Water Supply in the Cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast during the Great Patriotic War
( Pp. 84-90)
More about authors
Marina N. Potemkina
Dr. Sci. (Hist.), Professor, Professor Department of World History, Leading Researcher, Center for the Study of Military Economics
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University; Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation; Moscow, Russian Federation Egor V. Arkaev Postgraduate Student
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University
Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University; Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration
Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation; Moscow, Russian Federation Egor V. Arkaev Postgraduate Student
Nosov Magnitogorsk State Technical University
Magnitogorsk, Russian Federation
Abstract:
This article examines the state and organization of water supply in the cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast during the Great Patriotic War as a key element of sanitary-epidemiological well-being in this rear region. Based on an analysis of archival materials from the Combined State Archive of Chelyabinsk Oblast and the Magnitogorsk City Archive, as well as periodicals, the authors explore structural disparities in the development of water supply infrastructure that were exacerbated under wartime conditions. Particular attention is paid to the differentiation between the centralized systems of major industrial centers and the primitive water sources in small towns, which led to epidemic crises. The conclusion is drawn that water supply was transformed into a critical element of the rear's life-support system, an experience that revealed both structural weaknesses and mechanisms of mobilization adaptation.
How to Cite:
Potemkina, M.N., Arkaev, E.V. (2026). Water Supply in the Cities of Chelyabinsk Oblast during the Great Patriotic War. History and Modern Perspectives, 8(1), 84-90. 10.33693/2658-4654-2026-8-1-84-90. EDN: UCRVXP
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Obertreis J., Malinova-Tziafeta O.Ju. Urban history and water infrastructures in the Russian empire and the Soviet Union. Noveishaya Istoriya Rossii. 2019. Vol. 9, No. 1. Pp. 173–201. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.21638/11701/spbu24.2019.111. EDN: AAUSHW.
Orlov I.B. The Communal Country: The Evolution of Soviet Housing and Communal Services (1917–1941). Moscow, HSE University Press, 2015, 335 p. (In Rus.). EDN: YQMRKH.
Potemkina M.N., Zharkynbaeva R.S. The state of labor protection at defense enterprises in wartime conditions (1941–1945). History and Modern Perspectives. 2022. Vol. 4, No. 2. Pp. 39–46. (In Rus.). EDN: LXRIDX.
Rubin V.A. Cities of the Southern Urals during the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945). Cand. hist. sci. diss. Orenburg, 2007. 231 p. (In Rus.).
Starchenko N.N. From the history of military everyday life: solving housing and utilities problems in the city of Stalino (September 1943–1945). Zhurnal Istoricheskikh, Politologicheskikh i Mezhdunarodnykh Issledovanii. 2021. No. 4 (79). Pp. 26–34. (In Rus.). EDN: UYXEAP.
Khisamutdinova R.R. The state and development of public utilities in the cities of the Orenburg (Chkalov) region on the eve of the Great Patriotic War. Vestnik Orenburgskogo Gosudarstvennogo Pedagogicheskogo Universiteta. Elektronnyi Nauchnyi Zhurnal. 2022. No. 1 (41). Pp. 149–167. (In Rus.). DOI: 10.32516/2303-9922.2022.41.13. EDN: VCJYIK.
Shalak A.V. Living Conditions of the Population of Eastern Siberia, 1940–1950. Dr. hist. sci. diss. Irkutsk, 2000. 464 p. (In Rus.).
Shmatov E.N., Vorob'eva O.B., Vostryakova Yu.V. The urban economy of the Middle Volga region during the Great Patriotic War. Sovremennaya Nauka: Aktual'nye Problemy Teorii i Praktiki. Ser. Gumanitarnye Nauki. 2019. No. 4. Pp. 39–43. (In Rus.). EDN: FWZELT.
Keywords:
water supply, Great Patriotic War, Chelyabinsk Oblast, sanitary-epidemiological well-being, public utilities, water infrastructure, management practices..
