Steps in the Study of Kyrgyzstan's History during the Great Patriotic War
The participation of small nations in the nationwide struggle is addressed in one of the sections of "Essays on the History of Soviet Dungans" and more thoroughly in the work of I. Yusupov. These works examine the feats of Dungan warriors on the battlefields and the selfless labor of Dungan collective farmers in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the rear, as well as their patriotic support for the front.
From a brief historiographical overview of the topic under study, it is evident that certain steps have been taken in the study of Kyrgyzstan's history during the Great Patriotic War. However, there is no special summarizing monographic study of this important issue. The published works, alongside positive aspects, contain a number of significant shortcomings.
While a wide range of historians and economists have focused on the study of the industrial development of the republic as a whole, the history of specific leading industries, such as metallurgy, machine engineering, and coal mining, has yet to be initiated. The history of many cities that experienced particularly rapid economic development during the war, as well as the regions, regional party and Komsomol organizations, and trade unions of the republic, remains unexamined. The state of healthcare in the Kyrgyz SSR from 1941 to 1945, ideological and political life, the press, the activities of cultural and educational institutions, and the material and living conditions of rural workers remain unexplored. The military-organizational work in Kyrgyzstan and the activities of republican defense and mass organizations—Osoaviakhim, the Red Cross Society, and sports societies—await illumination. There is a need to reflect on the military feats of Kyrgyzstani people on the fronts, in partisan units, and in the anti-fascist resistance movement in the countries of Europe occupied by the Nazis.
It is known that V. I. Lenin placed particular importance on the scientific development of the history of individual regions, areas, and republics. In a review of Alexander Todorsky's book "A Year — with a Rifle and a Plow," which described "the annual experience of the leaders of the work on building Soviet power in the Vesiyehon District," V. I. Lenin wrote: "This book should be widely disseminated, and I wish that as many workers as possible, who acted in the masses and with the masses, in the very thick of living life, would engage in describing their experiences." The publication of similar truthful and straightforward books, "rich in valuable factual content...," he emphasized, "would be infinitely more useful for the cause of socialism than many of the newspaper, magazine, and book works of scribblers who, time and again, fail to see life beyond the paper."
The work presented to the readers is an attempt to show the participation of the working people of the Kyrgyz SSR in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. However, without claiming to provide a comprehensive coverage of the issues raised, the author seeks to reveal and systematically summarize the most important aspects: the activities of party Soviet bodies and public organizations in mobilizing the forces and resources of the republic to resist the enemy; the restructuring of the national economy for military needs; the placement and provision for the rapid restoration of evacuated enterprises; the labor and living arrangements for people arriving from the war zone. The book analyzes changes in the population's size and structure; it thoroughly demonstrates the selfless efforts and high creative activity of the masses; it highlights the creation of a coordinated military production—an integral part of the material and technical potential of the Motherland—and the overall strengthening of support for the front, as well as the dynamics of agricultural production development during the difficult wartime period.
The author showcases the activities of scientific and cultural institutions during the war, ideological and political life, the material and living conditions of workers, and the comprehensive patriotic support of the population for the front and the regions of the country liberated from Nazi occupation. Based on a wide range of sources, the participation and military feats of Kyrgyzstani divisions, as well as individual soldiers from the republic in the most important operations of the Great Patriotic War, in partisan units, and in the anti-fascist movement are revealed; the guiding and organizational activities of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its fighting unit—the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan—are demonstrated.
Industry and Collective Farming in Kyrgyzstan during the War Years