Reflection of the events of the Great Patriotic War on the realization of the state loan campaigns of 1946-1957 in the USSR

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-2-579-592

For citation

Novikov, Maksim D. (2024), “Reflection of the events of the Great Patriotic War on the realization of the state loan campaigns of 1946-1957 in the USSR”, Herald of an Archivist, no. 2, pp. 579-592. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2024-2-579-592

Novikov, Maksim D., Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg, Russia

Reflection of the events of the Great Patriotic War on the realization of the state loan campaigns of 1946-1957 in the USSR

Abstract

The article studies the process of using the events of the Great Patriotic War in the practice of state domestic loan campaigns in the USSR in 1946-1957. On the basis of the analysis of data obtained from information reports on the mood of citizens and the conduct of loan campaigns, letters of citizens to public authorities, statesmen, as well as materials of the Soviet mass media (periodicals, texts of microphone broadcasts of radio broadcasts) conclusions are drawn about the use of events and consequences of the Great Patriotic War in the process of preparation and conduct of postwar mass loan campaigns. Special attention is paid to the reflection of the experience of the Leningrad blockade in these campaigns. In the course of the analysis of documents and information from the mass media it was established that the destruction caused by the Nazi invaders was a powerful illustration in the argumentation of convincing citizens to participate in subscription campaigns and to maintain a sense of involvement in the construction of the state throughout the entire period of mass loans after 1945. Drawing citizens' attention to the reconstruction of the state and social infrastructure gave the loan campaigns a topical character. The universality of anti-war rhetoric made it possible to appeal to it until the loans were canceled in 1957, and even the decision to cancel earlier promised payments was commented on through an appeal to the sacrificial war experience. Reflection on the experience of the blockade took place within the framework of the loan subscription rallies; the periodical press and radio paid considerably less attention to it, not singling out these events as the most tragic. However, the use of such experience allowed to continue the use of mobilization economic methods, conditioning their objective necessity for the speedy restoration of the national economy. The task of state argumentation consisted in the development of correct political behavior, for the achievement of which any available means were used. At the same time, the appeal to the military experience became a way to intensify the dialog between the state and society on significant socio-economic issues. The objective consequences of the war and the need to rebuild the state infrastructure were not questioned by the citizens of the USSR, but the ways and methods of implementation provoked not always positive public reaction. Wartime events and lived experience allowed to express emotions, but the reasons for their emergence should not be attributed exclusively to the campaigns, but to the general state of life in the USSR after the war.

Keywords

Historical sources, state loans, information reports on the mood of the USSR citizens, loan campaigns, letters of citizens to public authorities, materials of the Soviet mass media, microphone recordings of post-war radio broadcasts, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, financial mobilization in the USSR

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References

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About the authors

Maksim D. Novikov, PhD in History, Peter the Great, Higher School of Social Sciences, Assistant, St. Petersburg, Russia, 8-981-199-26-71, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

The article was prepared with the financial support of the RNF grant (project No. 23-78-01100) https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-01100/

The article was received in the editorial office on 12.12.2023, recommended for publication on 20.03.2024