On solving the socio-economic problems of Russian miners in the 1990s

The aim of the research is to reveal the main levels, approaches and methods of solving the socio-economic problems of Russian miners in the 1990s. The content of the article is based on various groups of sources: normative-legal, business-related documentation, periodicals, statistical and reference-statistical materials. A key role in the formation of an objective view of the processes that took place was played by records management documents extracted from the funds of federal, regional and municipal archives. The authors of the article draw attention to the fact that in the early 1990s, Russian miners found themselves in a social and economic impasse; and their problems were resolved at the level of administrations of enterprises, local and regional authorities, as well as the Government of the Russian Federation. Attention is focused on the fact that at the beginning of the period under consideration the initiative to solve the socio-economic problems of miners belonged to the management of mines and sections. In general, the actions of enterprise managers made it possible for the coal industry to save its productive potential and provide targeted social assistance to the workers. However, these actions had an objective limitation. The authors of the article believe that the main support in the socioeconomic activities of the heads of coal enterprises were local and regional authorities. The most important in their activities were the continued struggle against attempts to quickly close the mines and defending additional measures of financial support for mining towns and settlements from the federal center. The analysis of sources and literature showed that the positive result of the efforts of the heads of enterprises and coal-mining territories largely depended on the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation. Until the mid-1990s such actions were passive. The creation in late 1997 of state structures such as Sotsugol and GURSH allowed the gradual development of organizational and regulatory mechanisms for restructuring and optimizing its financial support. The final conclusion can be the following: positive results of economic and social activities of the authorities and management allowed maintaining socio-political stability in the coal-industrial territories. At the same time, a number of unsolved issues cast doubt on the prospects for the development of the coal industry. Under these conditions, the responsibility of owners of coal mining enterprises and companies for the results not only of economic but also of social activity increased noticeably. However, the institutional foundations of this activity were still in its infancy, which contributed to the preservation of command and administrative methods for solving the vital problems of Russian miners.

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