RABIS

[1] The Russian phrase "на добровольных началах" (English: "on the voluntary commencements") includes sarcasm, which means that each art worker entered into this trade union voluntarily (voluntary commencement), but the rest of the art workers, who left or had not joined the trade union organisation, would have difficulties with finding and holding jobs.

[1] In 1918 the Union of Art Workers (Russian: Союз РАботников ИСкусства (РАБИС)) of Novosibirsk Region, in Siberia, was formed.

The Congress established the trade union RABIS (Russian: РАБИС) (the name of this organization was an abbreviation of the phrase "РАботники ИСкусства", "Art Workers").

Most of the leaders of the All-Russian RABIS (Vserabis) categorically were not satisfied not only with their poor representation in the People's Commissariat for Education (Narkompros) but also with the nature of the relations that existed between this government department and the trade union.

Vserabis numerously returned to this idea and tried to convince the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions (VTsSPS) and the government of the need of such a Narkomat.

So in 1920 the People's Commissariat of Education proposed another way out: on 29 October 1920, during the joint meeting of the Vserabis Central Committee Presidium, the Communist faction of the Central Committee and of the Collegium of the Narkompros Art Sector decided "... to offer Rabis to participate in the management of the art only through their representatives in the People's Commissariat of Education"; it was forbidden for the leadership and local committees of the trade union to interfere directly in the management scope, including to cancel or suspend orders of the state authorities.

[1][11] The magazine "Вестник работников искусств" (English: "Herald of Art Workers") played an important role in the preparations for the Third All-Russian Congress of Vserabis.

From 1924 RABIS was called the All-Union Trade Union of Art Workers (Russian: ВСЕсоюзный профессиональный союз РАБотников ИСкусства (ВСЕРАБИС)), but the abbreviation remained the same: VSERABIS.

[1] In 1922, the AKhRR (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia) was formed (Russian: Ассоциация художников революционной России, Assotsiatsia Khudozhnikov Revolutsionnoi Rossii, 1922-1928), it was later known as the Association of Artists of the Revolution (Ассоциация художников революции, Assotsiatsia Khudozhnikov Revolutsii or AKhR, 1928-1932).

A document from the archive confirms this: The fake membership book was used by the OGPU to kill Russian poet Sergey Yesenin.

[13] «Вестник работников искусств» (English: «Herald of Art Workers») was a magazine and a press organ of the RABIS Central Committee from 1920 through 1926.