Development of the Jewish Autonomous Region (1934s - 1940s)

On May, 7, 1934 the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee adopted the decision about transformation of the Birobidzhan district to the independent Jewish national region. On December, 18-21, 1934 the first regional congress of councils was held. The congress summed up the done work to the moment of becoming of the region, ratified the plan of economic and cultural construction and selected governing Soviet bodies.

In an initial stage of formation of the region the certain efforts were made to translate office-work of establishments and enterprises in Birobidzhan working settlement as well as separate rural councils, collective farms, to the Jewish language. Workers of government institutions, rural councils, accounting workers started to attend the Jewish language courses.

In 1936 the government attempted to organize national rural councils where 90 percents of the Jewish population lived, to change names of separate settlements, taking into account their national structure. However such decisions were not realized into life.

In 1930s social and cultural, industrial and housing construction was carried out. The large cooperative artels becoming base of the modern industrial enterprises were created. 5 brickworks, furniture factory named after Dimitrov, Detail, Birobidzhan marble, Consumer goods factories, mechanical workshops and a garment factory, Londokovskiy limy plant, Birobidzhan carts and plywood factories, Tungusskiy, Birskiy, and Londokovskiy timber plants and tens other small scale enterprises worked.

61 collective farms and 7 state farms were created at that time. Areas under crops made 33,5 thousand hectares of the grounds. 4 mechanic technological stations served collective farms. They had 192 tractors, 10 combines, and 35 motor vehicles. At the All-Union agricultural exhibition in 1939, 7 collective farms, 1 state farm, 2 farms of large horned livestock, and 2 pig-breeding farms were presented from the region.

Extent of gravel roads made about 100 km, a telephone and telegraphic network - 500 km, 25 rural councils had telecommunication.

Pedagogical technical school in Birobidzhan working settlement, 1934

The big work on liquidation of illiteracy and semi-illiteracy was carried out. For example, in Mikhailo-Semenovskoye settlement (nowadays it is called Leninskoye) in 1930, 445 illiterate and semi-illiterate people lived there. Special course and classes were opened for them.

General primary and seven-year education was entered into the region. In 1934, 80 schools, including 3 high schools (1 Jewish school), incomplete secondary schools - 19 (3 Jewish schools), primary schools - 58 (4 Jewish schools), kindergartens - 37, technical schools - 2 (mechanization of an agriculture, pedagogical) worked at that time.

In Birobidzhan working settlement in 1934 the State Jewish theatre named after L.M.Kaganovich was organized. Birobidzhanskaya Zvezda and Birobidzhaner Shtern newspapers were published as well as Forpost literary and art magazine was issued.

In 1937, 28 libraries, 39 village reading rooms, and 45 clubs worked there.

By 1939 a medical school and a railway technical school, 12 hospitals for 210 beds, a maternity clinic, 28 first-aid stations, and 10 nurseries worked there. In 1940 in the region 22 hospital establishments worked. 112 doctors and 283 nurses rendered medical aid to people.

The state Jewish theatre named after Kaganovich. 1930s.

1930s have left the trace in the history of the region - realization of the accelerated collectivization of agriculture, deportation of citizens and others. Archival documents represent an opportunity objectively to estimate stages and consequences of those drama events.

The most severe experience for the Soviet state became the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945

In structure of Far East forces inhabitants of the Jewish Autonomous Region showed heroism in fights near Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, on the Kursk arch, in Baltic, Byelorussia, the countries of the Western Europe, in war against the Japanese militarists.

For years of the Great Patriotic War 6,7 thousand people went to the Red Army from Birobidzhan only.

14 inhabitants of the region for military valour and heroism were given the rank of the Hero of Soviet Union; among them are Bondar, Georgiy Gerasimovich (Nikolaevka village), Bumagin, Iosiph Romanovich (Birobidzhan), Doroshenko, Trofim Tikhonovich (Nikolaevka village), Egorov, Pavel Vassilyevich (Birobidzhan), Kagykin, Pyotr Petrovich (Leninskoe village), Kashirin, Aleksandr Ivanovich (Izvestkoviy village), Kasheyeva, Vera Sergeevna (Bira village), Lopatin, Georgiy Dorofeyevich (Blagoslovennoye village),Milchenko, Semyon Kalinovich (Birobidzhan), Panov, Aleksandr Semenovich (Smidovich village), Romanov, Nikolay Fedorovich (Babstovo village), Styazhkin, Mikhail Mikhailovich (Birobidzhan), Tvarkovskiy, Yury Vladimirovich (Obluchye), Shelest, Vassily Galaktionovich (Volochaevka village). Four of them became the heroes of soldier's award of Glory: Bogorad G.A., Gagarinov A.M., Peller V.I. and Raskopenskiy A.I.

For courage, labor heroism, shown during the Great Patriotic War, over 7,0 thousand inhabitants of the region were awarded with high state awards. Since the first days war life of the region, as well as that of the whole country was subordinated to one task - "Everything is for the front, everything is for the Victory".

On July, 22, 1941 the bureau of the regional committee of the Communist Party accepted the decision to start production for the need of defense.

Material and food resources of the region were sent for needs of the front in the first place. Manufacture of consumer goods was sharply reduced, the normalized maintenance of population with food and industrial goods, a rationing system of products of the first necessity of population were put to use.

In the first days of the war labor collectives, separate workers, representatives of intelligence took the obligations promoting a matter of defense of the country. Women as well as men carried out the labor duty. Women used man's specialties of mechanics, turners, electrical engineers, drivers, trimmers and many others. In Birobidzhan on the base of a combine harvesters factory and a garment factory, at Obluchye and Inn stations craft and railway schools were opened with the purpose of preparation of young specialists.

