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Humanitarian sciences in Siberia

2015 year, number

FACTORS OF DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IDEA OF SIBERIAN REAR DURING THE COLD WAR (1946-1965)

A.I. Timoshenko
Institute of History SB RAS, 8 Nikolaev Str., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Keywords: Siberian rear, region, state policy, economic resources, geopolitical competition, military-industrial complex, military doctrine

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to identify main factors that influenced the development and implementation of the idea of Siberian rear during the Cold War. The research is focused on the events of 1945-1946, when the Siberian region having undergone conversion took the path of industrial development and formation of new branches of industry including establishment of defense enterprises. During this period the idea of the Siberian rear in the state policy was connected with the necessity to create a strong economic potential of the USSR in the regions rich in natural resources and located in the central part of the country. In this regard, the level of industrial development achieved at the earlier stage of development was considered as a prerequisite for creating new industries of the USSR military-industrial complex including strategic nuclear arms. In the article’s problem field the Siberian rear during the Cold War is analyzed as an objective reality, which existed in the context of global geopolitical development and changing perception of wars as a means of resolving international conflicts and establishing a world order. The role of Siberian rear in providing the national sovereignty and state security after the World War II not only remained undiminished but even increased under conditions of permanent confrontation with the USA and West European states. During the Cold War both enterprises of the USSR military-industrial complex and large-scale scientific and industrial centers, greatly contributing to the country defense potential, were created in Siberia. The author comes to conclusions that Soviet experience of the Siberian region’s industrial modernization contributed significantly to civilizational development of the Russian state and retaining its sovereignty in the XX century.