Sources on the History of the Energy Infrastructure of the Leningrad Economic Region in 1945-1973s

Scientific article

doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-699-715

For citation

Pokidko, Pavel S. (2025). Sources on the history of the energy infrastructure of the Leningrad Economic Region in the collections of federal and regional archives in 1945-1973s, Herald of an Archivist, № 3, pp. 699-715, doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2025-3-699-715

Pokidko, Pavel S., S. I. Vavilov Institute of History of Natural Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia

Sources on the History of the Energy Infrastructure of the Leningrad Economic Region in 1945-1973s

Abstract

The article notes that the history of energy infrastructure remains poorly researched in foreign and Russian historiography. In the collections of archival funds, numerous materials on this subject are not allocated in separate files. The documentation of the energy infrastructure is scattered in the inventories on the construction and maintenance of power plants, operation of industrial enterprises. The author used logical, chronological, and typological methods to analyze the materials, which made it possible to structure the material and trace how the construction of power plants caused cuts in financing for the construction of grids and substations. The author studied the peculiarities of communication between party organizations, the USSR Council of Ministers and enterprises, which affected the development of industrial energy. The study allows us to consider how the development of energy infrastructure took place under conditions of limited resources. On the example of materials from federal archives - the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI), the State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF), the Russian State Archive of Economics (RGAE), the Russian State Archive of Contemporary History (RGANI) - it shows how the inattention of the Union authorities to the problems of the “last mile” caused systematic power losses. Documents in regional archives: the Central State Archive of Historical and Political Documentation in St. Petersburg (TsGAIPD SPb), the Central State Archive of St. Petersburg (TsGA SPB), the Leningrad Oblast State Archive in Vyborg (LOGAV) illustrate the relationship between the power supplying organization and enterprises of the city and region, show how the relevant ministries participated in solving the problems under consideration, and illustrate certain aspects of the economy of the power grid sector. The funds used allow us to consider the procedures of providing industrial energy infrastructure from decision-making to carrying out works to improve the infrastructure of the “last mile” at the enterprise. It is shown how the allocation of network maintenance as a separate area of work of regional councils created conditions for the growth of energy capacity of enterprises. Analyzing the process of energy infrastructure development, which included increasing the supply of electricity to enterprises, the author shows how the construction of substations and the development of networks allowed to mechanize production processes. The author's conclusions are supported by archival documents.

Keywords

Energy, power grids, industrial infrastructure, rhythmicity, energy resources, production capacity.

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About authors

Pokidko Pavel S., S. I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Natural Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, junior researcher, St. Petersburg, Russia, +7-960-261-09-45, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Grant information

This article was prepared with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 23-28-00700 “Take Care as Your Own: Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving in the Late USSR”, https://rscf.ru/project/23-28-00700/

The article was received in the editorial office on 23.05.2024, recommended for publication on 20.06.2025