With the closing in Moscow of the Ninth All-Russian Congress of Leather and Shoe Workers, whose membership is strongly Jewish, some interesting sidelights on the shoe industry in Russia have come to the public notice. Although there is a cry that there is a shortage of shoes in the country, the leather and shoe industry for the year 1930 showed remarkable advance. In 1928 there were 23 million pairs of shoes manufactured in Russia, while in 1930 the number increased to 62 million pairs. The number of shoe and leather workers increased proportionately during this period from 124,747 in 1928 to 168, 484 in 1930. The total number of workers connected with the leather and shoe industry is now close on 200,000 men.
The fact that together with this big increase in production there is a big shortage of shoes was explained by the Conference by the fact that the old Russian national footgear of the peasant, Lapti (bark sandals) has almost entirely disappeared from the cities. The peasant to-day wears shoes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
