[53] Iaroslavl, Biulleten' vtorogo s"ezda , no. 1, p. 4; Saratov, Tver, and Samara, reports at the February 1922 Proletkult plenum, TsGALI f. 1230, op. 1, d. 146, 11.8, 12, 10 ob.
[54] Tver, report by Vladislava Lie at the February 1922 plenum, TsGALI f. 1230, op. 1, d. 146, 1. 12; Samara, report by A. S. Shein at the February plenum, d. 146, 1. 10 ob.; Orenburg, "Plan ob" edineniia Orenproletkul'ta s kul'totdelom G.S.P.S." and a letter to the Proletkult central committee, d. 1235, 11.25, 36 ob.
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ceived free rent, heat, and lighting from the factory management. But with the new financial policies of 1921, which required balanced factory budgets, the plant demanded payment for these services.[55]
The financial crisis at the center meant decreased funds all along the organizational chain. Because the central Proletkult secured its own needs first, it had significantly less to send to provincial and city groups. They in turn had less to pass on to those circles that were dependent on them. The lowest level organizations, factory Proletkults and clubs, suffered the most. Under these circumstances small town circles with weak or nonexistent ties to the national bureaucracy simply disappeared. Local Proletkults carried on their own internal purges, closing down affiliates they could no longer support or those that appeared to be conducting "strictly educational work."[56] The Tver provincial Proletkult encompassed four circles in 1920; by the end of 1921 only one remained.[57]
The situation of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Proletkult in the first year of the New Economic Policy illustrates how financial hardships and cultural rivalries worked together to undermine the organization. Problems began in early 1921. With the status of the Proletkult now in question the IvanovoVoznesensk branch began to have difficulties with the local party bureau and with unions. Local leaders complained that party criticism had driven some workers away. Because of financial problems, the Proletkult had to reduce its stipends for studio members to such a low level that it could no longer support those with families. The Textile Workers' Union, once an ally, now challenged Proletkult control of factory clubs.