At the majority of enterprises for production of special orders for the front the significant reorganization was carried. Such enterprises as a combine plant, automobile repair shops, a mechanical-repair factory, a garment factory, Mettalist artel and a number of others since the first days of war mastered and made defensive production and ammunition. The enterprises made new kinds of products: tires, horse-drawn decontamination vehicles, military and sanitary property, spare parts to vehicles and trailers, cutting and control and measuring tools, stethoscopes, skies, metal spoons, and buttons for army and civil uniforms, and at a garment factory repair of parachutes was made.

In 1943 at the enterprises of the region competition between komsomol youth teams for a rank of "front ones" was developed. By April, 1944 there were 36 of them, and by the end of war - 68. "Front" teams were the new, created by military conditions, form of movement of front-rank workers. Stakhanovism became popular, “dvukhsotniki”, “tryokhsotniki”, “chetyryokhsotniki” appeared (people, who completed plans on 200, 300, 400 percents), they influenced execution of plans and socialist obligations by enterprises.

The enterprises of light industry of Birobidzhan for four years of war made and repaired officer uniforms, sanitary and engineering property for needs of the army for the sum of 39,0 million roubles.

Workshops at the Izveskovaya station. On the basis of these workshops during the war manufacture of ammunition was developed

For years of the Great Patriotic War enterprises of the region gave the front more than 1,5 thousand railcars of ammunition, 56 echelons of special packing for ammunition, 6,0 thousand parachutes, 48 echelons of military transport, 500,0 thousand complete sets of military uniform, 38 cars of military and sanitary property.

Workers of agriculture during the war provided the regional population and the front with agricultural products. In 1942 grain and meat funds of the Red Army were formed, norms of delivery of grain and meat for needs of the army, which were regularly executed, were authorized. State deliveries were supplemented with deliveries from personal subsidiary farms. Collective farms and state farms of the region handed over to the state as obligatory deliveries 34,0 thousand tons of grain, 4,0 thousand tons of soya, 24,6 thousand tons of potatoes, 8,3 thousand tons vegetables.

For 1941 - 1945 for work in agriculture 1255 machine operators, among them 369 women, were prepared. Female work in collective-farm manufacture has considerably increased. On June, 28, 1941 in Tikhookeanskaya Zvezda newspaper the appeal by Birobidzhan female tractor drivers M. Kharabetskaya, V. Tsyb, S. Temtsina to all female collective farmers of the Khabarovsk Territory was published: "Girls, become tractor and combine drivers!". Only in the autumn of 1941 more than hundred women and girls have sat down a rudder of a tractor and a steering wheel of a combine. In the All-Union socialist competition of 1942 70 female tractor drivers took part. They ploughed 10,0 thousand hectares of grounds, and that is more important, saved 7,0 thousand kg of fuel. The rank "The Best Female Tractor Driver of the Soviet Union" was given to 15 female tractor drivers of the region.

For years of the war thousands schoolchildren under the direction of teachers worked 37,0 thousand workdays.

Workers, collective farmers and intelligentsia of the region gave 23,0 million roubles in cash and 25,0 million roubles as bonds of the state loans on construction of military equipment. In total more than 90,0 million roubles arrived in the fund of defense.

During the war a new patriotic movement for use of local resources was widely developed. In Birobidzhan local artels Metallist (Metalworker), Khimik (Chemical industry worker), Vtoraya pyatiletka (The second five-year plan), Svoy Trud (Own labour), Rabotnitsa (Working woman), Komsomolets (Member of the Komsomol), Keramik (Ceramics worker), Naerveg, various factories, the Birobidzhan group of industrial enterprises for maintenance of population with consumer goods made: furniture, carts, sledge, beds, top jersey, stockings, socks, footwear on a wooden sole, potter's utensils, flanks, writing goods, buttons, locks, shovels, brushes, toys, nails, combs, ink, solid oil, goods of rigid leather, raw-hide, yuft, boxcalf, soap, cream shoe and many other things.

In 1942 the construction of a Ushumun mine was begun (in 1944 it extracted 100 tons of coal), in 1943 – the construction of a Birakan paper-mill, in Birobidzhan a spinning and weaving mill on 6780 spindles and 190 weaving looms was handed over in operation, in 1945 the decision of local authorities on construction on base of the Malokhinganskiy tin ore deposits of “Khinganolovo” combine was accepted.

The Birobidzhan spinning and weaving mill. 1947.

During the Great Patriotic War the national economy of the region did not experienced direct destructions, but after the war tasks of regenerative character in switch of industrial enterprises into production during peace time were solved.

The fourth 5-years plan authorized by the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in March, 1946, planned the wide complex program of development of the Far East, on its switch from consuming in manufacturing economic region of the country.

In the post-war period in the region the industry intensively developed.

In 1946 the Birobidzhan shoe factory was started up in operation, in 1947 in Birobidzhan the spinning and weaving mill and a confectionery were put into operation, the Birakan paper-mill was put into operation as well, in 1949 - the first part of the Teploozyorskiy cement plant.

The information is made under documents of the State archive of the Jewish Autonomous Region

Jewish Autonomous Region official government website
Address of the JAR Government: 18, 60-letiya SSSR ave., Birobidzhan, 679016. Tel/fax: +7 (42622) 4-04-89, e-mail: gov@eao.ru
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