The contribution of the Udmurt military-industrial complex to the development of the social sphere and the infrastructure of the Republic in 1945-1956

The article analyzes the role of the military-industrial complex of the Udmurt Republic in the creation, development, reconstruction and modernization of the social sphere and infrastructure in the first post-war decade. The research tasks are: 1) to determine the role of various components of the military-industrial complex in the development of the social sphere and infrastructure of the republic; 2) to summarize and present the results of these activities. The historiography of the problem is limited. The development of the social sphere and infrastructure of Udmurtia in the postwar period was considered in the regional scientific literature mainly in the context of studying the history of the working class. The article is based on the archival sources, which are first introduced. The source of the research is provided by the funds of the Central State Archives of the Udmurt Republic. The documents of the local party organization are represented by the funds of the Center for Documentation of the Contemporary History of the Udmurt Republic. A set of general scientific and special-historical methods are used. It is necessary to distinguish narrative and systemic methods among them. As a result, the plans of capital construction were presented in the period from 1945 to 1956, as well as the correspondence between local Party structures and the USSR Minister of Armaments D.F. Ustinov. The mechanisms of financing social expenditures are shown. The article dwells upon the role of local party bodies in lobbying the development and adoption of social projects in the republic. The article reviews all-Union and republican programs in the studied subject. The statistical data, which characterizes the rates of housing construction and volumes of financing, are given. The author showed that the creation and reconstruction of objects of social sphere and infrastructure was carried out by all seven defense enterprises located in the republic. The construction trusts No. 51 and Izhstroy, subordinate to the Ministry of Armaments of the USSR, were directly involved in the construction of facilities. The most intensive construction work was carried out in the capital of the republic, Izhevsk. In the course of the research the author comes to a conclusion that housing construction was in the unconditional priority of the post-war development. Houses built in the 1920s and 1930s were in disrepair and needed urgent reconstruction. The enlargement of the housing stock entailed the development of a network of health, education and culture institutions. Despite a number of difficulties, projects in the social sphere were not limited. The author points out the role of local party structures defending the interests of Udmurtia, on the one hand, and the role of the Minister of Armaments of the USSR, D.F. Ustinov, who lobbied the interests of the ministry he oversaw, on the other hand.

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