Libmonster ID: RS-588
Author(s) of the publication: Yu. I. SEVASTYANOV

One of the brightest pages of the national combat and labor feat of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War is the unprecedented scale of defense and civil construction in Moscow and the Moscow region in 1941-1945. Even when Hitler's propaganda trumpeted the inevitable fall of the capital, the workers of Moscow's construction projects built defensive fortifications and metro lines, created industrial enterprises, and built residential and public buildings. Even during the war, restoration work began on the territory liberated from the enemy and the re-evacuation of industrial enterprises. The special interest in this stage of the history of Moscow builders is explained not only by the huge scope of work and numerous examples of selfless service to the Motherland, which help "educate all workers on the best labor standards" 1, but also by the fact that the rich experience of workers in the capital's industry in using ideological and material factors to increase labor productivity, centralization of construction organizations, breaking outdated canons He had a great influence on the further development of this important branch of public production.

The authors of studies on the contribution of Muscovites to the Great Patriotic War do not consider the activity of builders in full, but only briefly write about the construction of fortifications in the autumn of 1941, cite individual facts (usually from the practice of trusts of the Moscow City Council system) about its other aspects .2 The work of Moscow builders is not reflected in any detail in the collections of documents about Moscow in 1941-1945. Almost all the materials published in them relate to only one issue: the construction of defensive lines - and do not create a complete picture of the work of the builders. 3 Therefore, we can agree with the editorial board of one of the collections of the Institute of History of the USSR that "the feat of builders during the war years has not yet been sufficiently studied and considerable efforts will be required to draw a complete picture of the scope of construction, to describe the selfless work of construction workers" 4 . The task of the author of this article is to partially fill this gap.

Changes in the military situation and the specific weight of certain types of construction and installation work, working conditions and the composition of builders give

1 "Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union", Moscow, 1961, p. 118.

2 A. M. Samsonov. The Great Victory near Moscow, Moscow, 1958; V. S. Vasilenko. Labor in the name of Victory, Moscow, 1959; V. P. Tsygankov. Heroic Moscow, Moscow 1960; "The Great Battle near Moscow", Moscow 1961; P. Andreev, K. Bukov. Feat of the Hero City, Moscow, 1965; "History of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War and the Post-war period of 1941-1965", Moscow, 1967.

3 "Withstood and won", Moscow, 1966; "Moscow to the Front", Moscow, 1966.

4 "Builders to the front", Moscow, 1968, p. 6.

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It is possible to distinguish three periods in the history of capital construction during the war years: June-December 1941-radical organizational restructuring in a military way; 1942-1943-stabilization of the activities of Moscow builders in the conditions of a front-line city; 1944-1945-gradual transition to peacetime tasks.

The prerequisites for the successful work of Moscow builders were the creation of a powerful Moscow construction industry during the first five-year plans. By the beginning of the war, there were 165 thousand people in its 75 organizations (territorial and specialized trusts of the People's Commissariat of Construction, the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council and other departments) .5 Talented organizers of the construction business brought up by the party grew up on the construction sites of Moscow: L. O. Paper, N. P. Plotnikov, D. N. Chechulin, M. N. Shestakov and many others. Thanks to the success of the socialist industry, the level of technical equipment of builders significantly increased: they had at their disposal 140 excavators, 270 tower cranes, etc. 6. Progressive methods of work, in particular, high-speed construction, became widespread. If in previous years multi-storey buildings were often built for 4-5 years (for example, 56.3% of the houses built in 1935 were started in 1931-1932), 7 by 1940, the time frame for their construction on advanced construction sites was reduced to 6-7 months. 76% of all buildings were built by high-speed transport in 19408, which allowed only this year to put into operation 30 new hospitals and children's institutions, the Red Army Theater, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, 370 thousand rubles. m2 of living space, large workshops of the Krasny Proletariy and Stankokonstruktsiya factories 9 .

