The mobilization of efforts to ensure victory in the Great Patriotic War was carried out not only at the front, but also in the economy, social policy, and ideology. The main political slogan of the party is “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” had important practical significance and coincided with the general moral mood of the Soviet people.
Nazi Germany's attack on Soviet Union caused a powerful patriotic upsurge of the entire population of the country. Many Soviet people signed up for the people's militia, donated their blood, and participated in air defense, donated money and jewelry to the defense fund. The Red Army received great assistance from millions of women sent to dig trenches, build anti-tank ditches and other defensive structures. With the onset of cold weather in the winter of 1941/42, a wide campaign was launched to collect warm clothes for the army: sheepskin coats, felt boots, mittens, etc.
The economic policy of the country's government is divided into two periods. First: June 22, 1941 - end of 1942 - restructuring of the economy on a military basis in the most difficult conditions of the defeat of the Red Army and the loss of a significant part of the economically developed European part of the territory of the Soviet Union. Second: 1943-1945 - steadily increasing military-industrial production, achieving economic superiority over Germany and its allies, restoration of the national economy in the liberated territories.
From the first days of the war, extraordinary measures were taken to transfer the economy to a war footing; a military-economic plan for the production of all types of weapons and ammunition has been developed (unlike previous years - monthly and quarterly); the rigid system of centralized management of industry, transport and agriculture has been strengthened; special people's commissariats have been created for the production individual species weapons, Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army. Evacuation advice.
Extensive evacuation efforts have begun industrial enterprises and human resources to the eastern regions of the country. In 1941-1942 About 2,000 enterprises and 11 million people were moved to the Urals, Siberia, and Central Asia. This process took place especially intensively in the summer - autumn of 1941 and in the summer - autumn of 1942, i.e. during the most difficult moments of the struggle on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, work was organized on the ground to quickly restart the evacuated factories. Mass production has begun modern species weapons (aircraft, tanks, artillery, automatic small arms), the designs of which were developed back in pre-war years. In 1942, the volume of gross industrial output exceeded the level of 1941 by 1.5 times.
Huge losses in initial period agriculture suffered during the war. The main grain areas were occupied by the enemy. Cultivated areas and livestock of large cattle decreased by 2 times. Gross agricultural output was 37% of pre-war levels. Therefore, the work that began before the war to expand the acreage in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
By the end of 1942, the restructuring of the economy to serve the needs of the war was completed.
In 1941-1942 An important role was played by military and economic assistance from the United States, an ally of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition. Supplies under the so-called Lend-Lease[i] of military equipment, medicines and food were not of decisive importance (according to various sources, from 4 to 10% of industrial products produced in our country), but provided some assistance to the Soviet people during the most difficult period of the war. Due to the underdevelopment of the domestic automobile industry, transport supplies (American-made trucks and cars) were especially valuable.
At the second stage (1943-1945), the USSR achieved decisive superiority over Germany in economic development, especially in the production of military products. 7,500 large enterprises were commissioned, ensuring sustainable growth in industrial production. Compared to the previous period, the volume of industrial production increased by 38%. In 1943, 30 thousand aircraft, 24 thousand tanks, 130 thousand artillery pieces of all types were produced. The improvement of military equipment continued - small arms(submachine gun), new fighters (La-5, Yak-9), heavy bombers (ANT-42, which received the front-line name TB-7). These strategic bombers were able to bomb Berlin and return to their bases without intermediate landings to refuel. Unlike the pre-war and first war years, new models military equipment immediately went into mass production.
In August 1943, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” On its basis, already during the war years, they began to restore the destroyed industry and Agriculture. Special attention was paid to the mining, metallurgical and energy sectors in the Donbass and the Dnieper region.
In 1944 - early 1945, the highest rise in military production and complete superiority over Germany was achieved, economic situation which has deteriorated sharply. The gross volume of production exceeded the pre-war level, and the military output increased 3 times. Of particular importance was the increase in agricultural production.
Social politics
It was also aimed at ensuring victory. In this area, emergency measures were taken, generally justified by the situation of the war. Many millions of Soviet people were mobilized to the front. Compulsory general military training covered 10 million people in the rear. In 1942, labor mobilization of the entire urban and rural population was introduced, and measures to strengthen labor discipline were tightened. The network of factory schools (FZU) was expanded, through which about 2 million people passed. The use of female and teenage labor in production has increased significantly. Since the autumn of 1941, a centralized distribution of food products (card system) was introduced, which made it possible to avoid mass starvation. Since 1942, workers and employees on the city outskirts began to be allocated land for collective gardens. City residents received part of their agricultural products in the form of payment in kind for work (on weekends) on suburban collective farms. Opportunities for selling the products of their household plots at collective farm markets were expanded for peasants.
Along with justified tough social measures, actions were taken that were generated by the personality cult of J.V. Stalin. Illegal arrests of citizens continued. Soviet soldiers and officers who were captured were declared traitors to the Motherland. Entire peoples were deported - Volga Germans, Chechens, Ingush, Crimean Tatars, Kalmyks.
Ideology
In the ideological field, the line of strengthening patriotism and interethnic unity of the peoples of the USSR continued. What started back in pre-war period glorification of the heroic past of the Russian and other peoples.
New elements were introduced into propaganda methods. Class and socialist values were replaced by the generalizing concepts of “Motherland” and “Fatherland”. Propaganda stopped placing special emphasis on the principle of proletarian internationalism (the Comintern was disbanded in May 1943). It was now based on a call for the unity of all countries in the common struggle against fascism, regardless of the nature of their socio-political systems.
During the war years there was a reconciliation and rapprochement between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church, which on June 22, 1941 blessed the people “to defend the sacred borders of the Motherland.” In 1942, the largest hierarchs were involved in the work of the Commission for the Investigation of Fascist Crimes. In 1943, with the permission of J.V. Stalin, the Local Council elected Metropolitan Sergius Patriarch of All Rus'.
Literature and art
Administrative and ideological control in the field of literature and art was relaxed. During the war years, many writers went to the front, becoming war correspondents. Outstanding anti-fascist works: poems by A. T. Tvardovsky, O. F. Berggolts and K. M. Simonov, journalistic essays and articles by I. G. Erenburg, A. N. Tolstoy and M. A. Sholokhov, symphonies by D. D. Shostakovich and S.S. Prokofiev, songs by A.V. Aleksandrov, B.A. Mokrousov, V.P. Solovyov-Sedoy, M.I. Blanter, I.O. Dunaevsky and others - raised the morale of Soviet citizens, strengthened their confidence in victory, developed feelings of national pride and patriotism.
