Ogiz

Ogiz

 

(Association of State Book and Magazine Publishing Houses), an organization established in July 1930 under the People’s Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR in accordance with the resolution of the Central Committee of the ACP(B) On the Work of Gosizdat of the RSFSR and on the Unification of Publishing.

Publishing houses issuing works in particular fields were combined with the corresponding divisions of Gosizdat to form large specialized publishing houses: pedagogical (Uchpedgiz), socioeconomic (Sotsekgiz), mass political (Masspartgiz), technical (Gostekhizdat), agricultural (Sel’khozgiz), juridical (Iurizdat), medical (Medizdat), literature (GIKHL), children’s and young people’s (Detiunizdat), military (Voenizdat), musical (Muzgiz), dictionary and encyclopedia (Gos. slovarno-entsiklopedi-cheskoe), and fine arts (Izogiz). In early 1931 three more publishing houses were organized within OGIZ of the RSFSR: Transgiz, Snabkoopgiz, and Fizkul’tura i Sport.

After evaluating the results of OGIZ’s first year of operation, the Central Committee of the ACP(B) adopted the resolution On Publishing (Aug. 15, 1931), in accordance with which Masspartgiz and Gostekhizdat were separated from OGIZ in view of the special importance of mass propaganda and technical publications. The bookselling association KOGIZ, the Poligrafkniga Trust, printing and publishing schools, and a research institute were established under the auspices of OGIZ. A. B. Khalatov was the first chairman of OGIZ.

OGIZ of the RSFSR was established to coordinate publishing in the country and eliminate duplication in the issuing of printed matter. OGIZ was also responsible for the centralized planning, financing, equipping, and technical guidance of all publishing activity, as well as for the marketing of printed matter and the training of personnel. The creation of OGIZ of the RSFSR stimulated the development of publishing throughout the country and the output of printed matter. On Oct. 5, 1946, the Central Committee of the ACP(B) adopted the resolution On the Work of OGIZ of the RSFSR, enjoining the association to improve its work, to increase the publication of political, scholarly, and literary works, to raise the ideological, scholarly, and literary quality of books, and to strengthen the printing industry. It was decided to reorganize OGIZ, which was under the auspices of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, as the Association of State Publishing Houses under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

On Feb. 9, 1949, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted the resolution On the Formation of the Central Administration for Affairs of the Printing Industry, Publishing Houses, and the Book Trade under the Council of Ministers of the USSR (Glavpoligrafizdat). In accordance with the resolution OGIZ was abolished, and its functions were assumed by Glavpoligrafizdat.