The attack of nazi Germany on the USSR, the harsh days of the greatest trials hanging over the country, made it necessary "to fully put the economy at the service of the interests of defense in the shortest possible time" 10 . The Central Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Soviet government developed a program to mobilize all forces to defeat the enemy, part of which were decisions to change the nature of work and tasks of Moscow builders. Under the direct leadership of the CIM of the CPSU(b) and the Moscow City Council, a huge amount of work was launched to mobilize and transfer entire construction teams to other regions of the country. At the end of June-July 1941, more than 30 thousand people were mobilized from the Department of Cultural and Household Construction, the Department of Construction of the Palace of Soviets, trusts NN 9, 15, "Builder", Akademstroy and a number of other Moscow trusts to build fortifications in the western regions of the USSR .11 More than 50 thousand people, mainly from the trusts NN 10, 11, 17, 18, Mospromstroy, "Builder" and the Construction Department of the Palace of Soviets were sent to the eastern regions of the Soviet Union for the construction of industrial enterprises 12 . Having joined the sapper units of the active army or become part of the working class of the corresponding economic regions, they did a great job: they erected strips of fortifications, built dozens of large industrial enterprises in Siberia, Ukraine and the Volga region. They made a particularly significant contribution to the creation of the Rzhev-Vyazma line of defense - the first major line of fortifications on the outskirts of Moscow. Here are the metropolitan areas

5 "History of Moscow", Vol. 6, Book 2, Moscow, 1959, p. 57.

6 D. M. Chudnovsky, S. V. Beniovich. The construction industry to the level of tasks of reconstruction of Moscow. "Construction of Moscow", 1940, NN 11-14, p. 93.

7 State Archive of the October Revolution and Socialist Construction of the Moscow Region (hereinafter-GAMO), f. 5314, op. 2, ed. xr. 80, l. 149.

8 Ibid., ed. ch. 104, l. 77.

9 "Moscow Bolshevik", 22. III. 1941.

10 L. I. Brezhnev. The Great Victory of the Soviet People, Moscow, 1965, p. 21.

11 GAMO, f. 7171, op. 1, d. 29, l. 8.

12 Calculated based on the materials of GAMO, f. 7171, op. 1, d. 29, l. 8, f. 7205, op. 1, d. 17, l. 17.

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The builders, together with 100 thousand Moscow youths and maidens13, detachments of the mobilized local population and Reserve Front troops (up to 400 thousand people in total), built 2,250 km of anti-tank ditches and excarpments and about a thousand casemated fortifications 14 .

The transfer of construction workers in the current conditions was a fully justified measure that contributed to strengthening the defense capability of the Soviet Union. However, it significantly complicated the tasks facing Moscow builders. In those organizations whose main area of activity remained Moscow, the number of employees sharply decreased. If the largest of them, the Housing Construction Department, according to data on June 30, 1941, employed 12,427 people, then on July 9 - only 8,975, on August 15-8,041, and on September 1 - 7,459 .15
A significant reorganization of the construction industry was also an integral part of the restructuring of the construction industry in a military way. The system of enterprises of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council underwent particularly big changes at this time. In order to better organize its management and due to changes in the scope and nature of work in the second half of 1941, the number of its trusts was reduced from 33 to 2116 . At the same time, 31 emergency recovery units of the MPVO 17 were created on their basis . The Narkomstroy system is also being reorganized. As a result of simplification of its structure, the Zhilstroy and Zhilpromstroy trusts were liquidated, trust No. 15 merged with Mospromstroy, all divisions of the People's Commissariat of Construction were transferred to the position of special construction and installation units (employees of the OSMCH were assigned the rights and obligations of military personnel).18 . These changes, although they did not lead to the creation of a single powerful construction organization and did not completely end certain departmental divisions, made it possible to better use human reserves, led to savings in money and construction materials, and helped form a new production cooperation.

At the same time, the proportions of the main types of construction work are promptly changed at the direction of the CIM of the CPSU(b) and the Moscow City Council. Already on July 8, 1941, a list of shock construction projects was approved, for the speedy completion of which all resources were concentrated .19 The construction of various defensive facilities was brought to the fore: the construction of new large workshops of factories, for example, named after Kim, collective bomb shelters (3332,20 of them were built in June - July 1941 ). To disorient enemy aircraft, the drainage channel and central squares were covered with plywood shields, and false objects were created on the outskirts and vacant lots, simulating factories and airfields.