Cinema gained particular popularity during the war years. Domestic cameramen and directors recorded the most important events taking place at the front, filmed documentaries (“The defeat of German troops near Moscow”, “Leningrad in the struggle”, “Battle for Sevastopol”, “Berlin”) and art films(“Zoya”, “A guy from our city”, “Invasion”, “She defends the Motherland”, “Two fighters”, etc.).
Famous theater, film and pop artists created creative teams that went to the front, to hospitals, factory floors and collective farms. At the front, 440 thousand performances and concerts were given by 42 thousand creative workers.
A major role in the development of mass propaganda work was played by the artists who designed TASS Windows and created posters and cartoons known throughout the country.
The main themes of all works of art (literature, music, cinema, etc.) were scenes from the heroic past of Russia, as well as facts that testified to the courage, loyalty and devotion to the Motherland of the Soviet people who fought the enemy at the front and in the occupied territories.
The science. Scientists made a great contribution to ensuring victory over the enemy, despite the difficulties of wartime and the evacuation of many scientific, cultural and educational institutions inland. They mainly concentrated their work in applied branches of science, but also did not leave out research of a fundamental, theoretical nature. They developed technology for manufacturing new hard alloys and steels needed by the tank industry; conducted research in the field of radio waves, contributing to the creation of domestic radars. L. D. Landau developed the theory of motion of a quantum liquid, for which he later received the Nobel Prize.
The nationwide upsurge and largely achieved social unity were one of the most important factors that ensured the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War.
3. Soviet rear during the war
Economy. Economic policy for the war period was first formulated in the directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated June 29, 1941. Its essence is to subordinate the entire internal life of the country, social production, to the goals and objectives of the war and the interests of the front. The motto of the policy was the call: “Everything for the front, everything for victory!”
The economy of the USSR during the war was characterized by a number of features, the most important of which were over-centralized management and efficiency of leadership, reliance on its own economic, scientific and technical potential, mobile and strict military-economic planning.
With the outbreak of the war, the third five-year plan was curtailed. In July-August 1941, a commission headed by Gosplan Chairman N.A. Voznesensky developed and approved on August 16 a special military-economic plan for ensuring the country's defense.
Economic development was led by the State Defense Committee, the Politburo of the Central Committee, and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. For operational management, new management bodies were created, including the Evacuation Council, the Committee for Accounting and Distribution of Labor, the Transport Committee, and two new People's Commissariats - the tank industry and mortar weapons. At the end of 1942, the State Defense Operations Bureau was formed to monitor the ongoing work of the most important industries and the Extraordinary State Commission to establish and investigate the atrocities of the Nazi invaders and their accomplices and the damage caused by them. In 1943, a Committee for the Restoration of Economy in the Liberated Areas was created under the Council of People's Commissars.
During the war, the Soviet economy went through two stages in its development: the first - the restructuring of the national economy on a military basis (June 22, 1941 - autumn 1942), the second - the growth of the military economy (autumn 1942 - summer 1945).
Perestroika proceeded along two main lines: 1st - switching to military production of almost all industries, a sharp reduction or cessation of the production of civilian products; 2nd – relocation (evacuation) of productive forces to areas remote from the front. In turn, the relocation was carried out in two stages, corresponding to the two lost military campaigns. The first evacuation took place in the summer-autumn of 1941 and went to the east and south, the second - in the summer-autumn of 1942 it went only to the east (Volga region, Ural, Central Asia).
For 1941–1942 More than 2 thousand large industrial enterprises, about 25 million people, were evacuated to the rear. Some agricultural equipment, hundreds of thousands of heads of livestock, some food supplies, raw materials, and industrial goods were also evacuated. During the war, the eastern regions became the main base of the military economy. In 1942–1944 2,250 large enterprises were built there, three-quarters of all military equipment, weapons, and ammunition were produced.
A country's economy is considered a war economy if military expenditures account for a third of national income. In 1942, the national economy of the USSR was put on a war footing. 55% of national income, 68% of industrial and 24% of agricultural products were allocated for military needs. In 1940, 15, 26 and 9%, respectively.
Despite the extreme strain of the forces of society and the state, the Soviet rear at the first stage was unable to provide the armed forces with the required quantities of military equipment, weapons and ammunition. In the fall of 1942, the decline in industrial production was stopped. Compared to pre-war 1940, it was about 40%. But at this stage, the prerequisites were created for the material and technical superiority over the German armed forces, achieved in the second stage. In 1942, backup enterprises and evacuated enterprises were put into operation; in the fall, military production restored the lost capacity, and their growth began.
The second stage of economic development was longer than the first. It lasted more than 2.5 years. Over these years, the following military-economic tasks were resolved: the military economy was strengthened and developed, the rearmament of troops was completed, Germany's superiority in the main types of military equipment and weapons was finally eliminated, and conditions were prepared for the transition to peaceful construction. The economy developed according to the military economic plan of 1943, state plans for the restoration and development of the national economy for 1944 and 1945.
1943 was the year of a radical change in the production of military products. It increased by 20% compared to 1942. Military production reached its highest level in 1944. In total, over 136 thousand aircraft, more than 102 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns, 488 thousand guns, millions of machine guns, machine guns, anti-tank rifles, rifles, the required amount of ammunition. In general, the rear provided the front's needs for military equipment, weapons and ammunition. He created the conditions for the defeat of Germany and Japan.
A feature of the second stage of economic development was the massive re-evacuation of productive forces to old bases, which began in 1943. Economic development in 1945 was also unique. In the first half of the year, the military economy was still being built up; in the second, the transition to peaceful economic development became decisive.
During the war years, the labor force declined sharply. If in 1940 31.2 million workers and employees were employed in the national economy of the USSR, then in 1942 - 18.4 million, in 1943 - 19.4 million, in 1944 - 23, 6 million, in 1945 - 27.3 million. The decrease in the number of workers and employees was associated with an increase in the number of armed forces. From June 1941 to May 1945 it grew from 5.4 million to 11.4 million people. The decline was also due to the great human casualties that our people suffered during the war.
Agriculture was supposed to provide the front and rear with food, and industry with raw materials. During the war years it found itself in an extremely difficult situation. In 1941–1942, the most important agricultural areas were lost. Agricultural opportunities and resources have declined sharply. The number of collective and state farms, tractors, cars, and horses decreased by 40–60%. Investments in rural areas were reduced to a minimum. The situation with labor resources in rural areas remained exceptionally acute: the number of working-age population in the village decreased by 38%.
