Interhelpo
The Interhelpo was an industrial cooperative of workers and farmers (Esperantists and Idists) between 1923 and 1943, established for the special purpose of helping to build up socialism in Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
It was founded in 1923 in Žilina, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia). Trains from railway stations in the cities of Žilina and Brno transported 1078 people (including mainly Czechs and Slovaks, but also Hungarians, Ruthenians and other nationalities, and including both direct members and their families) to Kyrgyzstan.
Its members made many products on the ‘green meadow’. The famous Slovak politician Alexander Dubček also participated in this cooperative in his youth.
The cooperative's most notable projects include:
- in 1925: an electric power station
- in 1927: a textile factory
- in 1928: a melting-house
- a furniture factory
- railroads, hospitals, main government building in the capital of Kyrgyzstan
In 1925, the Interhelpo was declared the best cooperative in the Soviet Union. At one point, it produced 20 percent of Kyrgyzstan's industrial products.[1]
In 1943, during the Second World War, the property of the Interhelpo cooperative was transferred into the hands of the state.
See also
External links
- Site dedicated to Interhelpo (in Russian)
References
- Canby, Peter (2018-08-26). "The Day the Soviets Arrived to Crush the Prague Spring, in Rarely Seen Photos". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-09-24.