Since the end of July 1941, as a result of the Nazi air raids on Moscow, 2 and 112 industrial enterprises were completely and partially destroyed, 226 residential buildings were destroyed, 21 and the Bolshoi Theater was damaged,

13 See "Step forward, Komsomol tribe", Moscow, 1958, p. 173.

14 E. V. Leoshenya. Engineering support for the defensive operations of the Western Front and MZO in the Battle of Moscow. "An unprecedented feat", Moscow, 1968, pp. 177-178.

15 Glavmosstroy Archive, Housing Construction Management Fund. Planning department, op. 1, 21, ll. 5, 17, 24, 31.

16 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 4, d. 39, l. 19.

17 Ibid., op. 2, d. 108, l. 108.

18 TSGANKH, f. 8754, op. 2, d. 4, ll. 136, 146, 147.

19 Archive of the Moscow City Council, Fund of decisions of the Executive Committee. Collection of decisions 27, decision 27/8 for 1941.

20 Party Archive of the Institute of Party History under the MGK and MK of the CPSU (hereinafter referred to as the IPA), f. 3; op. 66, d.25, l. 20; "History of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War and the post - war period of 1941-1965, p. 38.

21 "Moscow-front", p. 107.

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Vakhtangov Theater, Moscow State University, Manege and some other public buildings. In this regard, emergency recovery work carried out by units of the MPVO under the command of well-known pre-war construction engineers N. P. Plotnikov, V. F. Mosolov, M. N. Shestakov became of great importance.

As a rule, Moscow builders clearly and quickly eliminated the consequences of enemy raids. So, during the day, the damage caused by the explosion of a large high-explosive bomb at Nikitsky Gate on August 3, 1941 was eliminated. "Engineering intelligence, headed by the chief architect of Moscow D. N. Chechulin," writes the then chairman of the Moscow City Council V. P. Pronin, " determined the nature of the destruction on the spot, and the emergency recovery regiment set to work. The next day, all communications were restored, the square was paved, and the repaired monument (to Timiryazev) stood in its original place."22 Just as quickly, using various mechanisms - light cranes, conveyors, compressors, builders eliminated the consequences of the explosion in the house number 10 on Mokhovaya Street, in the building of the Bolshoi Theater and a number of other places. Despite the bombardment, the water supply, gas, and power system did not stop working for a single day.

In July - September 1941, work on the reconstruction of the city was also carried out on a small scale: the construction of the metro continued, large vegetable storehouses were built, new multi-storey residential buildings were built on Mozhaiskoe Highway, Gorky Street, Dorogomilovskaya Street, Frunzenskaya Embankment.

In the autumn of 1941, when the enemy managed to reach the approaches to Moscow, the construction of defensive fortifications became even more important. Since August 1941, Moscow builders of Metrostroy, trusts of the People's Commissariat of Construction, and the Construction Department of the Moscow Regional Council, together with the mobilized population, have been working on the construction of the second major line of fortifications - the Mozhaisk defense line. Up to 100 thousand people worked here every day23 . A peculiar division of labor between professional builders and the population involved in the creation of fortifications was clearly manifested: the former mainly created complex fortifications, the latter conducted earthworks under the guidance of engineers and architects. Unfortunately, the Mozhaisk line of fortifications could not be completed: by the beginning of the German general offensive, only 55% of the planned pillboxes and 85% of the anti-tank ditches were erected .24 Nevertheless, "these lines were truly of great importance for repelling the powerful onslaught of the Fascist shock force." 25
In mid-October, when the front line was very close to Moscow, construction organizations focused all their efforts on creating a third line of fortifications - the Moscow defense zone. On October 13, 1941, the party activist of the MK of the CPSU(b) emphasized that one of the most important tasks now is the construction of defensive lines near Moscow .26 Almost all earthmoving mechanisms were transferred here: excavators, excavators, and bulldozers. Starting from October 21, 1941. they worked around the clock.