The entire burden of solving the food problem fell on the eastern regions - the Urals, Siberia, Far East, Central Asia. The most difficult year was 1943. Drought struck the Volga region, the Southern Urals, Western Kazakhstan, and the Northern Caucasus. Bad weather conditions also developed in the central regions of the RSFSR and Siberia. Gross agricultural output in 1943 amounted to 37% of the pre-war 1940 level. Grain yields sharply decreased. The turning point came only in 1944.
Culture during the war years. Workers in science, education, literature, and art also worked for the needs of the front, in the interests of victory. Some of them went to the front, others remained in their places or were evacuated along with their institutions to the rear. Kazan, Ufa, Sverdlovsk, Frunze, Tashkent, Alma-Ata, Ashgabat, others settlements took upon their shoulders the care of millions of residents of the European part of the country. This demonstrated internationalism, mutual assistance and friendship of the peoples of the USSR. Together with patriotism, they cemented the will of the Soviet people to victory.
Scientists focused on solving three main tasks: developing military-technical problems, scientific assistance to industry in improving and developing new military production, mobilizing the country's raw materials for defense needs, and replacing scarce materials with local raw materials.
In August 1941, the Commission for the Mobilization of Resources of the Urals began work in Sverdlovsk, under the leadership of the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician V. L. Komarov (“Komarov Commission”). In 1942, the work of the commission was expanded. It was transformed into the Commission for the Mobilization of Resources of the Urals, Western Siberia and Kazakhstan. Its composition exceeded 800 scientific and business workers. The recommendations of scientists made it possible, in a relatively short time, to compensate for the resources lost in the western regions of the country, to develop industry in the east and to double the extraction of minerals.
In the summer of 1942, the Commission for the mobilization of resources of the Middle Volga and Kama region for defense needs began work in Kazan, under the leadership of the Vice-President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician E. A. Chudakov (“Chudakov Commission”). She organized the search for new oil-bearing areas and increased production in old fields in the “Second Baku” region. This was of exceptional importance in conditions when the Germans cut off the routes to obtaining Caucasian oil.
Much work on demagnetizing warships to protect them from enemy magnetic mines was carried out by the Commission on Scientific and Technical Naval Issues, created in 1942, of which I.V. Kurchatov was the scientific secretary. IN next year he switched to work on the creation of the Soviet atomic bomb and headed a special laboratory for the fission of uranium nuclei. The young scientist A.D. Sakharov also worked among its members.
Soviet scientists and engineers ensured the progress of military equipment of the USSR armed forces. T-34 and KV tanks surpassed the best German models. The BM-13 (Katyusha) rocket launchers, which fired 16 rounds, were much more effective than the 10-barrel German mortars. Aircraft designers made a worthy contribution to the “battle of minds.” A. S. Yakovlev and S. A. Lavochkin designed fighter aircraft. S.V. Ilyushin created the world's best attack aircraft, the Il-2, nicknamed the “flying tank” and the “black death.” A. N. Tupolev, N. N. Polikarpov, V. M. Petlyakov, V. M. Myasishchev designed the bombers. In 1942, the first jet aircraft designed by V.F. was tested. Bolkhovitinov, and at the end of the war, aircraft designers A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich created the MiG fighter with a jet accelerator.
Second World War was in many ways a “war of engines.” The creators of aircraft engines A.D. Shvetsov, V.Ya. Klimov, A.A. Mikulin and others made a great contribution to the victory. Scientists did their best so that Soviet pilots could gain air supremacy in 1943 and ensure victory on the ground.
Doctors provided great assistance to the soldiers, including T. E. Boldyrev (chief epidemiologist of the Soviet army), M. S. Vovsi (chief therapist of the SA), F. G. Krotkov (chief hygienist of the CA), E. I. Smirnov ( head of the main military sanitary department of the SA). The chief surgeon of the Soviet Army, Academician N. N. Burdenko, responsible for scientific assistance to the front-line sanitary service, developed a method for treating skull wounds with sulfa drugs, which made it possible to sharply, from 65 to 25%, reduce mortality among those wounded in the head.
Employees also contributed to the victory social sciences- historians, philosophers, lawyers, economists, ethnographers, etc. The country's leadership refocused their activities on promoting patriotism. It has become a powerful tool mobilization of the spiritual forces of the people to fight the enemy.
The Russian Orthodox Church also made a great contribution to this process. Already on the first day of the war, the Patriarchal Locum Tenens, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Sergius addressed a message to the parishioners. It noted, in particular: “But this is not the first time the Russian people have had to endure such tests. With God's help, this time too he will scatter the fascist enemy force into dust. Our ancestors did not lose heart even in worse situations, because they remembered not about personal dangers and benefits, but about their sacred duty to the Motherland and faith, and emerged victorious. Let us not disgrace their glorious name, and we, the Orthodox, are relatives to them both in flesh and in faith. The Fatherland is defended by weapons and a common national feat, a common readiness to serve the Fatherland in difficult times of testing with everything that everyone can. This is a matter for workers, peasants, scientists, women and men, young people and old people. Everyone can and should contribute their share of labor, care and art to the common feat.”
The country's leadership appreciated the church's asceticism. A gradual normalization of relations between her and the state began. Anti-religious propaganda stopped in the country, the magazines “Bezbozhnik”, “Anti-religious”, etc. stopped publishing. On September 8, 1943, a historic meeting between Stalin and Metropolitans Sergius, Alexy, and Nikolai took place. Soon after, the patriarchy was restored in the country. Sergius became Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. On September 12, the council of bishops, convened to elect a patriarch, addressed Christians around the world with a call to “unite in the name of Christ for final victory over a common enemy."
The war had a hard impact on the public education system, especially school education. Many school buildings were destroyed or occupied by hospitals and other institutions, and textbooks, manuals, and notebooks became a big shortage. The number of teachers, especially men, has sharply decreased. The program of universal incomplete secondary education (seven-year school) was curtailed.
In the interests of improving the military-physical training of boys, in 1943, separate education was introduced starting from the 5th grade. In 1944, to improve the quality of education at the school, exams were introduced in the 4th and 7th grades, matriculation exams, and gold and silver medals for excellent graduates.
The first years of the war were especially difficult for higher and secondary special school. The number of students decreased by 2.5 times, the number of universities by 2 times. Many institutions found themselves in occupied territory, some were evacuated. The Nazis destroyed and plundered about 2 thousand higher and secondary special educational institutions, including 334 universities.
Many professors, teachers, and students were drafted into the armed forces or went to the front as volunteers. About 3 thousand students, graduate students, and teachers of Moscow State University defended the honor and independence of their homeland with arms in hand. M. V. Lomonosov.
The temporary transfer of universities to a shortened (3-4-year) term of study in 1942 undermined the quality of specialist training. Since 1944, a return to the full course of study began, and to improve the quality of university graduates, along with state exams The defense of a thesis became mandatory.
