Factory Laboratories of Heavy Industry in Leningrad: General Problems of Scientific and Production Activities in the 1930s
( Pp. 118-128)
More about authors
Vladimir S. Aleshin
Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Monuments and Memorial Plaques, Saint Petersburg, Russia Federation
State Museum of Urban Sculpture; Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation; Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
State Museum of Urban Sculpture; Peter the Great Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University
Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation; Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Abstract:
The article attempts to analyse the status and operation of factory laboratories in the heavy industry sector of Leningrad — a major hub of heavy industry and a significant scientific and educational centre of the Soviet Union — during the last decade preceding the Great Patriotic War. The source base of the study consisted of materials from five archival institutions: the Central State Archive of Saint Petersburg (CGA SPb), the Central State Archive of Historical and Political Documents of Saint Petersburg (CGAIPD SPb), the Central State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation of Saint Petersburg (CGANTD SPb), the Central State Archive of Literature and Art of Saint Petersburg (CGALI SPb), and the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI). The study demonstrates that, despite state support, Leningrad’s factory laboratories failed to achieve adequate development by the end of the decade under review. The key factors behind this situation were technological conservatism among enterprise management, low production culture, and the insufficient educational level of many factory workers.
How to Cite:
Aleshin, V.S. (2026). Factory Laboratories of Heavy Industry in Leningrad: General Problems of Scientific and Production Activities in the 1930s. History and Modern Perspectives, 8(1), 118-128. 10.33693/2658-4654-2026-8-1-118-128. EDN: DSFCNJ
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Aleshin V.S., Borovskikh V.A. Science at «Electrosila»: Activities of the Plant-Wide Research Bureau and Factory Laboratories in the 1930s. Genesis: Historical Research. 2025. No. 12. Pp. 116–126. (in Rus.).
Burim L.D. The Central Armor Laboratory No. 1 of the Izhora Plant — the Cradle of CRISM «Prometey» (1936-1939) // Science and Technology: Issues of History and Theory. Proceedings of the XXXVIII International Annual Scientific Conference of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian National Committee for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology of the RAS «Science and Revolution (on the 100th Anniversary of the 1917 Revolution in Russia)», October 30 — November 3, 2017. Issue XXXIII. St. Petersburg: SPbF IIET RAN, 2017. Pp. 31–37.
Dolgova E.A. Factory laboratories in the trajectories of Soviet scientific and technical policy. Science Governance: Theory and Practice. 2025. Vol. 7. No. 3. Pp. 151–175. (in Rus.).
Devid-Foks M. The Assault on Universities and the Dynamics of the Stalinist Great Break (1928-1932) // Schedule of Changes: Essays on the History of Educational and Scientific Policy in the Russian Empire — USSR (Late 1880s — 1930s)]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2012. Pp. 523–564.
Kessenikh A.V. An Unusual Representative (Alexander Armand in the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Industry of the USSR: 1933–1937). Studies in the History of Science and Technology. 2000. No. 3. Pp. 3–15. (in Rus.).
Lomakina I.I. Our Biography: Essays on the History of the Production Association «Plant Named after M. I. Kalinin». 1869–1989. Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1991. 431 p.
Myl’nikov A.A. To the 300th Anniversary of the Izhora Plants and the City of Kolpino)]. St. Petersburg: YUPI, 2022. 230 p.
Science of a Great Country: The Soviet Experience of Governance], ed. by E. A. Dolgova; authors: M. V. Gribovskiy, I. G. Dezhina, E. A. Dolgova, M. O. Okuneva, E. A. Strel’tsova, D. L. Saprykin, S. B. Ul’yanova. Russian State University for the Humanities, Center for the History of Russian Science and Scientific-Technological Development. Moscow: RGGU, 2023. 625 p.
Rivkin S.I. The Guiding Star: An Essay on the History of the Central Factory Laboratory of the Izhora Plants. St. Petersburg: Gumanistika, 2004. 168 p.
Safronov A. The Great Soviet Economy: 1917–1991. Moscow: Individuum, Eksmo, 2025. 792 p.
Science Governance: A Guide to the Soviet Past, ed. by E. A. Dolgova (executive editor), D. S. Sekirinskiy (scientific editor); authors: E. A. Dolgova, M. O. Okuneva, M. V. Gribovskiy, E. F. Sinel’nikova, V. V. Sliskova. Russian State University for the Humanities; Center for the History of Russian Science and Scientific and Technological Development. Moscow: RGGU, 2024. 405 p.
Keywords:
industrial research, soviet history, soviet science, factory laboratories, history of science..
