“Departmental approach” in the economic development of the Northern districts of Tyumen Region of the Soviet era: a component of practices or a “figure of speech”

The study of the practices of the Soviet period in the areas of a new economic development of Tyumen region led some the researchers of the history of WSOGC to such a phenomenon as "departmental approach". The authors set a goal based on the analysis of basic documents of the Soviet era, including those that shaped the development process, to determine whether "departmental approach" was a reality, or just a "figure of speech". The territory of consideration of the phenomenon is " the Northern districts of Tyumen Region ", correlated with the land zone of the Arctic. The source base of the study is a set of documents from the funds 814, 2101 of the State Archive of the Tyumen region. The methods applied in this study include both general scientific (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization) and historical. A significant place is given to the historical and genetic method, which allows for insight into causality, and at the same time, into the essence of the developing development processes. The methods of reconstruction and structuring of the phenomena have been used as well. The systemic method, combined with the structural one, has been important in the study of interrelated elements that ensure the stability and effectiveness of existing structures. The authors have concluded that the term "departmental approach" was taken by historians from western researches used for indicating individual features of the process of the development, and had a negative connotation. The term referred to the activities of departments of ministries that allegedly showed uncontrolled independence. According to the 1977 Constitution, the departments were the Main Departments, Commissions in the system of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The name "department" did not refer to ministries. At the same time, the concentration of departments of a significant number of ministries in the development zone was associated with the phenomenon of "departmental approach". However, such practice was due to the scale of the work. The activity of the ministries was not a voluntary activity. The areas of responsibility of ministries were laid down in party-governmental and government resolutions. The supplements to the resolutions specified the types of work. Each ministry was assigned a certain area of responsibility, both in the production sector and in the provision sector. Some issues were finalized by joint decisions of the party, Soviet and economic bodies of the region. First of all, it concerned the development of cities and towns. The city was divided into separate districts, the construction of which was assigned to individual ministries. This also concerned construction of healthcare facilities, social and cultural facilities, etc. The guiding and controlling role of all activities was carried out by the government of the country, with constant attention from the highest party bodies. "Departmental approach", from the point of view of the authors, is mainly a "figure of speech", which arose with little knowledge of the sources. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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