DEVELOPMENT OF THE OIL INDUSTRY IN THE TURKMEN SSR BEFORE AND IN THE YEARS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR: THE REASONS FOR FAILURE TO FULFILL PLANS
The relevance of the study is determined by the necessity of detailed consideration of various aspects of the history of the Great Patriotic War, the accumulation of all the positive experience of the national development of the oil industry. The purpose of the publication is to study the problem of the formation of the oil industry in the Turkmen SSR on the eve and during the Great Patriotic War, to identify the factors that determined the failure of the republic to fulfill its plans for oil production. The study was carried out on the basis of documents currently stored in the central state archives. The methodological basis was the theory of modernization. It is proved that the main reasons for the lag were: weak material base, short supply of equipment, shortage of qualified personnel, miscalculations in the state policy on development of the oil industry as a whole. Attention is focused on Academician Gubkin’s significant contribution to the development of the oil industry of Turkmenistan in the 1930s. The conclusion is formulated that during the Great Patriotic War, the importance of the oil-rich regions of Central Asia increased significantly. Qualified oil workers were sent there and equipment was evacuated. But oil industry of the Turkmen SSR, despite the exceptionally rich prospects, developed extremely slowly, partly for objective reasons, partly due to miscalculations in geological exploration. However, during the war years, an uninterrupted supply of oil and refined products to the front and rear was established, which was the result of the huge organizational efforts of the country's leadership and the industry, the consolidation of the actions and dedication of oil workers, scientists, builders, and transport workers of all the soviet republics.