The creation of the planned fortifications of the Moscow defense zone in the shortest possible time was impossible without attracting a large number of able-bodied civilians to help the personnel builders.-

22 "The Battle for Moscow", Moscow, 1966, p. 456.

23 "History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union", Vol. 2, 1961, p. 233.

24 P. A. Artemyev. An insurmountable barrier on the outskirts of the capital. "The Battle for Moscow", p. 107.

25 K. F. Telegin. They didn't give up Moscow. Moscow, 1968, p. 72.

26 MP A, f. 3, op. 23, d. 76, l. 1.

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On October 25, due to the need to finish mostly the construction of fortifications in the coming days, the Executive Committee of the Moscow Soviet decided: "Involve the population of Moscow aged men under 45 and women under 40 in the construction of a line of fortifications near Moscow" 27 .

In November 1941, the number of construction workers (Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region) reached 110 thousand people .28
In the address of workers 6, 9, 10, 11, 21-in response to the decision of the MGK party asset, the feelings of those who just came to the construction site and those who reconstructed Moscow during the five-year plans are clearly expressed: "Our homeland is experiencing terrible, harsh days. Moscow, the great capital of the Soviet State, is in grave danger... We, your sons and daughters, Moscow, are yours forever. We encourage our comrades to compete for the fastest and best construction of defensive structures. Working for two, for three, in the shortest possible time we will build an iron defense belt on the outskirts of Moscow. " 29 In the autumn slush, and then in severe, reaching 30 - 35° frosts, the communist-led team of builders of defensive lines worked without sparing their strength. "Despite frequent air alerts and explosions of land mines in the area of our work," said one of the construction managers, I. I. Chekmachev, " people did not stop working for a minute. Everyone was well aware of the importance of the fortifications being built for the defense of Moscow, and they worked 10-12 hours a day. People were ready to risk their lives, but the combat mission should be completed as soon as possible. " 30
Despite frequent changes to the front line, the lack of a sufficient number of experienced fortifiers and the lack of construction materials, Moscow builders managed to complete a huge amount of work on time - to build 73 km of anti-tank ditches, 79.5 km of excarpments, open 128 km of trenches and communication passages. In the city itself, anti - tank ditches were built-17.4 km, excarpments and counter-excarpments-53.7 km, nadolb-30.9 km, barricades-9183, firing points-1400 km .

The labor heroism of the builders of the fortifications, their contribution to the defense of the capital helped to stop the advance of the Nazi troops. It is this, along with other manifestations of the patriotic feelings of Soviet citizens, the growing strength of the Soviet Army and the growing power of our economy, and not the "strategic miscalculations of Hitler", "autumn mud and very early winter", "mud in which German transport is stuck"that are highlighted by bourgeois falsifiers as important reasons. 32 a factor that led the troops of Nazi Germany to the first major defeat in the history of World War II.

After the defeat of the enemy armies near Moscow, great changes took place in the activities of Moscow builders. At this new stage, their participation in the revival of the liberated areas is becoming crucial.

In connection with the huge damage (over 27 billion rubles) suffered by the Moscow region as a result of the occupation of Crimea, already on December 20, 1941. The plenum of the MK and MGK of the party demanded "to immediately expand the work."

27 Moscow City Council Archive, Fund of Executive Committee decisions. Collection of decisions 45, decision 45/10 for 1941.

28 "Moscow-front", p. 52.

29 "Moscow Bolshevik", 18. X. 1941.

30 TSGANKH, f. 8590, op. 2, d. 776, l. 2.

31 "Moscow-front", p. 54.

32 See G. Guderian. Memoirs of a Soldier, Moscow, 1954, p. 249; K. Melentin. Tank battles of 1939-1945, Moscow, 1956, p. 290; D. Fuller. The Second World War. 1939-1945, Moscow, 1957, p. 168.

33 MPA, f. 3, op. 29, d. 7, l. 27.

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to restore industrial enterprises, public utilities, artels, collective farms and state farms, as well as to provide all possible assistance to the population of cities and villages affected by the fascist invaders."34 Another main task put forward to the builders by the May (1942) Plenum of the MGK VKP(b) was to restore and expand the enterprises of Moscow itself. The importance of solving this problem can be judged by the fact that at that time there were more than 2 million people in Moscow. m2 of empty production areas after evacuation 35 .

