Reorganization of the administrative and territorial division of the Kuibyshev region in the 1960s: power vs society

The large-scale consolidation of rural areas under N.S. Khrushchev represented the USSR’s second major attempt to implement a principle combining economic and administrative-territorial zoning. In the early 1960s, this campaign peaked, further complicating the already difficult lives of villagers. It resulted in declining production indicators and increased migration, which primarily affected small rural settlements. The failure of the 1962-1963 administrative-territorial reform exposed multiple shortcomings within the Soviet command and administrative management system, as reflected in numerous complaints from citizens and organizations. The purpose of this article is to examine the practice of administrative-territorial zoning in the Kuibyshev region during the 1960s, focusing on its socioeconomic consequences and the relationship between authorities and society. Following the November 1964 Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which outlined a course to correct the most significant “Khrushchev mistakes” in economics and public administration, a number of districts were restored in 1965. This restoration, in turn, spurred a surge in civic activity among the rural population of several former districts. The regional authorities had not deemed it necessary to raise the question of restoring these districts with the party and state leadership of the RSFSR. This protest activity-aimed at restoring previously abolished rural districts occurred in many regions across the country. It represents a rare example for the Soviet era, showcasing not only citizen self-organization to protect legitimate rights and interests but also a social movement that, in a number of cases, successfully achieved its goals. The article draws upon a broad array of archival sources, most of them previously unpublished, as well as oral history materials (memoirs of direct eyewitnesses). The study’s findings allow for a reconsideration of the established approach in Russian historiography toward the reorganization of administrative-territorial divisions at the local level in the USSR during the 1960s. Specifically, it highlights that a key factor in restoring certain abolished districts was the struggle waged by the most active and politically conscious segments of the local population. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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