FEDOROV R.YU. The Role of the Committee on Refrigerating Business in the Development of Food Exports from the Regions of Western Siberia at the Beginning of the 20th Century
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.3.17
Roman Yu. Fedorov, Doctor of Sciences (History), Chief Researcher, Earth Cryosphere Institute – Tyumen Scientific Centre of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy Sciences, Malygina St, 86, 625026 Tyumen, Russian Federation,
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Abstract. Introduction. At the beginning of the 20th century, the massive introduction of artificial cooling technologies created intercontinental markets for sale of perishable products. In 1909, the Committee on Refrigerating Business was established in St. Petersburg. Its mission included the development of infrastructure in Russia for the storage and transportation of food. Methods and materials are based on the analysis of archival sources and publications in periodicals reflecting the activities of the Committee on Refrigerating Business. Analysis. In the 1910s, in the total supply of the food from Western Siberia, the share of livestock products quickly began to increase. This became possible due to the fact that shortly after the opening of the Siberian Railway, ice storage facilities were built at its large stations and glacier cars began to operate. However, due to the lack of necessary refrigeration equipment, the supply of meat and fish from Siberia was mainly focused on the domestic market. In an attempt to overcome this situation, the Committee on Refrigerating Business developed practical measures to develop technical capabilities for organizing the export of these products to a number of European countries. Results. The time of activity of the Committee on Refrigerating Business fell on a short period from 1910 to 1914. Subsequently, changes in the geopolitical situation that occurred as a result of the First World War and the revolution of 1917 deprived Russia of the chance to become one of the largest players in the then-emerging global market for trade in perishable products. Despite this, the committee’s activities played a significant role in the implementation of P.A. Stolypin’s agrarian reform and laid the scientific and organizational foundation for the subsequent development of refrigeration in the USSR. Funding. This research has been supported by the state assignment of the Earth Cryosphere Institute № 126022618021-5.
Key words: Committee on Refrigerating Business, export of food from Siberia, commercial relations of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, P.A. Stolypin’s agrarian reform, Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Russian Empire.
Citation. Fedorov R.Yu. The Role of the Committee on Refrigerating Business in the Development of Food Exports from the Regions of Western Siberia at the Beginning of the 20th Century. Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2026, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 188198. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.3.17
The Role of the Committee on Refrigerating Business in the Development of Food Exports from the Regions of Western Siberia at the Beginning of the 20th Century © 2026 by Fedorov R.Yu. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
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