DOI: 10.46726/H.2026.1.15
The article is devoted to the analysis of the development of historical science on the problem of peat extraction during the Great Patriotic War. Due to the loss of significant territories in the western part of the country, the rear regions of the USSR were forced to rely on domestic sources of raw materials even more than in previous decades. In such conditions, peat became the most important energy resource, which was used in enterprises of more than 20 People's Commissariats. The author draws attention to the weak interest of researchers in the problems of peat extraction and the insufficient reflection of the activities of peat producers in the historical memory of our country. This is due to the decline in the importance of the industry since the 1960s, and especially in the post-Soviet period. The source base for studying peat extraction activities is very diverse and includes business documents of peat enterprises, as well as relatively informative funds of primary party organizations containing valuable information not only on the main, but also auxiliary activities of enterprises. Some of the information about the work of peat bogs was deposited in the fund of the Vladimir regional Committee, as well as the funds of the city and district committees where the enterprises were located. Special attention is drawn to the collection of letters from home front workers written to the State Archive of the Vladimir Region in the 1980s and 1990s and containing short stories about the authors' work in peat mining during the Great Patriotic War. There are also individual memoirs of veterans of the Soviet rear who participated in peat harvesting, telling about the difficulties of their work. The purpose of the article was an attempt to show a range of sources on the topic of peat enterprises during the hard times of the war and to outline research prospects based on the identified documents.
For citation: Tryakhov I.S. On the issue of peat extraction during the Great Patriotic War: estimates of historiography and historical sources on the topic (based on the materials of the State Archive of the Vladimir Region), Ivanovo State University Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2026, iss. 1, pp. 113—122.