Moscow builders faced a number of serious difficulties. Construction industry enterprises (Tuchkovsky combine, Vak and Ivanovo quarries) were destroyed, and the woodworking plant of the Housing Construction Department was severely damaged by an air raid. Many construction materials factories switched to the production of military products: metal structures factories now produced concrete tankers and pillbox towers, reinforced concrete structures factories-prefabricated pillboxes. As a result, the production of building materials declined sharply in 1942. Compared to 1940, only 8% of cement, 10% of slate, and 7% of brick were produced .36 The number of construction workers has also significantly decreased in comparison with the pre-war period. At the beginning of 1942, there were only 33.4 thousand people in their ranks .37
The problems facing the builders were in the center of attention of the CIM of the CPSU(b) and the Moscow City Council. At the May (1942) Plenum of the CIM of the CPSU(b), at the 6th session of the Moscow City Council, at the meetings of the bureau of the CIM of the CPSU(b) and the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council, the work of builders was analyzed, its main directions were determined. The Soviet and party organs developed a system of measures that contributed to the further development of this important branch of production: the creation of supply departments with the rights of economic calculation, 38 the expansion of enterprises that produce building materials, mass mobilizations for construction, 39 and so on.

The creative initiative of the builders also played an important role. The workers themselves, communists and non-party workers, delved more deeply into the work of enterprises than before, studied their technology, and tried to reduce unproductive costs. The desire to make the greatest possible contribution by one's own work to the fulfillment of the tasks of one's own collectives was particularly pronounced in the socialist competition. In 1942-1943, individual obligations, guards ' watches, and front - line days became widespread. Since the second half of 1942, employees of Metrostroy, the Department of Cultural and Household Construction, and then other organizations, responding to the appeal of workers, engineers, technicians and employees of the Yuzhtyazhstroy trusts, took an active part in the All-Union competition of builders. The first front-line youth brigades appeared on construction sites in Moscow. As a rule, they were headed by Communists and Komsomol members. The teams of B. L. Katamadin, P. I. Kochkin, M. P. Ivolin and many others, overcoming the obsolescence of working methods and patterns in labor organization, successfully acted as innovators of production. The motto of these brigades "In labor, as in battle" found a wide response at Moscow construction sites.

One of the most important aspects of the competition was the rationalization of production. Implementing the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of September 11

34 Ibid., op. 23, d. 11, l. 5.

35 Ibid., f. 4, op. 13, d. 3, l. 275.

36 G. M. Popov. Report at the Moscow 9th regional and 8th city United Party Conference on the work of the MK and MGK of the CPSU (b). Moscow, 1949, p. 15.

37 Calculated based on the materials of GAMO, f. 7171, op. 1, d. 29, l. 21 and the Archive of the Moscow City Council, Executive Committee Decision Fund. Collection of decisions 4, decision 4/6 for 1942.

38 Archive of the Moscow City Council, Fund of Executive Committee decisions. Collection of decisions 1, decision 1/7 for 1943.

39 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 2, d. 115, l. 8.

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1941 "On the construction of industrial enterprises in wartime conditions" 40, Moscow builders carried out a radical revision of technical solutions in 1942-1943. At Moscow construction sites, original design schemes were introduced to replace scarce materials and reinforced concrete, save bricks and other building materials. In order to save money, factory workshops were built with side lights, with brick and wooden support posts. Masonry of brick walls was often used according to the Popov and Popov-Orlyansky systems (using concrete liners and insulation), which gave brick savings of up to 50%. During this period, various "local" and new materials were widely used: slags, gypsum, tec-cement. An important progressive phenomenon was the desire for laconism and rationality. Its significance was manifested not only in the creation of a number of interesting structures (the Baumanskaya, Izmailovskaya, Avtozavodskaya metro stations, the Leningradskoye Highway overpass), but it also influenced the subsequent transition to the constructive architecture of our time.

