Expert board:

• Scientific Council of RAS on economic history;
• Research and Educational Center «The economic history of Central Russia and the Middle Volga region» of Ogarev Mordovia State University;
• Center of Economic History of  Lomonosov Moscow State University

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ISSN 2409-630X (Print), ISSN 2618-916X (Online)

DOI: 10.15507/2409-630X.049.016.202002.180-192

Ekaterina A. Averyanova

Humanities Research Institute under the Government of the Republic of Mordovia

 (Saransk, Russia), e-mail: averyanova-morm@mail.ru

 

The Participation of Komsomol and the Youth of Mordovia in the Development of Industry During the Khrushchev Thaw

 

Introduction. In the Mordovian ASSR, as in the whole country, the time of “the great decade” of N. S. Khrushchev was associated with rapid, not surpassed throughout the subsequent time, the pace of development. The Republic has become an industrial and agricultural region. The average annual growth of industrial production from 1959 to 1965 was 16.9 %, and in the country exceeded 10 %. In terms of this indicator and GDP growth, the USSR surpassed almost all developed countries in the world. The reasons for “the economic miracle” continue to be the subject of wide discussion. The most important factor in achieving this result, according to most researchers, was the human factor, that is, the set of traditions, customs, behavioral norms and models formed within the framework of the Soviet institutional environment during the “Khrushchev thaw”. The Komsomol played a significant role in organizing events at that time. It supported planned (production, ideological, cultural, etc.) mobilization companies of the Soviet society. The young generation in the post-war period became the most important source of labor resources and was crucial in providing production with the necessary personnel. The article is devoted to the study of the nature of labor motivation of young people in the basic concepts of that time. Materials and Methods. Scientific study based on the materials of CSA of the Republic of Mordovia, where the set of documents of Komsomol organizations since their emergence to the elimination in the early 90-ies of the last century. While writing the article, the principle of historicism, objectivity and consistency was applied. The whole range of special historical methods of studying the past social reality is used. Result. Based on the study of archival and published sources, as well as scientific literature, the analysis of the activities of the Komsomol to mobilize young people to implement the decisions of the CPSU on the development of the national economic complex of the country and the Mordovian ASSR was carried out. Discussion and Conclusion. In 1957, at the initiative of N. S. Khrushchev, one of the radical reforms aimed at restructuring the management of the national economy was undertaken. The law of May 10, 1957 replaced the branch system with a territorial one. The Mordovian economic administrative district headed by the Sovnarkhoz was created on July 1, 1957. The period of the reform was a time of rapid industrial development. After displacement Khrushchev and Brezhnev’s rise to power slowed the pace of development. The rejection of economic incentives to work, the gradual fading of the momentum of renewal, and the growing fatigue of society from continuous reforms and reorganizations led to a decline in the pace of economic development. The Komsomol of Mordovia in the conditions of the Soviet planning and administrative economic system was a significant driving force of industrial development.

Keywords: Komsomol, Mordovian ASSR, N. S. Khrushchev, labor motivation, socialist competition, movement for a Communist attitude to labor, moral code of the builders of communism, innovators, rationalizers, young leaders.

For citation: Averyanova E. A. The participation of komsomol and the youth of mordovia in the development of industry during the khrushchev thaw. Ekonomicheskaya istoriya = Russian Journal of Economic History. 2020; 16(2): 180–192. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.15507/2409-630X.049.016.202002.180-192.

 

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