In 1943–1944, most universities returned from evacuation. The restoration of destroyed ones and the creation of new universities began. IN last years war, 56 new higher educational institutions were opened, including the Institute international relations. By the end of the war, there were 789 universities in the country, with more than 730 thousand students studying. During the war years, universities and secondary specialized institutions trained 842 thousand specialists, including 302 thousand with higher education.
Literary and artistic figures made a great contribution to patriotic education. Life forced them to abandon internationalist illusions, as if dressed in military uniform German workers and peasants will go over to the side of the Red Army and jointly overthrow the power of the capitalists and landowners of Germany. "Kill the German!" – the famous publicist Ilya Ehrenburg addressed his readers with such a shocking appeal at first. The focus of the writers was on the fighting people. “The People are Immortal” was the title of the first book of military prose published by the writer Vasily Grossman in 1942. The works of K. M. Simonov (“Days and Nights”), Sun. V. Vishnevsky (“At the Walls of Leningrad”), O. F. Berggolts (“Leningrad Poem”), A. A. Bek (“Volokolamsk Highway”).
One of the best poetic works of the wartime was Margarita Aliger’s poem “Zoya,” dedicated to the life and feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. During the war years, the first chapters of A. A. Fadeev’s novel “The Young Guard” were published about the fight against the enemy by the young underground fighters of Krasnodon. The image of a cheerful, wise, brave Soviet soldier was depicted in the poem “Vasily Terkin” by A. T. Tvardovsky. In 1942, the plays of K. M. Simonov “Russian People”, A. E. Korneychuk “Front”, L. M. Leonov “Invasion” were written and went around all the theaters of the country.
More than 42 thousand artists, artists and musicians carried out military patronage work in the Active Army, on naval ships, in hospitals, and at defense enterprises in the rear. They gave 1,360 thousand concerts, every fourth of which took place at the front, created more than 3,700 front-line brigades, 20 front-line theaters. The most popular were the front-line branch of the theater. Evg. Vakhtangov, GITIS, theater of musical comedy and miniatures. Active participants in the military patronage work were P. M. Sadovsky, A. A. Ostuzhev, E. D. Turchaninova, I. D. Yuryeva, N. A. Obukhova, V. V. Barsova, I. S. Kozlovsky, S. Y. Lemeshev, G. S. Ulanova and many other figures of Soviet art. Some of them had experience of front-line concerts, accumulated back in the years civil war. For example, Lydia Ruslanova in 1918–1920. performed in front of the Red Army soldiers performing Russian folk songs. In 1942, for her active concert work as part of front-line brigades, she was awarded the title “Honored Artist of the RSFSR.” The fighters loved her song “Valenki”.
The war stimulated the development of patriotic songwriting. In the first days of the war, June 26, 1941, at the Belorussky railway station in Moscow, the song-oath “Holy War” (words by V. I. Lebedev-Kumach, music by A. V. Alexandrov) was sung to see off soldiers to the Western Front. Then songs appeared about the Motherland, about heroism at the front and in the rear, about partisans - “Oh, my fogs, foggy” by V. G. Zakharov, “Treasured Stone” by B. A. Mokrousov, “Darkie” by A. G. Novikov, “Song of the Brave” by V. Bely and A. A. Surkov.
Many composers, while in the Active Army, did not break with musical creativity, among them K. A. Listov, D. B. Kabalevsky, T. N. Khrennikov, V. I. Muradeli and others.
An important event in the cultural life of the country was the seventh (“Leningrad”) symphony of D. D. Shostakovich, created and performed in besieged Leningrad in 1942. It received worldwide recognition and cleared the composer of the undeserved accusation of formalism.
During the war years, cinema remained the most popular of the arts - documentary and fiction. Front-line cameramen created a film chronicle of the Great Patriotic War. The first full-length documentary film about the war was the film “The Defeat of German Troops near Moscow” (February 1942). The film began with the ringing of bells from Moscow churches and a procession of the cross. The Orthodox clergy blessed the soldiers for their patriotic feat. Such propaganda was impossible before the war, but practical during the war. The last film in the chronicle was the film “The Court of Nations,” dedicated to the Nuremberg Trials (November 1946, director R. L. Karmen, text by B. L. Gorbatov). The film affirmed the age-old Russian morality: “Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword!”
Feature films were created in film studios evacuated to Alma-Ata, Ashgabat, Tashkent and Stalinabad. The films “Two Soldiers”, “Front”, “Malakhov Kurgan” were devoted to the military theme. The films “Secretary of the District Committee”, “Zoya”, “Invictus” were dedicated to the struggle behind enemy lines. The historical and patriotic theme was revealed in the films “Kutuzov”, “Defense of Tsaritsyn”, “Alexander Parkhomenko”, etc. For many artists, the reason for the creation of S. M. Eisenstein’s film “Ivan the Terrible” (1st episode) during the war years remained a mystery. . The film, made on the personal instructions of Stalin, glorified the Russian victory on the Volga and the Tsar, who turned the Volga into a great Russian river.
The struggle for freedom and independence of the Motherland became the main theme of the artists’ work. Widely known received works by G. G. Nissky (“Leningradskoye Highway”), A. A. Deineka (“Defense of Sevastopol”), S. V. Gerasimov (“Mother of the Partisan”), A. P. Bubnov (“Morning on the Kulikovo Field” ), creative group Kukryniksy (“Tanya”, “Flight of the Nazis from Novgorod”). In various regions of the country, traveling exhibitions of front-line artists from the studio named after. M. B. Grekov, artists of individual fronts. Cultural figures made an invaluable contribution to the approach of victory.
Deportation of peoples. A special and tragic page in the history of the Soviet rear during the war period was the deportation to remote areas of the country of a number of peoples accused by the leadership of the USSR of aiding the Nazi invaders. For the first time the Soviet Germans were blamed for it. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated August 28, 1941, they were evicted beyond the Urals, to Kazakhstan, Altai and Krasnoyarsk region, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions, southern regions of the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. More than 2.1 million people were subjected to forced relocation, including 450 thousand Volga Germans living on the territory of the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. German autonomy was eliminated.
After release North Caucasus some peoples of this region were deported, some of whose representatives actually actively collaborated with the occupiers, and after their expulsion they organized sabotage and terror in the rear Soviet troops. In November 1943, 62.8 thousand Karachais were evicted, and the Karachay Autonomous Okrug was liquidated. In December, their fate was shared by Kalmyks numbering 93.1 thousand people (according to Kalmyks, the number of deportees exceeded 230 thousand people), the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was abolished. In February 1944, Chechens (310.6 thousand people) and Ingush (81.1 thousand people) were deported. The Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was liquidated. In March 1944, over 32.8 thousand Balkars were deported mainly to Kazakhstan. The Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was transformed into the Kabardian Autonomous Republic. After the liberation of Crimea on May 18, 1944, 191 thousand Crimean Tatars were forcibly resettled to the Uzbek SSR, Udmurt and Mari Autonomous Republics.