Working in the conditions of the front-line zone, experiencing an acute shortage of materials, tools, food and clothing, Moscow builders coped with most of their tasks. Already in 1942, bridges over the Moscow Canal and the Istra River were completed on the territory of the Moscow region, a district hospital, a school, a laundry and a city water supply system in Naro-Fominsk, a kitchen factory in Elektrostal, three hospitals in Shakhovsky and two hospitals in Lotoshinsky districts.

By the November 1943 Plenum of the MK of the CPSU (b), which summed up the results of these works, Moscow builders, using the full assistance of the population, handed over 15 enterprises of union and republican significance, 108 enterprises of local industry, rebuilt 36 and restored 70 Mosbass mines, 803 schools, 10 cinemas, 300 hospitals, 40 kindergartens institutions 41 . Often it was not a simple revival of the old, but a reconstruction. The layout of Teryaevskaya Sloboda, Krasnaya Polyana, Novo-Petrovsky was re-developed, and standard rural residential buildings were created. Leading architects I. V. Zholtovsky, A.V. Shchusev, and L. V. Rudnev participated in their development. These huge reconstruction works, carried out during the war in the areas of the Moscow region liberated from occupation, serve as a clear indicator of the power of the Soviet construction industry.

Field brigades of Moscow builders also carried out various works outside the Moscow region: they restored the Saratov cracking plant, built a cord factory in Kirov, built a large command post of General A. I. Rodimtsev in Stalingrad ,and extracted 1,209 tanks from the swamps of the front-line strip. 42
At the same time, Moscow builders restored the re-evacuated Moscow industry. The reconstruction of the Moscow Automobile Plant was especially important. It was led by the 5th department of the OSMCH "Builder"transferred from the construction of fortifications near the Kaluga Highway. Thanks to the skilful organization of work, in particular the parallel process of construction work and installation of equipment, in a record time of 5 months, the work of 20 workshops was resumed. In May 1942, the Moscow Automobile Plant started producing cars. In 1942-1943, ball bearing factories, Krasny Proletariy, Sergo Ordzhonikidze, and Sickle and Hammer factories were put back into operation; a clothing factory and 5 tanneries were built. Simultaneously built-

40 "Decisions of the Party and Government on economic issues", vol. 3, Moscow, 1968, p. 49.

41 MPA, f. 3, op. 29, d. 7, l. 2; op. 66, d. 18, l. 6.

42 Glavmosstroy archive. Housing Construction Department. Production department, op. 1, 32, l. 4.

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there are a number of communal facilities. In 1942-1943, 54 km of water supply was laid, 285 thousand cubic meters. m2 of paved roads, built pavilions for the exhibition of captured weapons, 3 overpasses, the first stage of the Lyubertsy irrigation system " 43 . The construction of the metro also continued. Its importance has increased. Putting new stations into operation not only improved communication conditions, but at the same time gave Muscovites new bomb shelters in case of air raids. Despite the lack of qualified labor, materials and equipment, and the disruption of existing industrial relations (many enterprises that previously supplied Metrostroy ended up in the occupied territory or switched to the production of defense products), on New Year's Eve 1943, the first train left Novokuznetsk station along a radius of 6.3 km to Avtozavodskaya station. Exactly one year later, another radius entered service - Pokrovsky. Since 1944, the third stage of activity of builders begins. Although it was still necessary to direct the maximum efforts of the country to the immediate tasks of the war, nevertheless, the general improvement in the military - political situation made it possible to significantly increase the number of Moscow builders, as well as the amount of funds allocated for capital construction. This is confirmed by the following data on the dynamics of growth in the number of construction workers and the size of capital investments in the Moscow construction industry (taken as 100% in 1942): 44 :

Years

Number of builders

Capital investment

1943

129,7

112,6

1944

200

140

1945

204,8

267,9

At the direction of the CIM of the CPSU(b) and the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council, the ratio of the main aspects of construction and installation works is changing again, and preparations for solving peacetime tasks are beginning. Unlike in the previous period, when the old industrial enterprises were mostly restored and reconstructed, the construction of new plants and factories is significantly increasing at this time. One by one, the tire factory, Beskudnikovsky brick factory, salt factory, and some other large enterprises are being put into operation, and new workshops of the Krasny Bogatyr, Kauchuk, and Proletarsky Trud factories are beginning to produce their products.

