The Consumers’ Society at the Rykovsky Mine was established in 1907. The number of members in 1919 was 122 people. Share capital: 1,387.25 rubles. Turnover in 1918: 1,224,679 rubles. Chairman: mining engineer G.I. Dobrovolsky; secretary: F.D. Sekistov; accountant: V.A. Mishin. There was a library. Among the board members was the priest Fr. Andrey Shevkolenko.
Later, the vouchers were used by the multi-shop workers’ cooperative “Kalmius” of the Mushketovsky District. Chairman of the board: Sotnikov; accountant: A. Shaboltasov. The cooperative’s turnover for 9 months of 1922 was 33,911 rubles (in 1922 currency notes).
On the reverse side there was an instruction for use, which, among other things, mentioned punishment for counterfeiting, and an oval seal: “Multi-shop workers’ cooperative ‘Kalmius’ of the Mushketovsky District.”
Mushketovsky Workers’ Cooperative. The workers’ cooperative served an area with two mine administrations (Chulkovskoye and Mushketovskoye), with a coverage radius of 15 versts and 8,721 workers as of the beginning of 1924. Of these, 4,563 people were cooperative shareholders; in April 1924—5,245 people. The share capital amounted to 21,792 rubles 74 kopecks (4 rubles 78 kopecks per shareholder). A board of four people. An audit commission of three people. Employees in the workers’ cooperative: 132 people. The cooperative had a central warehouse, 13 branches, 2 bakeries, 2 canteens, and a buffet at the workers’ club.
To attract shareholders, at the end of 1923 the board decided to sell salt, butter, sugar, and soap at a discount for shareholders.
During the same period, Bakery No. 1 (Mushketovskaya) incurred a loss of 2,094.2 rubles, while Bakery No. 2 made a profit of 1,600 rubles. Bread baked in the bakeries was 10% cheaper than on the market.
The canteen at the Mushketovsky Mine served up to 50 lunches a day; at the Chulkovsky Mine—60. Low attendance is explained by the fact that the canteens opened only at the end of 1923.
In April 1924, 18 retail outlets were operating, including three buffets.
As of 1 Oct 1924, the cooperative had 7,028 shareholders, and a year later—5,366. At that time, the number of shops was 19.