Soviet Bulgarians, Greeks, Meskhetian Turks, Kurds - a total of 14 nations and national groups - were deported total number more than 3.2 million people. A huge amount of forces and Vehicle, which the front needed.
For the first time, the action of the Soviet leadership, taken in the emergency situation of wartime, was condemned in 1956 at the 20th Congress of the CPSU. In December 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR recognized repressive acts against peoples subjected to forced relocation as illegal and criminal.
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From the book History and Cultural Studies [Ed. second, revised and additional] author Shishova Natalya Vasilievna14.3. Soviet society during the years of war and peace. Crisis and collapse Soviet system(40–80s) General characteristics In this period of the history of Soviet society, as in the previous one, a number of stages can be distinguished. The first of them is the years of the Second World War. At this stage of the Soviet
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Topic 10 Siberia during the Great Patriotic War. 1941–1945 Formation of the military-industrial complex of Siberia (30s - first half of the 40s of the XX century) The formation and development of the military-industrial complex (MIC) has always been one of the highest priorities
From the book Course national history author Devletov Oleg Usmanovich7.3. The Soviet rear during the war The failures of the first period of the war made it extremely difficult to fulfill the main economic task of the war period: to create superiority in the main types of weapons, to supply the army and population with the necessary minimum of food and goods. TO
In order to mobilization of all resources state in the first days of the war, a radical restructuring of the entire life of the country began on a military basis. The defining program of activity was the slogan: “ Everything for the front, everything for victory!».
The economic situation was significantly complicated by the fact that the enemy captured more than 1.5 million square meters at the beginning of the war. km, where previously 74.5 million people lived and up to 50% of industrial and agricultural products were produced. The war had to be continued with the industrial potential of almost the early 1930s.
On June 24, 1941, the Evacuation Council was created under the chairmanship of N.M. Shvernik. The main directions of economic restructuring:
1) evacuation of industrial enterprises from the front line to the east, material assets and people.
During July - November 1941, 1,523 industrial enterprises, including 1,360 large military enterprises, were relocated to the eastern regions of the country. They were located in the Volga region, the Urals, Western and Eastern Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia. These enterprises were put into operation in record time. Thus, at the Magnitogorsk plant, in a few months, the largest blast furnace in Europe No. 5 was built with a capacity of 1,400 tons of cast iron per day (in peacetime, it took 2.5 years to build a blast furnace).
From this position the war became the apogee in the realization of the capabilities of the Soviet totalitarian system. Despite enormous difficulties, the conditions of this regime made it possible to use such advantages as over-centralization of management, huge natural and human resources, lack of personal freedom, as well as the tension of all the forces of the people caused by patriotic feelings.
The outcome of the war was determined not only at the front, but also in rear. Before achieving a military victory over Germany, it was necessary to defeat it in military and economic terms. The formation of the war economy in the first months of the war was very difficult:
1. carrying out evacuation in conditions of disorderly withdrawal of troops;
2. rapid loss of economically important areas, destruction of economic ties;
3. loss of qualified personnel and equipment;
Crisis on the railways.
In the first months of the war, the decline in production was up to 30%. A difficult situation has developed in agriculture. The USSR lost territories that produced 38% of grain and 84% of sugar. In the fall of 1941, a card system for providing the population with food was introduced (covering up to 70 million people).
To organize production, emergency measures were taken - from June 26, 1941, mandatory overtime was introduced for workers and employees, the working day for adults was increased to 11 hours with a six-day work week, and vacations were cancelled. In December 1941, all workers in military production were declared mobilized and assigned to work at these enterprises.
By the end of 1941, it was possible to stop the decline in industrial production, and at the end of 1942, the USSR was significantly ahead of Germany in the production of military equipment, not only in quantity (2,100 aircraft, 2,000 tanks monthly)^ but also in qualitative terms: from June 1941 it began serial production of Katyusha-type mortar systems, the T-34/85 tank was modernized, etc. Methods for automatic welding of armor were developed (E. O. Paton), automatic machines for producing cartridges were designed. |
In the shortest possible time, backup enterprises were put into operation in the Urals and Siberia. Already in March 1942, growth began in the military field. It took time to produce weapons and equipment in a new location. Only in the second half of 1942, at the cost of incredible efforts of home front workers and the tough organizational work of party committees, was it possible to create a well-coordinated military-industrial complex, which produces more weapons and equipment than Germany and its allies. To provide enterprises with labor, the responsibility of workers for labor discipline was tightened. In February 1942, a decree was adopted in accordance with which workers and employees were declared mobilized for the duration of the war. The bulk of the rear workers and rural workers were women and teenagers. A distribution card system was introduced in the cities. By 1943, the army was equipped with new types of military equipment: Il-10 and Yak-7 aircraft, T-34(m) tanks.
Science has made a significant contribution to strengthening the Armed Forces. New oil and gas fields have been discovered and high-quality production has been mastered. high-quality steels, new radars were created, work began on splitting nuclear core. The West Siberian Fi| Lial of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
Thanks to the dedicated work of the rear to at the end of 1943, an economic victory was won over Germany, and weapons production reached its maximum level in 1944.
Men who went to the front at enterprises and collective farms were replaced by women, pensioners and teenagers (40% of the number of workers in industry were women, 360 thousand students in grades 8-10 came to production in the second half of 1941). In 1944, there were 2.5 million people under the age of 18 among the working class, including 700 thousand teenagers.
The population erected defensive structures, organized duty in hospitals, and donated blood as doyors. Gulag prisoners made a great contribution to the victory (by the beginning of the war their number had reached monstrous proportions - 2 million 300 thousand people; in 1943 it was 983,974 people). They mined minerals, produced shells, and sewed uniforms. For special distinctions in the rear, 198 people were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor; 16 million people were awarded the medal “For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.” However, speaking about labor achievements and mass heroism in the rear, we should not forget that the war undermined the health of the people. Poor living conditions, malnutrition, and lack of medical care have become the norm of life for millions of people.”
The rear sent weapons, ammunition, military equipment, food and uniforms to the front. Industrial achievements made it possible by November 1942 to change the balance of forces in favor of the Soviet troops. The quantitative increase in the production of military equipment and weapons was accompanied by a rapid improvement in their quality characteristics, the creation of new types of vehicles, artillery systems, and small arms.
