Андрей Тихомиров
From the history of Orenburg region
The development of the Orenburg region industry
At the beginning of the XX century, the Orenburg Region was an agricultural area with unstable harvests characteristic of the peasant economy. The industry was mainly represented by railway workshops, mills and small enterprises. The bowels of the region, which contained a huge amount of valuable minerals, remained unrealized. The Civil War and the events (1917-1920) threw the economy of the region into the abyss of ruin and backwardness. The 20-30s of the XX century were filled with selfless work of Orenburg residents.
"By the end of the 30s of the XX century, more than 400 new industrial enterprises were built in the Orenburg (Chkalovskaya since 1938) region. The industry of the region produced 8.7 times more products in 1940 than in 1913, and 6.4 times more than in the early 30s. New industrial sectors appeared and developed (mechanical engineering, metalworking, non-ferrous metal production, etc.), old industries (light and food) received a new impetus for development" (Tikhomirov A.E., Orenburg region Industry. Industrialization in the 20-30s of the XX century. "Ridero", Yekaterinburg, 2018, pp. 40-41).
New industrial areas were formed on the territory of the region: Orsko-Khalilovsky metallurgical district, Buzuluk-Buguruslan district, where oil and gas were successfully extracted, fundamental industrial changes took place in the city of Orenburg.
Metalworking and mechanical engineering took the 1st place in terms of the number of workers. By the early 40s, the construction of the Akmolinsk-Kartaly railway line connecting Orenburg region with Kazakhstan was completed.
At the same time, with the general growth of industrial production in Orenburg region, there were no fundamental changes in its structure. Orenburg region still remained an agrarian and industrial region and agriculture in the form of a collective farm and state farm system played a major economic role here. Industrial enterprises built in the 30s mainly specialized in the processing of agricultural raw materials and mining, their transportation.
Negative aspects in the development of industry: forced construction was carried out hastily, without taking into account local environmental and sanitary standards, low qualification of personnel. The loss of qualified forces for one reason or another and the involvement of incompetent workers. The pursuit of indicators and timing of the start-up of enterprises led to poor quality and marriage. Competition in enterprises degenerated into show-off and scribbling.
By the end of the 30s, enterprises of more than 30 different industries were operating in Orenburg region, producing a wide variety of products. The following enterprises, plants and factories were represented here: power plants, peat mining enterprises, mining of minerals for construction, logging and timber smelting, production of mineral building materials, brick production, enterprises for the production of wall and cladding materials, repair of locomotives and wagons, repair of industrial equipment, agricultural machinery, tractors and automobiles, furniture production, printing, knitting, sewing, shoe manufacturing, food production, etc .
Large-scale industrial production developed in the Orsko-Khalilovsky district, copper-sulfur and nickel plants were put into operation here, acceleration of the pace of construction of the Orskaya CHP, which was supposed to provide electricity to all enterprises of the district, became important.
The industrial bases of the region acquired new outlines, now, in addition to the Orenburg industrial district, industrial enterprises appeared in the Orsko-Khalilovsky region, where iron and non–ferrous ores were mined, non–ferrous metals were produced and the oil refining industry, Buzuluksky – mechanical engineering and food production, Buguruslansky – the oil industry.
The first stages of the South Ural Nickel Plant and the copper-sulfur plant were built, the first units began to work at the Central Electric Station of the copper-sulfur plant and the Orsk Thermal Power Plant. The food industry of the region has a large meat processing plant in Orsk, the Yuzhuraltyazhstroy trust has been established, which conducts industrial and communal housing construction on a large scale.
The first stage of the copper-sulfur plant is coming into operation in the Kuvandyk district. The first stage of the oil refinery (Kregingzavod) in Orsk has begun operation. The plant processes oil from Emba and is connected to the Guryev oil pipeline. Mining of Sadka asphaltites in Buguruslansky district, brown coals in Akbulaksky and Sol-Iletsky districts, Dombrov anthracites, and oil shales are booming.
"By the mid-20s, out of 180 enterprises in the region, 132 were restored after the civil war unleashed by the White Guards and their patrons – world capital.
In the first five-year plan (1929-1932), about 40 industrial enterprises were built in Orenburg region. Saddlery and sewing factories were launched in Orenburg, construction of a feed mill and an Orsk meat processing plant began.
During the second five-year plan (1933-1937), the output of bricks increased 5 times, and the Orenburg Feed Mill, the firstborn of the country's feed industry, gave the first products. Large-scale capital construction has unfolded in the east of the region. In December 1935, the first operating capacities of the Orsk Oil Refinery were put into operation, the construction of a thermal power plant, a nickel processing plant, a metalwork plant was carried out, traffic along the Iletsk-Uralsk railway line opened, and the reconstruction of the Iletsk salt fields began.
