Peculiarities of the operation of the tractor market in connection with their import deliveries to the territory of Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

Based on the analysis of historical materials, archival sources and publications in the periodical press, the peculiarities of the formation and functioning of the market of agricultural tractors in the territories of the Russian Empire and Ukraine at the beginning of the 20th century (1908–1917) were investigated. In particular, the general historical context in which tractors were imported and distributed was analyzed. The list of the main manufacturing companies that supplied tractor equipment to the territory of Ukraine and the brands of the most popular tractors has larifyied. As a result of the study, it was found that the tsarist government pursued a liberal policy regarding the import of tractors and other complex agricultural machinery. However, it did not have a clear policy regarding the functioning and development of this market in terms of the main parameters: what was the need for tractors at the time, what types of tractors were most suitable for local conditions, how to properly develop own tractor manufacturing, etc. This allows us to conclude that on the territory of the Russian Empire and Ukraine, the tractor market was formed spontaneously, mostly under the influence of offers for tractor equipment that came from its manufacturers and demand from large landowners and peasant farms. As a result, by 1917, about 1,500 tractors of various types, mostly American-made, were imported into Russia. Most of them entered the Ukrainian market. The leading positions in this market were occupied by the International Company of Harvesting Machines in America, the companies “Hart-Parr”, “Rumely” and some others. Most of the tractors were used in large landowner farms that specialized in growing sugar beets. A major role in the popularization and spread of tractors was played by the Bureau of Agricultural Mechanics, which operated under the Scientific Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, the All-Russian Chamber of Agriculture, the Kyiv Society of Western Zemstvos for the Sale of Agricultural Machines and Tools, the Kharkiv Society of Agriculture and some other organizations. In this regard, the All-Russian factory-plant, trade-industrial, agricultural and scientific-art exhibition held in Kyiv in the summer of 1913 was also important. It was found that the competition between the main manufacturers of tractor equipment contributed to the increase in demand for it, although due to its high cost, it remained inaccessible to most farmers. At the same time, the increase in the number of foreign tractors gave impetus to the development of own tractor manufacturing, which received state support already in Soviet times. The work uses general scientific research methods.