Social mobility of Russian bourgeoisie in the east of russia in 1918 – 1922

Abstract

The article deals with social mobility of Russian bourgeoisie in the east regions of Russia (the Urals, Siberia and the Far East) during the Civil war and at the beginning of NEP. Under anti bolshevik governments the big bourgeoisie tried to vindicate its priority right for business activity. During 1918–1922 the most significant direction of bourgeoisie’s social mobility was its transition to position of public servants and stimulated emigration. A number of small businessmen increased due to public servants, workers and peasants, who lost their stable income and had to speculate. They also formed the basis of Soviet nepmans. In early 1920s the nepmans’ influence on economy and their proportion in the sphere of pre-revolutionary merchants and manufacturers in the Far East was larger than in the Urals and Siberia.