Russian wood clomps: Dutch concessionaires and the timber industry in Soviet Russia in the 1920s

Investment in the economies of other countries was the traditional form of Dutch export. As an old colonial power, the Netherlands had, since the eighteenth century, become accustomed to reaping moderate but regular profits from continuously investing in foreign commercial enterprises. The country’s neutral status during the Great War promised it preferential treatment when it came to participating in the reconstruction of war-torn European economies. At the same time, the Netherlands belonged to the group of countries that responded negatively to the rather favourable concessions offered by Soviet Russia. Drawing on a wide range of published and archival sources, the article examines the unsuccessful experience of a Dutch timber company’s private initiative to participate in a joint concession venture with the Soviet Trust. The history of the joint-stock company “Rusgollandles” is quite well-known, but there is still no comprehensive assessment of its participation in the restoration of the USSR wood industry, and there is no reasonable explanation as to the reasons for the termination of the concession activities of the Dutch in the European North of Soviet Russia. In addition to the conflict of interest between the expectations of the Soviet side and the real motives of the Dutch concessionaires, the authors analyse the international aspect of the Soviet-Dutch enterprise, which influenced the economic results of “Rusgollandles”.