Orphanages in Bashkiria during the Great Patriotic War: Materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan

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УДК 94(470.57) «1941/1945»

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2020-2-566-577

Rima N. Sulejmanova, Shamil N. Isyangulov, Gulfia Yu. Sultanguzhina

Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, Russian Federation

Orphanages in Bashkiria during the Great Patriotic War: Materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Abstract

The article draws on the materials of the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan to discuss problems which had to face the orphanages financed from state budget in Bashkiria (one of the regions of the RSFSR) during the Great Patriotic War. To this day, the issue remains insufficiently studied, on national, as well as on regional scale. The documents preserved in the archive allow us to investigate the activities of the orphanages during the said period. As shown, 23 orphanages (including 4 Spanish ones) were evacuated from the Western regions of the country to Bashkiria in 1941–42. Some of them merged with local institutions. Most detailed information is given on the orphanages evacuated from Moscow. However, the article focuses on local institutions. It notes that from early 1941 to 1945, the number of orphanages increased by 4,7 times, number of pupils increased by 4,1 times . 90 orphanages were opened in the republic in 1943–1944. From early 1941 to November 1944, more than 24,000 children were placed in orphanages of the republic. Some children were adopted, taken under guardianship and patronage, employed by enterprises and institutions. Funds to support the increasing number of orphanages (including livestock, land, premises, equipment, food, etc.) were allocated from republican and district (city) budgets. The article shows the difficulties encountered in provision of material needs, organization of subsidiary farms, solving problems with the premises, arrangements for feeding. Pupils mainly worked on the plots themselves. Sometimes they were helped by kolkhozes and sovkhozes, in return the children participated in collective farm work. Various workshops were organized for labor training and self-maintaining, clubs were formed. The children organized amateur performances, the earnings was transferred to the fund of the Red Army. Malnutrition, lack of clothing and shoes, furniture and equipment affected the health of children and various diseases were spreading. The authors conclude that, in general, despite many difficulties, orphanages played an important role in saving the children's lives during the war.

Keywords

Historical sources, archival sources, orphanages, pupils, evacuation, war, archive, Bashkir ASSR.

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References

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Ocherki po istorii Bashkirskoi ASSR. [Essays on the history of the Bashkir ASSR. In Russ.]. Vol. 2: Sovetskii period [Soviet period]. Ufa, Bashkir book publ., 1966, 643 p.

Regional'nye osobennosti natsional'noi politiki SSSR v gody Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny 1941–1945 gg. Bashkirskaya ASSR: Sbornik dokumentov i materialov [SULEIMANOVA, R.N. (ed.). Regional features of the national policy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–45. Bashkir ASSR: Collected documents and materials. In Russ.]. Ufa, Gilem publ., 2011, 324 p.

About authors

Suleimanova Rima Nugamanovna, PhD in History, Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, chief researcher, head of the department of the modern history of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Russian Federation, +7-347-235-60-50, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Isyangulov Shamil Nailevich, PhD in History, Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, senior researcher, Ufa, Russian Federation, +7-937-323-70-01, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sultanguzhina Gulfia Yunirovna, PhD in History, Ufa Federal Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences, researcher, Ufa, Russian Federation, +7-927-920-97-75, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submitted 19.05.2019, published (for citation):

SULEIMANOVA, R. N., ISYANGULOV, Sh. N., SULTANGUZHINA, G. Yu. Detskie doma v Bashkirii v gody Velikoi Otechestvennoi voiny. Po materialam Natsional'nogo arkhiva Respubliki Bashkortostan [Orphanages in Bashkiria during the Great Patriotic War: Materials from the National Archive of the Republic of Bashkortostan. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2020, no. 2, pp. 566-577. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2020-2-566-577

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