REPORT OF THE FRUNZE CITY COUNCIL OF THE FIFTH CONVOCATION TO THE COUNCIL OF PEOPLE'S COMMISSARS OF THE KYRGYZ ASSR ON ITS ACTIVITIES FOR THE PERIOD FROM 1931 TO 1934
Frunze, 1935
CITY GROWTH
The city of Pishpek in 1917 was a typical colonial settlement in Central Asia. The population of the city, numbering 20,000, was engaged in agriculture and trade. The industry consisted of several small, artisanal-type enterprises in the light and food industries, operating exclusively for the local market.
After the October Revolution, based on Lenin's national policy, the city began to develop rapidly.
In 1924, a railway was brought to the city. From December 28, 1924, due to national demarcation in Central Asia, Pishpek became the center of the Kyrgyz Autonomous Region and later the capital of the Kyrgyz ASSR. In 1926, at the request of the Kyrgyz government, the Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR approved the renaming of the city of Pishpek to the city of M.V. Frunze.
During the first five-year plan, based on local raw material resources, the construction of a number of industrial enterprises of both republican and union significance was rapidly launched in the city.
By 1932, the following were put into operation:
In 1933, a sewing factory was completed and put into operation with a production capacity of 1,700 thousand rubles per year (at constant prices), with an investment of 268 thousand rubles.
In 1934, the first stage of Thermal Power Plant No. 2 with a capacity of 1,315 kW was completed.
In accordance with the development of industry, the population of the city grew from 20,000 in 1917 to 80,330 in 1934, including:
Workers and employees ..........27,548;
University students, technical ..............1,583.
Thus, the city of Frunze has now become not only the governmental but also the industrial and scientific center of the Kyrgyz ASSR. Of course, in order for the city to fully meet its purpose and be a truly socialist city, a tremendous amount of work still needs to be done: firstly, to fully master the existing industrial enterprises; to construct new ones as planned in the second five-year plan; and secondly, primarily to elevate the lagging housing, communal, and other sectors of the city's economy to the proper level.
HOUSING ECONOMY
In 1917, the housing stock of the city of Pishpek consisted of rural huts - raw, adobe, and frame houses, located on estates with gardens and orchards - behind clay walls.
The city administrative stock included two churches, a prison, a hospital, a treasury, and a post office.
After the October Revolution, the housing stock of the city began to grow, and by 1926 there were (according to the population census):
Residential buildings....... 5,238;
In them living space.... 137.9 thousand m²;
In them residents..... 35,100;
Average per capita living space ......3.9 m².
During the first five-year plan (1928-32), the residential area of the municipal stock increased by 2.5 thousand m², and the state institutions and enterprises stock increased by 13.6 thousand m².
In 1933 and the first half of 1934, the residential area of the municipal stock increased by 1.1 thousand m², and the state institutions and enterprises stock increased by 3.0 thousand m².
From 1926 to 1934, the residential stock of individual builders increased by 63.1 thousand.
As a result, today there are:
Residential buildings ......... 5,530;
In them living space... 242.2 thousand m²;
In them residents.... 67,300;
Average per capita living space...3.6 m².
Noting the significant achievements reflected in the growth of the housing stock by 75% since 1926, it must be stated that construction has not resolved the housing crisis; on the contrary, the average per capita living space has decreased from 3.9 to 3.6 m², and if we consider the population living in the outskirts of the city in "nakhalkas" and yurts, the average provision per capita drops to 3.1 m².
The main reasons for the housing crisis are as follows:
Firstly, the industry created during the first five-year plan paid insufficient attention to the increase of new housing stock for workers, and alongside state institutions and organizations, placed its employees in houses purchased from private owners (in 1931-33, state institutions purchased houses for 1,691.0 thousand rubles, and in the first half of 1934 for 105.1 thousand rubles);
Secondly, the failure to utilize the approved funds for housing construction by the City Council due to the insufficient supply of construction materials funded in 1931-1934 and partially due to the lack of sufficiently qualified personnel for drafting construction projects (specialist houses), and primarily due to the underestimation of the importance of the housing economy by the City Council;
Thirdly, the non-fulfillment of contracts for construction in the private sector due to insufficient control by communal authorities and the absence of wood, glass, and iron in the market.
