How Soviet Kalmykia’s Public Road Industry Emerged in the Late 1950s

Abstract

Introduction. The article deals with the beginnings of Kalmykia’s public road industry, reveals some features and significance of motorways network construction across the region in the late 1950s. Materials and methods. The paper examines archival documents contained in collections Р-218 (‘Highways Design and Construction Association of the Kalmyk ASSR’) and Р-309 (‘Council of Ministers of the Kalmyk ASSR’) at the National Archive of Kalmykia. The study employs the historical/genetic and historical/comparative methods. Results. The article reveals certain features of Kalmykia’s road network after the restoration of autonomy, identifies key vectors of the then modern highways construction agenda in the Kalmyk ASSR, clarifies some issues pertaining to logistics and financing of the emerging road industry. The leading executives of the republic did understand that motor transport was of utmost importance for Kalmykia’s economic recovery, and invested great efforts to build modern highways. Conclusions. However, despite the mentioned efforts, the share of paved roads remained extremely small, which was caused by insufficient funding, staffing problems, and shortage of road construction equipment.

Keywords

• public roads
• transport
• kalmyk assr
• road repair
• road construction
• transport infrastructure
• public road industry