Artels were organized groups of workers who shared tasks, tools, and earnings equally. They were common in pre-Soviet Russia among peasants, craftsmen, and laborers. Each member of an artel had shared responsibility for the group's work and debts.
The artels built the bridge together as a team.
Many artels formed in Russia during the 19th century.
In Imperial Russia, artels of craftsmen such as carpenters, stonemasons, and blacksmiths would travel together to find work. They operated as a single business unit, sharing tools and income among all members. This form of organization helped skilled workers compete for larger jobs.
Artels of carpenters built many houses in the village.
The artels accepted a contract to repair the church.
Rural artels were groups of peasant farmers who combined their land, animals, and labor to farm more efficiently. Members shared both the work and the profits from the harvest. These groups were an important social structure in Russian village life before the Soviet era.
The farming artels shared the harvest every autumn.
Artels of peasants worked the fields together each spring.
Fishing artels were cooperative groups formed by fishermen in Russia's coastal and river regions. Members shared expensive equipment like boats and nets, making it easier for poor fishermen to work. The catch was divided among all members based on their contribution.
The fishing artels caught a large amount of fish daily.
Artels along the river shared nets and boats equally.
During the early Soviet Union, artels were officially recognized as a transitional economic form allowed under the New Economic Policy (NEP). They were considered a step toward full socialist production without being entirely state-controlled. Many small manufacturers, tailors, and food producers operated as artels during this period.
Soviet artels produced goods for local communities and markets.
The government supported artels during the early Soviet years.
When English-language historians and scholars write about Russian history, they often use the term 'artels' directly without translating it, treating it as a specialized loanword. This is because no single English word captures the exact social and economic meaning of the Russian concept. It appears frequently in academic books and articles about pre-revolutionary and early Soviet Russia.
The scholar used the word artels in her history essay.
English texts about Russia often include the term artels.
Many Russian peasants would form or join artels to travel together in search of seasonal work, especially in construction, mining, and road building. Traveling in a group provided safety, shared living costs, and stronger bargaining power with employers. These migrant artels were a major feature of 19th-century Russian economic life.
Artels of workers traveled far to find construction jobs.
Migrant artels built roads and railways across Russia.
Social scientists and economists sometimes use 'artels' as a comparative concept to analyze similar collective labor institutions found in other cultures and time periods. The term helps researchers identify shared features of pre-industrial cooperative work across different societies. By referencing artels, scholars can discuss cross-cultural patterns of labor organization more precisely.
Researchers compare artels to similar groups in other countries.
Some African work groups function like historical artels.