A significant shortcoming in the city's housing economy is also the continued lack of accurate accounting; the main inventory conducted in 1929 was unsatisfactory, and the city has not managed to register current changes at all.
COMMUNAL ECONOMY
ENERGY
A weak point in the city's energy economy is the partial under-equipment of stations, primarily the electrical network. The high-voltage network requires complete reconstruction (ringing with a single voltage).
The low-voltage network developed spontaneously, without a plan, and does not meet technical requirements in terms of its cross-section and location; moreover, its length is only 24.8% of the length of the city's streets.
It should also be noted that the lack of meters deprives the possibility of organizing proper accounting of energy consumption. The measures taken to organize and develop the city's electrical economy are severely hampered by extremely insufficient and unsystematic supply of materials and equipment; of the 950 thousand rubles allocated in 1934, only 670 thousand rubles were utilized.
STREET LIGHTING
Currently, due to a lack of electrical equipment and shortcomings in the operation of the electrical network, the city has only 119 lighting points along 153 km of streets, averaging 150 candles each, meaning that most streets are not illuminated.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Despite the inclusion of allocations for the purchase of buses in the control figures annually since 1929 and their approval by the NKKh RSFSR, by 1934 the city had not received a single bus.
In December, 2 buses with twenty-five seats each were received, serving the working district and connecting the city center with enterprises and the commodity railway station in Pishpek; they are far from sufficient, resulting in long queues.
BATHHOUSE
In 1932, a newly built bathhouse for 158 people was put into operation, and water supply connections were made to the old bathhouses. However, even today, with the bathhouses operating in two shifts and continuously, the city's workers have only 8 washings per year per person.
WATER SUPPLY
The Frunze water supply (gravity-fed) was put into operation in 1931. The sources of supply are mountain springs. The water is of good quality. The water supply covers 35% of the city's population.
The expansion of the city network is hampered by a shortage of pipes and fittings.
STREET PAVING
A priority task in the area of improvement is to accelerate the pace of street paving.
In 1934, the City Council involved the public in the work of paving the streets.
Organized Saturday workdays resulted in the preparation of 900 m³ of cobblestones from quarries for paving, and 500 m³ of gravel and sand were transported to the work site by organizations and enterprises.
GREENING
In 1934, the greening efforts (planting trees, improving gardens, boulevards) were directed towards involving the public.
As a result, the work plan for 1934 was exceeded.
PLANNING
The ongoing intensive development of the city sharply raises the question of the need for a city planning project.
The preparatory work initiated by Mosobproject in 1933 for drafting the planning project was found unsatisfactory upon acceptance in 1934.
LOCAL BUILDING MATERIALS
The needs of construction in the city are currently served by one brick factory with two Hoffmann kilns, with a total capacity of 12 million fired bricks.
Based on geological exploration conducted by the City Council in 1933, the construction of a plant for the production of tiles, drainage and sewer pipes, and clinker is planned for the second five-year plan.
CITY FOOD BASE
(Agriculture)
Exploitation of agricultural lands within the city limits in 1934
The main disadvantage of the agricultural lands of the main mass is their swampiness and the presence of large areas covered with gravel. Melioration of agricultural lands is necessary. The lands are distributed among the cooperative farm, city collective farms, subsidiary farms, and individual workers' gardens.
Yields lag behind the norms of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture due to insufficient irrigation water and unsatisfactory cultivation on the lands of the cooperative farm and some subsidiary farms.
In the current year, yields have significantly increased compared to previous years due to better land development based on past experience and unexpectedly significant precipitation.
Since July 1, 1934, the agricultural base of the city has increased by five rural councils, which can be briefly characterized by the following table:
PUBLIC EDUCATION
Network of preschool and school institutions
The network of preschool and school institutions in the city, including primary and secondary schools, despite its rapid development, does not meet the needs of the working population:
a) its capacity does not cover the existing student body (340 people in 1933), even with two shifts;
b) the premises occupied by kindergartens and schools are non-standard, with only classrooms available; there are no offices, halls, libraries, changing rooms, etc.;
c) in addition to two-shift classes, most schools conduct evening courses for working schools and literacy courses, resulting in unsatisfactory sanitary conditions of the premises;
d) schools are not provided with visual aids and children's literature; the equipment of working rooms and workshops is insufficient and does not meet the age of the students; school furniture is only 75% available and is not of standard type; in 1934, the provision of textbooks was 89% for primary schools, 27% for incomplete secondary schools, and 52% for secondary schools.
