UDC

930.23+94(470.22)”16/19”

DOI

10.37482/2687-1505-V070

Authors

Timofey V. Alekseev
Mozhaisky Military Space Academy;
ul. Zhdanovskaya 13, St. Petersburg, 197198, Russian Federation;
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0809-2400 e-mail: timofey1967@mail.ru

Abstract

The paper deals with the history of the Olonets metal works – one of the centres of military industry in pre-revolutionary Russia. It aimed to analyse the views of Russian researchers on the problems of military production at these plants and their role in providing the army and navy with weapons in the 18th – еarly 20th centuries. The works of the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods were studied. The relevance of this research is substantiated by the need for an in-depth examination of such a phenomenon in Russian history as the military-industrial complex and its prototype represented by the military industry of pre-revolutionary Russia. The article is focused on the way Russian historiography presents the organization of military production at the Olonets metal works, their technical reconstruction in order to master the production of brand new types of weapons, as well as the role of foreign specialists and foreign technical, technological and organizational experience in this process. The study revealed some important features of the Olonets metal works operation: the use of the economy’s mobilization mechanisms for their creation, their role as a transmitter of military production experience to other Russian regions, the influence of non-economic factors on the existence of military industry enterprises, as well as the effect and significance of diffusion of innovations in military industry. It is concluded that the final period in the history of the Olonets metal works (late 19th – early 20th centuries) is poorly reflected in Russian historiography. In addition, the research points out the need for a comprehensive work on the history of military production at the Olonets metal works in general.
For citation: Alekseev T.V. Olonets Metal Works as a Centre of Military Production in Russian Historiography. Vestnik Severnogo (Arkticheskogo) federal’nogo universiteta. Ser.: Gumanitarnye i sotsial’nye nauki, 2021, no. 1, pp. 5–20. DOI: 10.37482/2687-1505-V070

Keywords

Olonets metal works, military industry in pre-revolutionary Russia, production of artillery pieces, G.W. de Gennin, C. Gascoigne, Peter the Great’s plant, Alexander plant

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