Machine and Tractor Station
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Machine and Tractor Station (MTS) (Машинно-тракторная станция (МТС), Mashinno-traktornaya stantsiya) was a state enterprise for ownership and maintenance of agricultural machinery that was used in kolkhozes. First ever MTS was organized in Odeska region (Shevchenkivska MTS). MTS were introduced in 1928 as a shared resource of scarce agricultural machinery and technical personnel.
The main unit of an MTS were tractor brigade and automobile brigade, which performed the corresponding agricultural works. It was paid with the share of the agricultural product called natural payment (натуральная оплата, натуроплата, naturoplata). Over time, MTS became an instrument of transferring of the agricultual production from kolkhozes to the state. In 1933 the natural payment constituted about 20% of the product and continued to grow.
They existed as independent inter-kolkhoz service until 1958, when the machinery was transferred to the farms, and MTS transformed into Machinery Service Stations (Ремонтно-техническая станция, РТС), which were still known under the old name for longer time. In 1972 they were further renamed into Regional Association "Selkhoztekhnika" (Сельхозтехника, an abbreviation for сельскохозяйственная техника, agricultural machinery).
In post-Soviet Russia some economists expressed ideas about the revival of MTS to help small independent farmers.
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