Transition of Industry to Peaceful Rails.
Transition of Industry to Peaceful Rails. With the end of the war, new tasks arose for the Soviet people. The USSR adopted a five-year development plan for 1946-1950, under which everything was subordinated to the main goal — to restore the war-damaged national economy and ensure its pre-war level of development. Factories and plants were urgently converted to produce goods necessary for peaceful construction. Life gradually returned to its normal course. The 8-hour workday and days off were restored.
The production capacities of Kyrgyzstan increased during the war due to evacuated factories and plants, allowing it to boost production. New mines opened in Kyzyl-Kiya and Suluktu. Several new hydropower plants were commissioned, along with a railway connecting Kant and Rybachye, and industrial enterprises. New roads were being constructed, and old ones were being repaired.
The number of workers grew. In 1946, there were 36,000 workers in industry. By 1950, their number had increased to 66,000. However, the percentage of Kyrgyz workers among them was still very low. Primarily, Kyrgyz worked in coal mines. Workers from central regions of the country arrived at factories and plants. Training of local workers was not conducted. The number of people migrating from Russia to the republic increased.
Restoration of Agriculture. The situation in Kyrgyzstan's agriculture after the war was very difficult. In 1940, there were 187,000 men working in the agricultural sector, but by 1946, only 60,000 remained. The technical equipment of agriculture was at the level of 1930. Most of the machinery and tractor fleet of collective farms and state farms had been used for military needs. As a result, many lands remained uncultivated. Crop yields remained low. The state of livestock farming worsened, and the livestock population decreased. Most collective farmers had no personal livestock.
The main reason for this situation was, of course, the war. However, to some extent, it was also a consequence of the mistakes of the state’s agrarian policy. Since 1933, the rural population had to sell their harvested products to the state at prices that were 10-12 times lower than their actual cost. During the war, the half-starved peasants had their last reserves of wheat and flour taken, and livestock was confiscated for front-line needs. The charters of collective farms were not followed, and an administrative-command style of management became entrenched. Collective farm chairmen were appointed from above rather than elected. In most collective farms, labor days were not paid. Out of 1,700 collective farms in Kyrgyzstan, only 48 paid their members 1 ruble for a labor day. As a result, collective farmers lost the material incentive to work, developed an indifferent attitude toward labor, and labor discipline violations became commonplace.
To fundamentally change the situation and improve people's lives, urgent and decisive measures were needed — expanding sown areas and increasing livestock numbers. Comprehensive measures were developed for this purpose. Among them was the consolidation of collective farms. Financial resources, new equipment, and mineral fertilizers were allocated to boost their economies. The construction of the Big Chui Canal and several reservoirs was completed.
Socialist competition for fulfilling agricultural plans was launched. The situation with labor payment improved, which contributed to the revival of labor enthusiasm among rural workers. Sugar beet grower Zuurakan Kainazarova managed to grow an unprecedented yield — 900-1000 centners of sugar beets per hectare. In 1947, she was awarded the high title of Hero of Socialist Labor.
For labor achievements in this five-year period, 47 workers in Kyrgyzstan were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor, and 517 agricultural workers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR. The selfless work of villagers brought results: the destroyed agriculture began to revive — yields increased, and livestock numbers grew.
Changes in Political Life. In 1953, I. Stalin died — a man whose name is associated not only with the bright pages of victories and creations of the Soviet people but also with countless victims of mass repressions, years of constant fear, and persecution of people, a man who created a cult of personal power in the country.
N. S. Khrushchev, who took charge of the state, began to implement reforms aimed at softening the existing administrative-command system of governance. His first action was to remove and arrest the bloody executioner, head of the State Security Committee L. Beria — a man who enjoyed Stalin's boundless trust and directly organized the executions of many prominent Soviet, party, Komsomol, and economic figures, as well as mass repressions. N. Khrushchev also took some steps toward democratizing life.
At that time, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the republic, the de facto leader of Kyrgyzstan, was Iskhak Razzakov. He was the first Kyrgyz to hold the highest post in the republic after the establishment of Soviet power. I. Razzakov was born in the village of Kharoson in the Leilek district. Orphaned, he was raised in an orphanage and received a fundamental education in Tashkent and Moscow. For many years, he held responsible government positions in Uzbekistan. He first headed the government of Kyrgyzstan and then, from 1950 to 1961, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan.
Welcoming the reforms that began in the country, I. Razzakov made every effort to expand Kyrgyzstan's autonomy. The result of this activity was successful: 225 industrial enterprises, universities, and technical schools were transferred from union subordination to republican control. New ministries were created. Many prominent figures who had been executed as "enemies of the people" were rehabilitated, i.e., justified. It was allowed for forcibly displaced Chechens, Karachays, Balkars, and other forced migrants to return to their homeland.
Great attention was paid to the development of education and culture: new higher educational institutions were opened to train national specialists, and the training of national workers was organized. The role of the Kyrgyz language increased. Its study was introduced in Russian-speaking schools alongside other subjects.
However, the democratic transformations did not last long. Seeing the development and deepening of the autonomy of the union republics as a threat to power, the center decided to halt this process. The leaders of the republics who showed too much activity and initiative were subjected to harsh criticism. Among them was I. Razzakov, who was accused of nationalism and removed from his position.
In 1963, the Central Asian Council of National Economy was created, which was tasked with overseeing the economy of the entire region. Thus, the centralized management system was strengthened again.
With Brezhnev coming to power, it became even more entrenched and established. From that time on, a policy of sycophancy and ingratiation before the center reigned in Kyrgyzstan. In 1963, the 100th anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's voluntary accession to Russia was celebrated with great pomp, although this did not correspond to historical facts. The study of the Kyrgyz language in Russian-speaking schools was abolished. The significance and role of the national language of the Kyrgyz were significantly diminished. At the same time, the Russian language was declared a second native language for all.
The issue of promoting national cadres to leadership positions became particularly acute. During the period when the powerful Communist Party was in power, Moscow appointed leaders not only of the republic but also of regions and large enterprises. The second secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Kyrgyzstan were necessarily Russians. National cadres were increasingly less promoted even to local leadership positions — in regions and districts (including remote ones).
Among the party-state apparatus, deception, bribery, and corruption became everyday norms. Those in power built special houses and dachas for themselves. Special stores and warehouses provided them with goods unavailable to the general population. All these benefits were obtained at the expense of the common people, which spontaneously provoked their discontent.