Economy of the USSR during the Second World War.

It is difficult to imagine what the results of the Second World War would have been had it not been for the titanic and selfless work of millions of peasants and workers, engineers and designers, leading figures of culture and science, who mobilized the people of the Soviet Union to defeat the aggressor.

The half-lost economic potential and relocation of hundreds of industrial enterprises to the eastern part of the country, irreparable human losses and huge destruction in the national economy at the very beginning of the war led to a significant reduction in industrial production. The economy of the USSR entered a period of decline. This was especially noticeable for the defense industries. At the end of 1941, the gross output of Soviet industry fell by half. Under the circumstances, the government of the country was forced to take severe measures to strengthen the rear. From the very beginning of the aggression on the part of the fascists, they began to conduct mass mobilization of the civilian population to labor fronts.

By April 1942, the scale of mobilization had expanded to rural residents. Such measures primarily affected adolescents and women. For example, in 1942 half of the people engaged in the national economy were women. The most problematic at that time was the selection of qualified personnel. At evacuated enterprises, no more than 27% of specialists and workers were left, so by the end of 1942 a special training plan was developed, designed to conduct short-term training courses for 400 thousand people. In total for 1942, 4.5 million people were trained. But, however, the number of workers fell to 18.4 million, compared with 33.9 million in 1940.

The planned economy of the USSR at that time focused on providing military forces with military equipment and weapons. Even at the beginning of the war, because of significant losses, Soviet aviation greatly weakened. The situation required the immediate release of new combat aircraft.

In the tank industry, mass production of combat vehicles of a new design was deployed.

A lot of efforts were made by engineers and workers to increase the number of manufactured weapons and ammunition, which were so lacking on the fronts.

But by the end of 1941, the needs of the fleet and the army in combat equipment and weapons were not fully met. To produce tanks, aircraft and other military equipment, it was necessary to have a lot of high-quality steel. Due to the relocation of the defense industry to Western Siberia in the Urals, it was necessary to introduce changes in the system of organization and production technology at a variety of metallurgical plants.

Serious damage in the war years was inflicted on agriculture. Despite all the forces applied by the workers of agriculture in 1941, grain production and production of other products declined significantly. Production and raw materials base became the southeast and eastern regions of the country, such as Siberia, the Volga region, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. Whatever it was, but by mid-1942, the Soviet Union had established a military economy that was able to ensure the production of military products.

As early as 1943, the USSR economy began to grow thanks to a general rise in production.

Significantly increased national income, industrial output, the state budget, freight turnover of transport. In the middle of 1943, it became possible to speed up the rearmament of the fleet and the army with the latest military equipment.

The military production of the Soviet Union reached its highest point in 1944. Such heights were achieved thanks to the existence of a solid foundation for the continuous development of the main branches of heavy industry. The increase in the number of products was due to more efficient use of the capacities of existing plants, the commissioning of new industrial enterprises and the restoration of factories and plants in the conquered territories. The economy of the USSR, and in particular non-ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry, metal processing, engineering and the production of weapons and ammunition, far exceeded pre-war standards. Also increased the number of agricultural products, investment and retail turnover.

The eastern regions of the country played a particularly important role in the production of heavy industry. Metal production in the southern and central parts of the USSR also increased. As a result, by the end of the hostilities almost twice as much steel was smelted, compared to 1943. The economy of the USSR has received a significant impetus to development, thanks to an increase in the production of rolled products, non-ferrous metals and special steels. The fuel and energy base has expanded. The level of coal mining has stabilized.

The experience of wartime proved that the command system of production management, formed on the eve of the war, had significant opportunities for mobilizing the country's economic potentials. It was especially characteristic of maneuverability and flexibility combined with repressive measures that played an important role in personnel management and production. All this was the reason that the economy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War not only did not collapse, but also strengthened its positions.