A brief, illustrated look at the remarkable Soviet recovery in the wake of the utter devastation of WWII.

One of the most remarkable accomplishments of Soviet socialism was the astonishing rapidity with which the Soviet Union rebuilt their economy, industries, agriculture, cities and towns in the wake of the utter devastation and human losses of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

From Socialism: Principles, Practice, Prospects, 1982:
The war against the German invaders (1941-1945) brought enormous misfortunes and sufferings to the Soviet peoples. Over 20 million people perished. The nazis destroyed and plundered 1,710 big and small towns, burnt down 70,000 villages and reduced to ruins nearly 32,000 industrial enterprises.
The enemies of socialism hoped that the Soviet people would not overcome the war aftermath and that the Soviet Union would cease to be a great world power.
But they were wrong. Rehabilitation began in every area as soon as it was liberated from the nazis. Train loads of machinery and plant arrived in the liberated areas from the East. The Transcaucasian republics, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, which in their time had risen from backwardness with the help of the Russian Federation, the Ukraine and Byelorussia, now helped these republics with skilled personnel and technology. This was a concrete demonstration of the great power of the people's friendship.

The unparalleled hardships which confronted all Soviet peoples at that time, the grandeur of their devoted labour are brilliantly portrayed in Leonid Brezhnev's book "Rebirth". Towns and villages, factories and plants, collieries and oilfields, and power stations rose from the ashes. Industry regained the prewar level three years after the war and agriculture two years later.
No other state could recover so quickly from this most destructive war in history. The socialist system, the heroic labour of Soviet people, the friendship of the peoples steeled in the war and the guidance of the Communist Party ensured the rehabilitation and further advance of the country.
The people's democratic states which appeared after the war benefitted from the experience and support of the Soviet Union as they built the new life. Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and other multinational countries also drew broadly on the Soviet success in solving the national question, including state organization. They adopted the principles of federation that had been successfully tested in the USSR.
Socialism once again demonstrated its advantages to the whole world. The victory of the Soviet Union in the Second World War and the postwar rehabilitation acted as a powerful stimulus for the oppressed peoples in the struggle for national and social liberation. The balance of world forces tilted in favour of socialism. In their practical activities the countries of the socialist community apply the Soviet experience of building relations between nations on the principles of equality, mutual support and fraternal friendship.

Yuri TUMANOV & artist Mark LISOGORSKY
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