Russian independent trade union publications collection, 1987-1999, 1987-1999

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Summary

Abstract:
The collection is comprised of serial issues, pamphlets, leaflets, and circulated documents issued by Russian independent trade unions, relating to the labor movement in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia.
Extent:
5 manuscript boxes (2.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
Russian
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Russian independent trade union publications collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection documents the role of the trade unions in the political life, the structure of Soviet and post-Soviet trade unions. It contains serial issues, pamphlets, leaflets, and circulated documents issued by Russian independent trade unions.

Documents of "official" or "traditional" trade unions affiliated with the FNPR; and alternative or free labor unions independent from the FNPR are included. There are publications and reports of the Independent Trade Union of Miners (NPG), which marked the beginning of the alternative labor movement in Russia in 1991.

The collection also contains publications of the All-Russian Confederation of Labor (VKT), the Russian Confederation of Labor (KTR), and the Trade Union Association of Russia (SOTSPROF).

Biographical / historical:

In the Soviet Union, labor unions were generally guided by Communist party policy, with the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (VTsSPS) in the forefront. Labor unions incorporated a majority of the labor force, as trade union membership was mandatory. The unions distributed and administered a wide range of social services to workers.

After the Perestroika in 1990, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) was established and became the post-Soviet successor of the VTsSPS, inheriting its resources as a monopolistic representative of workers' interests. At the same time, liberalization and economic reforms caused a tremendous wave of labor protest. Following the strike wave, the independence of the trade unions from the party was sealed in 1990 by the amendment of the Soviet constitution and the Soviet trade union law.

The mass protests that marked the end of the 1990s disappeared and since then social peace reigned, supported by economic growth and high world energy prices. The result was that most alternative unions either faded away or accommodated with management and shifted into a "traditional" company union. The Independent Miners' Union, which was the heart of the movement, disappeared. The trade unions of dockers and air traffic controllers, originally formed as independent professional unions from the traditional sector unions, struggled to survive. In some regions the regional administration used the trade unions as an instrument for monitoring local employers, just as the Communist Party did in the past, and the employer might approach the regional trade union organization with a request to establish a trade union branch in order to manage conflicts on the employers' behalf.

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 2009.
Arrangement:

The collection is organized alphabetically by publishing organization.

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Russian independent trade union publications collection, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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