Solving the problems of housing and communal services in the North Caucasus during the Great Patriotic War

Introduction. The relevance of the topic is related to the important role of housing and communal services in the life of society and the possibility of using the Soviet experience in the development of housing and communal services in order to improve its organization in modern Russia. The novelty of the research is related to the study of an insufficiently disclosed problem in the historical literature, which has not received full coverage in the materials of the North Caucasus. The purpose of the study is to analyze the solution of housing and communal services problems in the North Caucasus during the Great Patriotic War.

Materials and methods. The principles of objectivity, historicism and a systematic approach were used in the preparation of the study, as well as special historical methods: historical-genetic, historical-comparative and statistical.

Analysis. By the early 1940s, some progress had been made in the housing and communal services sector, but there were also serious problems. During the war, this unfavorable situation has worsened many times. In such a difficult situation in the North Caucasus, there was a military restructuring in the work of all services and institutions of housing and communal services. It was complicated by a significant reduction in the material base and personnel. Despite this, local authorities implemented a set of measures aimed at preventing the consequences of enemy shelling and bombing, as well as providing life support to the population. The military actions in the summer of 1942 and the subsequent occupation by the enemy of a significant part of the territory of the North Caucasus led to huge destruction of residential buildings and other housing and communal services. As a result of the restoration of housing and communal services, it was possible to put into operation part of the housing stock, organize water and electricity supply, ensure the operation of mail and radio broadcasting, repair roads and other measures to improve settlements in the North Caucasus.

Results. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the problems in the development of housing and communal services in the North Caucasus in the pre-war period increased many times during wartime, primarily due to the destructive actions of the enemy. The restoration of housing and communal services took place through the use of funds allocated by the authorities and the active involvement of the population in the improvement of settlements. The application of this set of measures made it possible to ease the housing crisis by the time the war ended and provide some residents with public utilities.

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