So, The T-34 medium tank remained the best in World War II; it was superior to the same type of fascist T-V tank("Panther"). Also in 1943, serial production of self-propelled artillery units (SAU) began.
In the activities of the Soviet rear, 1943 became a turning point. During the war, the tactical and technical characteristics of the aircraft improved. More advanced fighters La-5, Yak-9, Yak-7 appeared; serial production of the Il-2 attack aircraft, nicknamed the “tank destroyer,” was mastered, an analogue of which the German industry was never able to create.
They made a great contribution to the expulsion of the occupiers partisans.
According to the Ost plan, the Nazis established a regime in the occupied areas bloody terror, creating the so-called " new order" Acted special program export of food, material and cultural values. About 5 million people. In many areas, collective farms have been retained with appointed elders to remove food. Death camps, prisons and ghettos were created. Became a symbol of the extermination of the Jewish population Babi Yar in Kyiv, where in September 1941 over 100 thousand people were shot. In extermination camps on the territory of the USSR and other European countries ( Majdanek, Auschwitz etc.) millions of people (prisoners of war, underground fighters and partisans, Jews) died.
The first call for the deployment of a resistance movement behind enemy lines was made in the directive of the Council of People's Commissars of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (Bolsheviks) dated June 29, 1941. tasks disrupt communications in occupied territories, destroy transport, disrupt military events, destroy fascists and their accomplices, help create sabotage killing groups. The partisan movement at the first stage was spontaneous.
In the winter of 1941-1942. in the Tula and Kalinin regions the first partisan detachments, which included communists who had gone underground, soldiers from defeated units and the local population. At the same time, underground organizations operated, engaged in reconnaissance, sabotage and informing the population about the situation at the fronts. The name of a 17-year-old Moscow Komsomol member, intelligence officer, became a symbol of courage of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, the daughter of a repressed man, thrown behind enemy lines and hanged by the Nazis.
May 30, 1942 in Moscow was created Central headquarters of the partisan movement in Pavé with P. K. Ponomarenko, and at army headquarters there are special departments for communication with partisan detachments. From this moment on, the partisan movement becomes more organized and coordinates its actions with the army (Belarus, the northern part of Ukraine, Bryansk, Smolensk and Oryol regions). By the spring of 1943, underground sabotage work was carried out in almost all cities in the occupied territory. Large partisan formations (regiments, brigades) began to emerge, led by experienced commanders: S. A. Kovpak, A. N. Saburov, A. F. Fedorov, Hi 3. Kolyada, S.V. Grishin and others. Almost all partisan formations had radio contact with the Center.
Since summer 1943 large formations of partisans carried out fighting within the framework of combined arms operations. Particularly large-scale partisan actions were during the Battle of Kursk, operations "Rail War and" Concert" As the Soviet troops advanced, partisan formations were reorganized and merged into units of the regular army.
In total, during the war years, the partisans disabled 1.5 million enemy soldiers and officers, blew up 20 thousand enemy trains and 12 thousand bridges; 65 thousand vehicles, 2.3 thousand tanks, 1.1 thousand aircraft, 17 thousand km of communication lines were destroyed.
The partisan movement and the underground became one of the significant factors in the victory.
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The mobilization of efforts to ensure victory in the Great Patriotic War was carried out not only at the front, but also in the economy, social policy, and ideology. The main political slogan of the party is “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” had important practical significance and coincided with the general moral mood of the Soviet people.
The attack of Hitler's Germany on the Soviet Union caused a powerful patriotic upsurge of the entire population of the country. Many Soviet people enlisted in the people's militia, donated their blood, participated in air defense, and donated money and jewelry to the defense fund. The Red Army received great assistance from millions of women sent to dig trenches, build anti-tank ditches and other defensive structures. With the onset of cold weather in the winter of 1941/42, a wide campaign was launched to collect warm clothes for the army: sheepskin coats, felt boots, mittens, etc.
1. Economics. From the first days of the war, extraordinary measures were taken to transfer the economy to a war footing; a military-economic plan for the production of all types of weapons and ammunition has been developed (unlike previous years - monthly and quarterly); the rigid system of centralized management of industry, transport and agriculture has been strengthened; Special people's commissariats were created for the production of certain types of weapons, the Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army. Evacuation advice.
Extensive work began to evacuate industrial enterprises and human resources to the eastern regions of the country. In 1941--1942. About 2,000 enterprises and 11 million people were moved to the Urals, Siberia, and Central Asia. This process took place especially intensively in the summer - autumn of 1941 and in the summer - autumn of 1942, i.e. during the most difficult moments of the struggle on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. At the same time, work was organized on the ground to quickly restart the evacuated factories. Mass production of modern types of weapons began (aircraft, tanks, artillery, automatic small arms), the designs of which were developed in the pre-war years. In 1942, the volume of gross industrial output exceeded the level of 1941 by 1.5 times.
Agriculture suffered huge losses in the initial period of the war. The main grain areas were occupied by the enemy. The area under cultivation and the number of cattle decreased by 2 times. Gross agricultural output was 37% of pre-war levels. Therefore, the work that began before the war to expand acreage in Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia was accelerated.
By the end of 1942, the restructuring of the economy to serve the needs of the war was completed.
In 1941--1942. An important role was played by military and economic assistance from the United States, an ally of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition. Supplies under the so-called Lend-Lease[i] of military equipment, medicines and food were not of decisive importance (according to various sources, from 4 to 10% of industrial products produced in our country), but provided some assistance to the Soviet people during the most difficult period of the war. Due to the underdevelopment of the domestic automobile industry, transport supplies (American-made trucks and cars) were especially valuable.
At the second stage (1943-1945), the USSR achieved decisive superiority over Germany in economic development, especially in the production of military products. 7,500 large enterprises were commissioned, ensuring sustainable growth in industrial production. Compared to the previous period, the volume of industrial production increased by 38%. In 1943, 30 thousand aircraft, 24 thousand tanks, 130 thousand artillery pieces of all types were produced. The improvement of military equipment continued - small arms (submachine guns), new fighters (La-5, Yak-9), heavy bombers (ANT-42, which received the front-line name TB-7). These strategic bombers were able to bomb Berlin and return to their bases without intermediate landings to refuel. Unlike the pre-war and first war years, new models of military equipment immediately went into mass production.
In August 1943, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” On its basis, already during the war years, the restoration of destroyed industry and agriculture began. Particular attention was paid to the mining, metallurgical and energy industries in the Donbass and the Dnieper region.
