Plans and Projects of Development of Mineral Resources of Yakutia (1914-1921)

Abstract

The article is devoted to development of natural resources of Yakutia in the first decades of the 20th century, when under the influence of political change and the growing crisis in the economy the issues of use of local raw materials to meet the needs of the population have become more relevant. The steps are discussed, taken in the early 20th century by private entrepreneurs, cooperative bodies and government organizations for scientific and engineering research of mineral resources of Yakutia, examining the prospects of their extraction and further processing. It is shown that in the period after the revolution of 1917 the role of private business initiatives for development of mineral resources began to decline significantly, the initiative in this direction passed into the hands of rural and cooperative bodies. It is noted that with the establishment of the Soviet power in Yakutia in December 1919, all the initiatives of the private and cooperative sectors in the development of handicraft production from local raw materials was terminated. It is emphasized that the state concentrated in its hands all the activities, including scientific research, in searching, exploration and industrial processing of mineral resources of Yakutia. The authors conclude that in the studied period the study of natural resources increasingly was not only of scientific, but above all of practical interest, which was linked with the need to find solutions to the economic crisis caused by the war and revolution of 1917.

Keywords

• history of yakutia
• mineral resources
• research of north
• natural resources
• field development
• cottage industry
• local industry