Industrial potential of the Kazakh SSR during the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945)

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the activities of various industries of the Kazakh SSR during the Great Patriotic War, aimed at providing raw materials to enterprises of the military-industrial complex and their own production aimed at improving the defense capabilities of the Soviet state. The relevance of the study was determined by the need to identify trends in the development of industry in the Kazakh Republic during the Patriotic War. The source base of the work was the works of Soviet, Russian and Kazakh authors, information from the Archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan dedicated to the history of the Great Patriotic War. The peculiarities of technological production aimed at increasing labour efficiency in the coal, non-ferrous, oil, chemical and energy industries of the republic are given. The growth trends of the indicators of these industries are revealed. The main ones are: increase of raw materials extraction at Karaganda coal basin, construction of auxiliary industrial enterprises, such as brick, cement works, explosive materials plant, woodworking plant, etc. In non-ferrous metallurgy, growth of non-ferrous metal output during the war years increased manifold compared to the pre-war periods. In oil industry – growth of high-quality oil production in Western Kazakhstan. In the chemical industry – increase of the list of products through construction of new shops and workshops of the operating enterprises of the chemical industry of the republic. In the energy sphere – construction of new power stations from regional to industrial levels. It is concluded that the identified trends in industrial development in Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War were a definite contribution to the improvement of the defensive capability of the USSR and in its victory over Germany.