In 1944 and early 1945, the highest rise in military production and complete superiority over Germany, whose economic situation had sharply worsened, was achieved. The gross volume of production exceeded the pre-war level, and the military output increased 3 times. Of particular importance was the increase in agricultural production. A.F. Kiseleva. Russia and the world., M.: “Vlados”, 1994, T.2
2. Social policy. It was also aimed at ensuring victory. In this area, emergency measures were taken, generally justified by the situation of the war. Many millions of Soviet people were mobilized to the front. Compulsory general military training covered 10 million people in the rear. In 1942, labor mobilization of the entire urban and rural population was introduced, and measures to strengthen labor discipline were tightened. The network of factory schools (FZU) was expanded, through which about 2 million people passed. The use of female and teenage labor in production has increased significantly. Since the autumn of 1941, a centralized distribution of food products (card system) was introduced, which made it possible to avoid mass starvation. Since 1942, workers and employees on the city outskirts began to be allocated land for collective gardens. City residents received part of their agricultural products in the form of payment in kind for work (on weekends) on suburban collective farms. Opportunities for selling the products of their household plots at collective farm markets were expanded for peasants. K.A Ermak “Results of the Second World War. Conclusions of the vanquished." Ed. “Polygon-AST” series “Military History Library” 1992
3. Ideology. In the ideological field, the line of strengthening patriotism and interethnic unity of the peoples of the USSR continued. The glorification of the heroic past of the Russian and other peoples, which began in the pre-war period, has significantly intensified.
New elements were introduced into propaganda methods. Class and socialist values were replaced by the generalizing concepts of “Motherland” and “Fatherland”. Propaganda stopped placing special emphasis on the principle of proletarian internationalism (the Comintern was disbanded in May 1943). It was now based on a call for the unity of all countries in the common struggle against fascism, regardless of the nature of their socio-political systems.
During the war years, reconciliation and rapprochement between the Soviet government and the Russian Orthodox Church took place, which on June 22, 1941 blessed the people “to defend the sacred borders of the Motherland.” In 1942, the largest hierarchs were involved in the work of the Commission for the Investigation of Fascist Crimes. In 1943, with the permission of J.V. Stalin, the Local Council elected Metropolitan Sergius Patriarch of All Rus'. O.A. Rzheshevsky; E.K. Zhigunov. Great Patriotic War. Events. People. Documentation. Brief historical guide. Polizdat. M.: 1990
4. Literature and art. Administrative and ideological control in the field of literature and art was relaxed. During the war years, many writers went to the front, becoming war correspondents. Outstanding anti-fascist works: poems by A. T. Tvardovsky, O. F. Berggolts and K. M. Simonov, journalistic essays and articles by I. G. Erenburg, A. N. Tolstoy and M. A. Sholokhov, symphonies by D. D. Shostakovich and S.S. Prokofiev, songs by A.V. Aleksandrov, B.A. Mokrousov, V.P. Solovyov-Sedoy, M.I. Blanter, I.O. Dunaevsky and others - raised the morale of Soviet citizens , strengthened their confidence in victory, developed feelings of national pride and patriotism.
Cinema gained particular popularity during the war years. Domestic cameramen and directors recorded the most important events taking place at the front, filmed documentaries (“The defeat of German troops near Moscow”, “Leningrad in the Struggle”, “Battle for Sevastopol”, “Berlin”) and feature films (“Zoya”, “The Guy from of our city”, “Invasion”, “She defends the Motherland”, “Two fighters”, etc.).
Famous theater, film and pop artists created creative teams that went to the front, to hospitals, factory floors and collective farms. At the front, 440 thousand performances and concerts were given by 42 thousand creative workers.
A major role in the development of mass propaganda work was played by the artists who designed TASS Windows and created posters and cartoons known throughout the country.
The main themes of all works of art (literature, music, cinema, etc.) were scenes from the heroic past of Russia, as well as facts that testified to the courage, loyalty and devotion to the Motherland of the Soviet people who fought the enemy at the front and in the occupied territories. O.A. Rzheshevsky; E.K. Zhigunov. The Great Patriotic War. Events. People. Documentation. Brief historical guide. Polizdat. M.: 1990
5. Science. Scientists made a great contribution to ensuring victory over the enemy, despite the difficulties of wartime and the evacuation of many scientific, cultural and educational institutions inland. They mainly concentrated their work in applied branches of science, but also did not leave out research of a fundamental, theoretical nature. They developed technology for manufacturing new hard alloys and steels needed by the tank industry; conducted research in the field of radio waves, contributing to the creation of domestic radars. L. D. Landau developed the theory of motion of a quantum liquid, for which he later received the Nobel Prize.
Scientists and engineers paid great attention to improving machine tools and mechanisms, introducing technological methods to increase labor productivity and reduce defects.
Work in the field of aerodynamics has helped to significantly increase the speed of aircraft and at the same time increase their stability and maneuverability. During the war, new high-speed fighters Yak-3, Yak-9, La-5 and La-7, the Il-10 attack aircraft, and the Tu-2 bomber were created. These aircraft surpassed the German Messerschmitts, Junkers and Heinkels. In 1942, the first Soviet jet aircraft designed by V.F. Bolkhovitinov was tested.
Academician E.O. Paton developed and introduced a new welding method tank corps, which made it possible to significantly increase the strength of tanks. Tank designers ensured the rearmament of the Red Army with new types of combat vehicles.
In 1943, the troops received a new heavy tank, the IS, armed with an 85-mm cannon. Later it was replaced by the IS-2 and IS-3, armed with a 122-mm cannon and considered the most powerful tanks Second World War. The T-34 was replaced in 1944 by the T-34-85, which had enhanced armor protection, and was equipped with an 85-mm cannon instead of a 76-mm one.
The power of Soviet self-propelled artillery systems was constantly increasing. If in 1943 their main type was the SU-76 based light tank T-70, then in 1944 the SU-100 based on the T-34, ISU-122 and ISU-152 based on the IS-2 tank appeared. (The numbers in the name of the self-propelled gun indicate the caliber of the gun, for example: ISU-122 - fighter self-propelled gun with a 122 mm caliber gun.)
The work of physicists A.F. Ioffe, S.I. Vavilov, L.I. Mandelstam and many others ensured the creation of new types of radar devices, direction finders, magnetic mines, and more effective incendiary mixtures.
The merits of military medicine are enormous. The methods of pain relief and bandages with ointments developed by A.V. Vishnevsky were widely used in the treatment of wounds and burns. Thanks to new methods of blood transfusion, mortality from blood loss has significantly decreased. The development of Z.V. played an invaluable role. Ermolyeva drug based on penicillin. According to eyewitnesses, “the magic medicine, before the eyes of astonished witnesses, abolished death sentences and brought the hopelessly wounded and sick back to life.” Sviridov M.N. Everything for the front. M.: 1989, T.9
This will be the last story today about how some of the most important troops helped, the rear troops, and especially how women who barely slept and did the hard work of men! Let's remember the real heroes of the labor front!
