Evacuation and Reconstruction of Industrial Plants Controlled by the People’s Commissariat of Arms during the Great Patriotic War
The relevance of the research is accounted for by the necessity to accumulate and reassess positive historical evidence related to the Great Victory of the Soviet people. The aim of the research is to investigate the processes of evacuation and reconstruction of military plants controlled by the People’s Commissariat of Arms in 1941, the most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War. The novelty of the research consists in the fact that the author analyzes a massive array of recently declassified archival materials to unveil some factors that slowed down military plants in 1941 as well as to investigate the reconstruction and revitalization of military plants and to discover the causes of increased productivity. A special emphasis is laid on the reconstruction of Leningrad defence plants and on the fate of evacuated employees. The article concludes that, having successfully dealt with reconstruction and evacuation, the People’s Commissariat of Arms managed to reconstruct and revitalize the industry and to enhance military supply chains. New armament systems were created and numerous scientific innovations were implemented, new engineering solutions discovered. The results of the research can be used in the teaching process and can be referred to when investigating issues related to the Great Patriotic War.