UDC

94=161.1(045)(470.23)(=1.2)

Authors

Vladimir A. Orav
Saint Petersburg State University
5 Mendeleevskaya liniya, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation;
e-mail: v.oraw@yandex.ru

Abstract

This article dwells on the allocation of houses and outbuildings to collective farmers from the central regions of RSFSR settling on the Karelian Isthmus in the Leningrad Region, i.e. former Finnish territory ceded to the Soviet Union in 1944. Although from the available sources one cannot determine the exact number of houses and outbuildings left by the Finns, it is certain that the Karelian Isthmus had a significant housing stock, which for the most part was not used. The paper found that the number of resettled families depended on how many houses were available. By allocating former Finnish houses to in-migrants the government achieved considerable saving of both money and manpower. The author of this article analyses the procedure of in-migrants’ settling in their new places of residence. The paper describes the problems and conflicts that arose during the allocation. The most serious problem was the fact that the houses and outbuildings had been partly destroyed by military men and managers from Leningrad. During the first period after the Great Patriotic War, casements and stoves were plundered from the houses, but as early as in 1946 new cases were recorded when buildings were completely disassembled and taken to Leningrad or other parts of the Leningrad Region. Decisions of regional authorities aimed to combat looting were ignored as district authorities had a vested interest in selling the houses. The remaining houses given to the in-migrants were often in poor condition so that they had to repair them on their own. What is more, the distribution of houses was chaotic and unsystematic. The author concludes that the former Finnish property was not always used rationally.

Keywords

Karelian Isthmus, in-migrants, collective farmers, dwelling houses, outbuildings, inventory, looting

References

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