The war extremely aggravated the situation with labor resources. Due to the loss of the densely populated western regions and mobilization into the Red Army, the number of workers was significantly reduced. If in the first half of 1941 31.8 million workers and employees were employed in the economy, then in the second half of the year - 22.8 million, and in 1942 - 18.4 million people.
War and heavy industry
Men of military age who had gone into the army were replaced by teenagers, old men, and women. In the second half of 1941 alone, almost 2 million housewives, schoolchildren and pensioners came to the factories. Academician-metallurgist Evgeniy Oskarovich Paton recalled:
“I will never forget the women of those years. Hundreds of them came to the plant, did the hardest work for men, stood in lines for hours and raised children, and did not bend under the weight of grief when the funeral service for their husband, son or brother arrived. These were real heroines of the labor front, worthy of admiration."
Trying to provide the defense industries with as much labor as possible, the state resorted to mass mobilization of workers light industry, agriculture, a number of other industries, as well as students in heavy industry. Workers in military factories and transport were considered mobilized. Unauthorized departure from enterprises was prohibited.
The movement “To work not only for yourself, but also for a comrade who has gone to the front” has acquired a mass character. Two hundred workers appeared, fulfilling two norms per shift. Milling machine operator at Uralvagonzavod Dmitry Filippovich Bosy became the founder of the thousand-man movement. With the help of a device he invented, which made it possible to simultaneously process several parts on one machine, in February 1942 he fulfilled the norm by 1480%.
War and the village
The war caused enormous damage to agriculture. In 1941-1942, about half of the acreage and livestock, almost a third of the energy capacity ended up in the hands of the occupiers. Tractors, cars, horses were confiscated for the needs of the front.
Almost all men of military age joined the army. In many villages and hamlets there are no men under 50-55 years of age left at all. In 1943, 71% of agricultural workers were women. Old people and teenagers worked next to them. Most of the machine operators were drafted into the army (after all, a tractor driver is practically a ready-made tank driver). Women mastered the tractor. Already in 1942, 150 thousand people took part in the competition of women's tractor teams.
The war demanded the greatest self-sacrifice from village workers. The mandatory minimum workdays were increased to three hundred per year. The products of collective and state farms were handed over completely and practically free of charge to the state. Collective farmers survived at the expense of their personal plots, although they were burdened with taxes and various mandatory fees. The incredible tension of the peasantry made it possible to provide the army with food and the military industry with raw materials.
War and Science
Scientific achievements played a huge role in strengthening the country's defense power. Based on the recommendations of scientists, production was significantly increased at many metallurgical plants in the Urals, as well as in Siberia. Deposits of manganese ores were discovered in Kazakhstan, bauxite - in Southern Urals, copper and tungsten - in Central Asia. This helped compensate for the loss of deposits in the western part of the country and ensure the uninterrupted operation of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises. Extensive exploration work made it possible to discover new oil deposits in Bashkiria and Tataria.
Scientists and engineers paid great attention to improving machine tools and mechanisms, introducing technological methods to increase labor productivity and reduce defects.
The merits of military medicine are enormous. Methods of pain relief and bandages with ointments developed by Alexander Vasilyevich Vishnevsky were widely used in the treatment of wounds and burns. Thanks to new methods of blood transfusion, mortality from blood loss has significantly decreased. The development of a penicillin-based drug by Zinaida Vissarionovna Ermolyeva played an invaluable role. According to eyewitnesses, “the magic medicine, before the eyes of astonished witnesses, abolished death sentences and brought the hopelessly wounded and sick back to life.”
Home front life
The war greatly worsened the living conditions of Soviet people. Even according to official (probably highly embellished) data, meat consumption in working families in 1942 decreased by 2.5 times compared to pre-war times, and dairy products by 40%. In the villages, meat consumption decreased threefold, bread consumption by a third. There is much less fat, sugar, and vegetables in food. There wasn't enough cereal. But they began to eat twice as much potatoes.
Food shortages forced strict rationing. Cards for bread, sugar and confectionery; more than a hundred major cities- also for meat, fish, fats, pasta and cereals.
The collective farmers did not receive cards at all and were left outside the rationed supply system - without salt, without sugar, without bread - in fact, on only potatoes from their own garden.
As in the first half of the 1930s, several categories of rationed supplies were established. The first category included workers in the defense industry, the second included workers in other industries, the third included office workers, and the fourth included dependents and children. Engineering and technical workers were equal to workers of the corresponding enterprises. Doctors, teachers, writers, cultural and artistic workers were also considered workers.
Since the autumn of 1943, the first category received 700 grams of bread per day, the second - 500 grams. Employees received 400 grams, children and dependents - 300.
In order to purchase cards, the line at the store doors had to be occupied overnight. In the morning, after standing for several hours, you could get the coveted loaf and, if you were lucky, a piece of butter, margarine or shortening. However, it often turned out that there were no products at all; Sometimes even there was not enough bread for everyone. Cards were issued for a month and were not replaced if lost. Losing cards, especially at the beginning of the month, meant starvation.
Prices for food issued using ration cards did not change throughout the war. However, outside the rationed supply system, rapid inflation occurred, especially since the state increased the production of paper money to cover military expenses.
All warring countries, even the United States, resorted in 1941-1945 to rationing the supply of food and many basic necessities to the population. But only in the USSR, which formally proclaimed the equality of workers, was the free sale of rationed products not prohibited. This allowed people who had money or valuables to purchase products on the market, where prices were on average 13 times higher than pre-war prices.
In 1944, state-owned commercial stores were opened, in which goods were sold in unlimited quantities, but cost 10-30 more than in the rationed supply system. No Western country allowed such cynicism.
The war left millions of people homeless. Refugees and evacuees were often forced to huddle in converted public buildings or occupy corners in the houses and apartments of local residents. Most survivors of the evacuation fondly remember the inhabitants of the Urals and Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia - people of different nationalities who squeezed in to give shelter to unfamiliar families.
A particularly difficult fate befell those whose homes were in the front line. Where the front stopped for a long time, most often all that remained of the huts were stoves sticking out among the ruins, and people had to huddle in cellars and dugouts. Villages left without men, even after the war, were not immediately able to rebuild and heal their wounds.
The war became a cruel test for all our people. Soviet people in the rear, as well as at the front, they passed this test with honor. The amazing resilience shown by the people in those difficult years allowed the country to withstand the war and win - despite the monstrous miscalculations made by the ruling regime.