Following the decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of August 19, 1944 "On measures to provide assistance to the housing sector in Moscow" 45, the GKO resolution of September 3, 1944 "On the construction of the Saratov - Moscow gas pipeline" 46, and the decisions of the February (1944) Plenum of the MGK of the CPSU (b), Moscow builders significantly increased their utility costs compared to the previous period.- domestic and residential construction. It was during this period that the construction of two grandiose structures, which played a major role in the development of urban economy, was started - the metro ring line and the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline. Already in 1944, employees of Metrostroy created 10 mine shafts and laid the first hundreds of meters of the tunnel of the fourth stage of the metro, and by September 1945 on the section from the Kursk Railway Station to the Park of Culture named after

43 "Moscow Bolshevik", 1. II. 1944.

44 Calculated according to the materials of the Central State Administration of Moscow, f. 126, op. 14, d. 588, l. 4; d. 623. ll. 1, 3; d. 624, l. 3; d. 712, l. 5; d. 815, l. 2.

45 "The history of Moscow during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period of 1941-1965", p. 134.

46 "Decisions of the Party and Government on economic issues", vol. 3, p. 207.

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11 kilometers of advanced adits 47 were passed along the Gorky Metro . The construction of the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline was equally intensive. The construction of this powerful highway with a length of 850 km increased gas consumption by 2.3 times. Along with these major structures, the building of the Gnessin Music and Pedagogical Institute, the canal and pumping stations of the Lyubertsy irrigation system, the theater on Zhuravleva Square, and the overpass on Varshavskoe Highway are being built. Construction of residential buildings is increasing. If in 1942, only 7,5 thousand entered service. m2 of living space, and in 1943-28.7 thousand m2 , then in 1944 Muscovites received 53.2 thousand m2. m2 of housing, and in 1945-101.5 thousand m2 48 . Already at this time, Moscow builders are beginning to revive the treasures of ancient Russian architecture: they are restoring the architectural monuments of Arkhangelsk, Ostankino, Istra, Zagorsk.

An important place in the activities of Moscow builders was still occupied by work outside of Moscow. In 1944-1945, the Ivanteevsky Foundry and Podolsky battery Factories and over 1.5 thousand residential buildings were built in the Moscow region49, new tunnels were built in the Caucasus and in the Crimea, a tire factory in Kirov, and a number of mines in the Donbass. The implementation of these works was facilitated by the restoration of construction materials plants (Nizhnekotlovsky, Krasnopresnensky and Golitsynsky), an increase in capital investment, an increase in the number of construction industry workers 50 and their professional development. At this time, the housing and living conditions of builders are improving: most dormitories are being repaired, "lining" (2 - 3-storey bunks) is disappearing from everyday use, and additional food is being introduced more widely.

An important factor of successful work, as in previous years, was the builders ' patriotism, their desire to help the Motherland with their work. The most vivid manifestation of these feelings was the movement of innovators. Innovation has helped to achieve a high level of mechanization at many construction sites. So, for example, during the reconstruction of the Moscow City Council building, an automated mortar unit was created and a monorail road was built for transporting building materials. During the construction of metro lines, for the first time in domestic practice, tunnels were constructed in a mechanized way. During this period, standardization of structural elements and parts is being implemented at construction sites in Moscow, which has had a great economic effect: houses are being built from gypsum blocks, and a four-story tire factory building is being installed from reinforced concrete.

Inspired by the victories of the Soviet Army, Moscow builders sought to become worthy of their front-line comrades. Entire teams exceeded the norm by 1.5 - 2 times, showing examples of real labor heroism. F. D. Shevlyugin's team of bricklayers was particularly successful, and thanks to the correct organization of work, they managed to perform up to 15 daily work rates per shift . This and other records became a kind of beacon, a standard that others were striving for. In 1944, according to the Moscow Regional Committee of the Trade Union of Industrial Construction Workers, 75.7% of construction workers participated in the competition, in 1945-already 87.3%52 . The creativity of the masses, as in 1942-1943, gave birth to new forms of labor: the movement of the two-hundred-year-olds, the transition of the most experienced workers to lagging collectives. The number of front-line brigades grew especially rapidly. Only on Metrostroy, where

47 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 4, d. 232, l. 46.