In the third five-year plan (1938-1941), the South Ural Nickel Processing Plant, the Mednopor Copper Mining Plant, the Guryev-Orsk oil pipeline, the Orsk-Dombarovka railway line came into operation, and the Buguruslan oil fields produced the first oil. Construction of the Orsk-Kandahach and Orsk-Kartaly railway has begun.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Buguruslan-Kuibyshev gas pipeline was built in the Chkalov region (the name of the region from 1938 to 1957), the capacity of the Orenburg power plant was increased, new turbine generators were installed at the Orsk and Mednogorsk power plants; the construction of the Orsko-Khalilovsky Metallurgical Combine, heavy machinery plant and other facilities was carried out. In January 1943, the Yuzhuraltyazhstroy Trust was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for the successful completion of tasks for the construction of important facilities. More than 90 largest enterprises moved here from the west of the Soviet Union, 44 of them were located in Chkalov, 4 in Orsk, 14 in Buzuluk, 5 in Mednogorsk.
In the fourth five-year plan (1946-1950), the preparation of the ore base for the Orsko-Khalilovsky Metallurgical Combine was carried out, the capacities of enterprises already commissioned in Orsk, Mednogorsk, Novotroitsk were increased.
In the fifth five-year plan (1951-1955), open-hearth and blast furnaces were built at the Orsko-Khalilovsky Metallurgical Combine, the Iriklinsky reservoir, a slotting machine shop at the Orenburg Machine Tool Plant, a cellular concrete plant and a reinforced concrete products plant of the Orskmetallurgstroy trust, and the Buguruslan-Abdulino railway section was electrified.
In the sixth five-year plan (1956-1960), the construction of the Gaya Mining and Processing Plant and the city of Gaya began, new blast furnaces and martins were built at the OHMK, a new rolling mill, the Orsk Chrome Compounds Plant and the Orsk Sewing Factory began to produce products.
During the seven-year period (1959-1965), 118 operating industrial facilities were put into operation, including the Gaisky Mining and Processing Plant, a chrome compound plant, two sintering plants, two blast furnaces, seven open-hearths, three large-panel housing plants, new mines and oil fields.
In the eighth five-year plan (1966-1970), 122 facilities were built. This five-year plan was characterized by a large scale of capital construction. The builders put into operation fixed assets worth more than 2.4 billion rubles. Among them are the coke battery and the second stage of the rolling mill 950/800 at OHMK, oxygen station units and mines at the Yuzhuralnikel combine, new facilities at the Orsk Non-ferrous Metals Processing Plant, the first stages of the Orenburg Silk Processing Plant and the Orsk Knitting Factory, new workshops at the drilling equipment and heavy machinery plant named after him. Kuibyshev, enterprises of the construction and food industry. The first power units at the Iriklinskaya GRES and Sakmarskaya TPP began to operate.
The ninth Five-year Plan (1971-1975) was a major new step in increasing capital construction. This is the most fruitful five-year plan. 169 industrial facilities were put into operation, including 2 stages of the gas processing plant. In terms of scale and complexity, the construction of the gas complex far surpassed all previously constructed facilities in Orenburg region. About 24 thousand builders and maintenance workers worked on the construction of the first stage of the gas processing plant during the most stressful days. More than 1 million rubles of capital investments were mastered every day. In February 1974, the first stage of the gas complex came into operation, and in the final year of the five-year plan, the second. Gas production has increased 80 times over the five-year period. In this five-year plan, other facilities of the fuel and energy complex began to operate: 6 power units of the Iriklinskaya GRES, a power unit of the Kargalinskaya CHP, a new turbine at the Sakmarskaya CHP. The Orenburg-Alexandrov -Guy and Orenburg-Kuibyshev gas pipelines have been built. In June 1974, at a session of the Council of Mutual Economic Assistance in Sofia (Bulgaria), the heads of Government of the COMECON member countries signed a General Agreement on cooperation and development of the Orenburg gas condensate field and construction of the Orenburg-Western Border of the USSR main gas pipeline. Work has also begun on the second construction site of the COMECON, the Kiembaevsky asbestos plant. In the five-year plan, the industry of the region was replenished with new capacities of other industries. The metallurgical workshop of the Buruktalsky nickel plant, the fourth blast furnace at the Orsko-Khalilovsky Metallurgical Plant, commissioned ahead of schedule, the spinning workshop of the silk mill and others began to produce products. In 1973, the construction of a tractor trailer factory began in Orsk. In this five-year plan, the material base of construction was improved. The share of the use of products from the construction materials industry and the construction industry produced at enterprises of the Orenburg region in the total volume of construction and installation work amounted to almost 24%. The collectives of the enterprises of the building materials industry have achieved a significant increase in the scale of production and improvement of the main technical and economic performance indicators. The increase in production amounted to 44.9% over the five-year period. Capital equipment increased by 16.4%, electric equipment – by 14%, labor mechanization – by 12.3%, labor productivity increased by 35.4%.
