CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT DURING THE WAR 1 3 



As regards the number of members there were about ten millions of 

 them on i January 1914. If the population of Russia be taken to be 172 

 millions, 5.8 per cent, of them are co-operators. If to these be added the 

 other members of co-operators' families, on an average six persons for each, 

 it is found that 34.8 per cent, of the population are closely connected with 

 the co-operative movement. 



In 1916 the number of members increased in an extraordinary way. A 

 figure of no less than fifteen millions was reached or, if members of co-oper- 

 ators' families be counted, 67,500,000 ; which is to say that 39 per cent, of . 

 the population were interested in the co-operative movement. 



The detailed analysis of the movement is even more striking, especially 

 if co-operation for credit and consumption be considered in particular. 



§ 2. Co-oPERATivE Credit. 



The most important branch of Russian co-operation is without doubt 

 co-operation for credit. On i January 1917 there were 21,263 institutions, 

 of small credit distributed as follows : 11,810 credit societies ; 4,245 savings 

 and relief funds ; 76 unions ; 4,860 small credit funds belonging to the zem- 

 stvos. 



If these data be compared with those for 1915 and 1916 the following 

 table, showing the development of institutions of small credit during the 

 war, is obtained : 



Table II. — Number of Institutions of Small Credit Jrom 1915 to 1917. 



Years 

 Institutions of Small Credit 1915 1916 1917 



Co-Operative Institutions : 



1) Credit and Savings ........ 3,515 4,042 4,245 



2) Credit 9,5i6 11,412 11,810 



3) Credit Unions . ii 62 76 



Non-co-operative Institutions : 



1) Funds of the Zemstvos. 203 248 272 



2) Special Funds 5,192 4,998 4,860 



We have added to the co-operative institutions of credit the small 

 credit funds of the zemstvos, for these discharge almost exclusively the 

 task of imions of co-operative credit institutions. In this connection the 

 grave question has lately arisen of limiting the fields of action of the unions 

 and the small-credit funds. 



As appear from Table II the total number of co-operative credit in- 

 stitutions has certainly increased, but not very markedly. Thus in 1914 