Despite all the mentioned shortcomings, by the end of the 1933/34 school year, schools achieved the following indicators: the rate of repeaters decreased to 5.6%; the percentage of correct problem-solving increased to 88%; the number of mistakes in dictation decreased to 3.5.
In 1934, one primary school costing 38 thousand rubles and one incomplete secondary school costing 153 thousand rubles were completed, and repairs were made to a school costing 74 thousand rubles.
NETWORK OF POLITICAL EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
Note: The numerator shows the number of institutions, the denominator shows the number of people. Regarding the network of political education institutions, the following should be noted:
a) all institutions are housed in non-standard, heavily worn buildings that do not meet their purpose;
b) as of today, the city has no children's theater, no theater for the European population, and no cinema;
c) the public library is inadequately stocked with literature, especially children's literature;
d) literacy points are in dire need of textbooks, especially in the native language;
e) the work of clubs, red teahouses, etc. is unsatisfactory due to the lack of qualified personnel.
In 1934, three orphanages and two children's reception centers were opened in adapted buildings; the plan for major repairs of orphanages was fulfilled; subsidiary farms were organized at orphanages No. 1 and 3.
HEALTHCARE
Growth of the healthcare network
Noting the significant growth and expansion of the healthcare network, it must still be stated:
a) that in terms of its capacity, the network does not meet the corresponding needs of the city's population, not to mention those from the agricultural districts that gravitate towards the city;
b) the growth of the network was mainly due to the adaptation of buildings transferred by the City Council, which are heavily worn and not intended for hospital use, with the exception of the surgical ward for 60 beds built in 1927 and the polyclinic with 8 offices built in 1934;
c) the therapeutic ward, built before the revolution (formerly a military hospital), is currently worn to its last limits.
As a result, today the network of healthcare institutions is not only insufficient but also requires significant annual capital repairs, and still does not fulfill its intended purpose.
SOVIET TRADE
In line with the Party and Government's decisions regarding the development of Soviet trade, the city has achieved the following successes:
1. New production of consumer goods has been organized, including a sewing factory, GorShveyodezhda, and a number of enterprises under the Kustprom cooperative, and production has been intensified at existing enterprises (Intergelpo, Meat Processing Plant, etc.).
2. If in 1931 the city had 116 poorly equipped, uncultured trading points, by 1934 not only had the entire trading network been refurbished and brought to a cultural standard, but the number of trading points had increased to 179.
In the working districts, from 1931 to 1934, 8 new trading points and 1 Soviet market were opened.
At the markets of the city of Frunze by 1934, the predominant position was held by collective farmers and cooperatives. The quantity of goods exported by collective farmers is increasing daily. Prices are falling.
The retail turnover of trade organizations in the city increased from 13 million rubles in 1931 to 35 million rubles in 1934.
However, it should be noted that the work done is far from sufficient - both consumer goods and industrial goods are lacking in the city, their assortment does not fully meet consumer demands, and the markets are not improved; we are still learning to trade culturally.
PUBLIC CATERING
From 1931 to 1934, the network of public catering grew from 42 points to 138. Currently, almost all enterprises in the city have their own decent cafeterias. The quality of food, especially due to the subsidiary agricultural enterprises, has significantly improved. The factory kitchen built in 1931 serves consumers culturally, providing up to 5,000 meals daily.
BUDGET OF THE CITY OF FRUNZE
The revenues of the local budget of the city of Frunze from 1928 to 1934 are distributed as follows:
The growth of the income part of the budget is mainly due to the increase in the trading network, turnover, and the income of the city's population.
1934
PARTICIPATION OF THE MASSES IN MANAGEMENT
Due to the high turnover of the city's population, the City Council, which had 319 deputies in 1931, had only 64 by 1934.
The sections of the City Council organized during 1931-1934 worked with significant interruptions due to poor leadership. Groups of Soviet activists at the city's enterprises were only organized in 1934, numbering 20 and consisting mainly of shock workers (95%).
The weak work in engaging the masses in management is mainly explained by the shortcomings in the work of the City Council in all sectors of the city's economy.
CGA KR. F. 23. On. 1. D. 594. L. 1-12. Copy.
Organization of city libraries in the city of Frunze. Documents No. 90 - No. 91 (1934)