48 MPA, f. 3, op. 66, d. 37, l. 22.

49 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 4, d. 34, ll. 15-16.

50 As of October 1, 1944, there were 77.5 thousand construction workers in Moscow (Central State Administration of Moscow, f. 126, op. 14, d. 712, l. 5).

51 "Moscow Bolshevik at the construction site", 30. X. 1945.

52 GAMO, f. 7171, op. 1, d. 65, l. 5; d. 49, l. 1.

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they became the most widespread, in the summer of 1944 there were 34 front - line brigades, and in the spring of 1945-already 94 53 .

Analysis of the annual reports of Moscow construction trusts shows that the use of progressive methods and labor enthusiasm allowed advanced teams (Dormoststroy, Soyuzprommontazh, Moszhilstroy and a number of others), despite all the difficulties, to exceed the pre-war level of labor productivity 54 . One of the factors that ensured the success of this work was the fact that Moscow builders received constant assistance from the population in their activities (repair squads, work on Sunday holidays, the initiative of Nogin residents to build production complexes on their own, etc.). The method of "people's construction" acquired a particularly large scale in the pre-May days of 1945. Together with the builders, 700 thousand Muscovites worked these days, 73 squares were created on a voluntary basis, 2784 residential buildings were repaired, 508 thousand were built and restored. m2 of roads and 247 thousand square meters. m2 of sidewalks 55 . The general mood was well expressed by the wife of the front-line soldier A. P. Belenkaya: "Our relatives from the front will come and see in every yard a young garden, a patterned carpet of flower beds, an emerald green lawn, and they will feel warm and joyful in their hearts" 56 .

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow builders could proudly sum up their contribution to the victory. In Moscow alone, they carried out construction and installation works totaling 700 million rubles (in comparable prices), which is 2.3 times more than in the entire first five-year plan, and accounts for 78% of the construction volume in the pre-war years of the third five-year plan57 . In 1941-1945, they built important defensive structures in the Moscow region, several powerful industrial enterprises, including a tire factory and other factories whose products were used for defense needs, 7 metro stations, about 500 thousand people. m2 of living space, 8 schools and many other facilities 58 .

The successful completion of these works, despite a significant reduction in the number of builders (in different periods of the war, it ranged from 20% to 60% of the pre-war period), a constant shortage of materials, fewer mechanisms (for example, 10 thousand different construction vehicles were transferred to the Soviet Army), lack of food, poor housing conditions, shows"what rich forces are hidden in the mass of the working people... what forces are hidden and can be developed under the socialist structure of society" 60, testifies to the boundless devotion of the Moscow builders to the Soviet state and the Communist Party.

A quarter of a century has passed since the Soviet Union, thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party, the advantages of the socialist system and the strength of the Soviet Army, triumphantly ended the Great Patriotic War. The work of Moscow builders, embodied in many of their structures, became a man-made monument to this heroic feat. Their experience, progressive methods and experiments are now an important factor in the gigantic rise of communist construction.

53 "Udarnik Metrostroy", 18. VI. 1944; 18. V. 1945.

54 TSGANKH, f. 8590, op. 2, d. 276, l. 14; d. 497, l. 3; GAMO, f. 5314, op. 2, d. 104, l. 7; d. 57, l. 2; MGLA, f. 3, op. 66, d. 36, l. 31.

55 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 4, d. 46, ll. 149-150.

56 Sputnik Agitator, 1945, No. 9, p. 16.

57 "Moscow in figures for the years of Soviet power 1917-1967", Moscow, 1967, p. 41.

58 Ibid., pp. 44, 46.

59 GAMO, f. 5314, op. 2, d. 127, l. 149.

60 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 36, p. 153.

page 43


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