible by foreigners.[1] Torgsin was established by the Sovnarkom chairman Vyacheslav Molotov's order of 5 July 1931 and disbanded on 1 February 1936.[2]
An advertisement for a Torgsin in Leningrad, 1933
Torgsin stores tended to carry a higher quality of foodstuffs and goods than other stores.[1]
See also
References
- Osokina, Elena Aleksandrovna (2021). Stalin's Quest for Gold: The Torgsin Hard-currency Shops and Soviet Industrialization. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-1-5017-5851-5.
- "Торгсин".
External links
- "Sklar's Stores," Time, November 9, 1931
- Short page on Torgsin stores from website devoted to Bulgakov's Master & Margarita
- Homepage of Elena Osokina of the University of South Carolina who is writing a book on Torgsins.
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