Kunst and Alberts

Vladivostok, 1864. The two courageous young Germans Gustav Kunst and Gustav Alberts ventured to start their own business at the end of the Far East of Russia. The risk was high. To address the local situation, the entrepreneurs organized general trade. The local people were happy to buy everything they needed in one store: shoe polish, combs, plates, textiles, kerosene, soap. It was decided to deliver goods via Chinese ports. The company chartered vessels to ship goods to Vladivostok and exported seaweeds that the Chinese got on the coast. In the early 80-s regular voyages of the Voluntary Fleet vessels to Vladivostok were started. That allowed to open procurement offices in Europe: Odessa, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Hamburg, Munich, and later in the Asian market, the first in Kobe, Japan. With the establishment of the General-Governorship with a capital in Khabarovsk, the settlements and military posts were strengthened and new ones came into being. Very soon stores and business firms of “Kunst and Alberts” sprang in lots of them – in 1893-in Nikolaevsk, in 1894-in Alexandrovsk (Sakhalin), in 1895-in Khabarovsk and Blagoveschensk, in 1900-in Harbin, in 1913-in Obluchye. In 1902 the company invited G.R. Yunghendel, an experienced architect from Germany to design and construct buildings. All the magnificent buildings of the business firms, designed in the style of German baroque, were notable for their monumental design, refinement, and an attractive façade. The buildings, which are more than 100 years old, are still in use. There are legends about some of them, for e.g., the Mall (GUM) in Vladivostok, which used to be the head business firm of the “Kunst and Alberts” company. Some people believe that was the first supermarket in the world’s history. All building materials needed for its construction were brought in from Hamburg. There are wonderful stories about the business firm in Khabarovsk (the central grocer’s store). They tell us about the underground tunnels with rail tracks leading down to the lower bazaar, the deep basement-freezers. The partners believed that a business success depended on the working conditions and everyday life of the company’s employees. Single employees were provided with board and lodging. The benefit society established to address emergency situations, was of great help. A library, a bowling alley, a billiard-hall, a hospital – all this ensured adequate recreation. Boys working in the stores could attend evening courses, and in the summer they were sent to gymnastics classes organized by a local sports society.

In 1880 the businessmen decided to come back to Germany. The company was managed by Adolf Datten, later in 1886 he joined the firm as the equal partner. In 1896 Gustav Kunst went out of business. In 1910 Gustav Alberts made his business over to his son Alfred Alberts. In 1913 proved to be triumphant year for the company. At the exhibition devoted to the 300 anniversary of the Romanov dynasty it built an exceptionally beautiful pavilion. Emperor Nikolay II rewarded A. Dattan with the Prussian Order of the Crown of the Sixth Degree for his contribution to the active development of trade in the Priamurskiy General-Governorship. The fateful 1914 began. A strict supervision was introduced over all German companies. Business competition had been always strong and some competitors wrote false papers to put the blame on the rival company. What really happened is not quite clear now, but the “Kunst and Alberts” activities were banned and the company’s managers were arrested. After a lot of investigations the company was allowed to resume its operations. During the Civil War it successfully fulfilled orders placed by the military department. On coming back from the exile, A. Dattan left Russia for Germany. The company and its branches were put in charge of the resident managers. In 1925 the company was deprived of its property, and it had to rent its own buildings from the municipal authorities. Five years later it had to stop its activities. A few decades passed, and in 1950-s the “Kunst and Alberts” firm was exculpated and the espionage charge was removed.