How exactly did the USSR evacuate its industrial production capacity to its eastern regions in 1941?

I know that it’s ‘common knowledge’ that the USSR evacuated significant industrial material from European Russia (e.g. Ukraine) to the East during the early days of Barbarossa and that this transfer partly explains the USSR’s industrial prowess later on in the war.

However, as someone who has worked in metals manufacturing, I haven’t seen any explanation that truly appreciates the gravity and magnitude of this task. I don’t mean to put on a conspiracy hat, but I don’t think most people realize the complexity involved in moving a factory. It’s not that simple: concrete floors, power lines, water, supply-chain inputs, waste removal (nearly all requiring being built to spec) are required. Moving even something as ‘simple’ as a blast furnace is an enormous undertaking under ideal circumstances and I can’t imagine having to do so under wartime conditions.

I have read that the Soviets sometimes repurposed planned future expansion sites of other industrial regions and that several factories were repurposed into military production (e.g. from cars to tanks). Still, as they say, the devil is in the details and the logistics. I can accept that some industry was successfully moved east, but it would be nice to hear how this seemingly superhuman feat was accomplished at its alleged scale.

P.S. Absolutely love your work and very much appreciate what you are doing for us and for future generations!

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Like many things related to the Eastern Front, we aren’t as entirely sure as we’d like to be. Soviet state secrecy and the Cold War did no favours for real history. When Russian Archives were open in the 1990’s post Soviet Union and pre-Putin, many hitherto unknown facets of Soviet history were discovered, both relating to the Russian Revolution and the Great Patriotic War.

It is clear that many evacuations were carried out. It would appear that many were sent to either planned znd already prepared exansion sites for 5-year plans, which explains their readiness to receive industry, or what appear to be shadow factory sites, probably both. The Soviet Union was a command economy and didn’t give a tinker’s damn about prices or environmental concerns. They could be very quick when they wanted to be.

What we also have is I believe a cover for the introduction of Lend-Lease. Marshal Zhukov’s autobiography is a more candid than realized. Tanks, explosives, jeeps, trucks, railway licomotives and rolling stock. All from Lend-Lease The highly railway-dependent USSR secured 93% of its wartime locomotive needs from Lend-Lease.

The USSR admitted its use of Lend-Lease but was loathe to admit to its true scope.

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