What does artel mean?
An artel is a cooperative association of workers, most closely associated with Russia and the later Soviet Union, in which craftspeople, fishermen, or laborers pooled their skills, tools, and earnings to work as a collective. Members typically shared profits according to agreed rules and governed themselves democratically, making the artel a distinctive form of mutual aid that predated and sometimes competed with state-run enterprises. The word entered English through accounts of Russian economic and social life, where artels were noted for their efficiency and internal discipline. Today it survives mainly in historical writing about pre-revolutionary and early Soviet industry, evoking ideals of cooperation and self-organization. Though rare in everyday English, it remains useful for describing worker cooperatives in a specifically Russian or Eastern European context.
nounAn artel is a cooperative association of workers or craftsmen in Russia and the former Soviet Union who pooled their labor, skills, and resources to work and share profits collectively.
- A cooperative association of workers or artisans, especially in Russia or the Soviet Union, who combine their skills and share income and responsibilities collectively.
- (Historical) Any similar self-governing labor group organized on communal principles in Eastern Europe.
"The carpenters formed an artel so they could take on larger commissions than any of them could manage alone."
"In the 1920s, a shoemaking artel in the village produced boots for the entire district."
"The fishermen's artel divided each season's catch equally among its members."
Standard English plural; occasionally the unmarked Russian-style form appears in scholarly texts.
"Several artels operated along the river during the fishing season."
Long before Silicon Valley startups talked about 'collectives,' Russian craftsmen had already perfected the model — they called it the artel.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of artel
The word artel comes from the Russian артель (artel'), meaning a cooperative guild or association of workers. Its ultimate origin is debated; it has been linked to Italian arte ('craft' or 'trade') from Latin ars, artis, which would make English words such as artisan, artist, and artifact distant relatives. It entered English usage in the nineteenth century through translations and travel writing about Russia.
How artel is actually used
An uncommon, somewhat scholarly word, encountered mostly in discussions of Russian history, Soviet economics, or ethnography. It carries neutral-to-positive connotations of solidarity and mutual aid, though under Soviet policy artels were eventually absorbed into state enterprises.
Easily confused with artel
A cartel is an alliance of businesses formed to control prices or limit competition, whereas an artel is a cooperative of workers sharing labor and profits.
Artillery refers to large-caliber guns and the military units operating them, while an artel is a small workers' cooperative with no connection to weaponry.