Interhelpo


The Interhelpo was an industrial cooperative of workers and farmers between 1923 and 1943, established for the special purpose of helping to build up socialism in Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
It was founded in 1923 in Žilina, Czechoslovakia. Trains from railway stations in the cities of Žilina and Brno transported 1078 people to Kyrgyzstan.
Its members made many products on the ‘green meadow’. The famous Slovak politician Alexander Dubček also participated in this cooperative in his youth.
The cooperative's most notable projects include:
In 1925, the Interhelpo was declared the best cooperative in the Soviet Union. At one point, it produced 20 percent of Kyrgyzstan's industrial products.
In 1943, during the Second World War, the property of the Interhelpo cooperative was transferred into the hands of the state.