Now it’s 2014, but many young people now don’t remember, and most likely don’t know, that back in 1954, young people and girls flocked to our steppe region from all over the country on Komsomol vouchers to raise the country's agricultural sector, to grow bread and grains, which were so lacking in the post-war hard times. In the first years of the development of virgin lands, 11.5 thousand Komsomol members arrived in the Orenburg region, including 4.5 thousand from the cities of our region, and the rest from the Astrakhan, Belgorod, Lipetsk, Ryazan, Penza regions, Udmurtia, etc. The living conditions of the first virgin land inhabitants were not terrible: they lived in tents under open air until late autumn, there was not enough housing, which began to be built overnight in the eastern Orenburg region, there was no necessary medicine, personal hygiene items, and food. According to the stories of my grandmother’s sister, who was the first of our family to come to the Orenburg region, they lived in tents, it was cold, freezing, the conditions were inhuman... By the way, thanks to her, who then came to the “Red Shepherd” state farm in the now Dombarovsky district, our family, ancestors whose natives Penza region, now lives in Orenburg region. According to Wikipedia, developmentvirgin lands- a set of measures to eliminate the backlog agriculture and increased grain production in the USSR in 1955- 1965, by bringing into circulation vast land resources in Kazakhstan, Volga region, Urals, Siberia, Far East. On March 2, 1954, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Soviets of the RSFSR “On the organization of new grain state farms of the Ministry of State Farms of the RSFSR,” 4 new state farms were created in the Adamovsky district of the Chkalov region: Adamovsky, Vostochny, Ozerny, Tobolsk with an area of 25 thousand hectares each. Hundreds of hectares of hitherto untouched virgin steppe lands were plowed up, new towns, villages, villages were erected in the endless scorching steppe. For the most part, the settlement of the Dombarovsky, Adamovsky, Svetlinsky districts began precisely in the 50s of the 20th century. This is especially true for the Svetlinsky district, since previously on the territory of the modern municipality until the 50s there were only steppes, steppes, and the indigenous population lived - the Kazakhs. Russians began to appear here after 1954. For example, the village of Vostochny is practically located on the very border with Kazakhstan; it turns 60 this year!
It would seem like a very short time for the village, but it is already looking at everyone with the empty eye sockets of its dilapidated buildings. Times have changed... Collective and state farms have collapsed, equipment has been stolen, so residents cannot put up with the lack of wages, normal level lives and they go their separate ways. There are empty two-story buildings in the village; they used to be elite housing, but now they are semi-abandoned ruins. It’s hard to believe that virgin lands once stood in line for apartments in these buildings. During the years of perestroika, they abandoned all this and left, fled, abandoned everything. That is, the process that began in the 50s is becoming reversed, the village is dying out, and only this tractor can remind of its former glory:
It was on this tractor that the first furrow was laid on the Vostochny state farm on May 18, 1954. This iron horse became a kind of monument to the pioneers of the virgin lands.
What is Vostochny now? According to the stories of local residents, this is a dying man locality, in which only those who value their land and home remained, and asocial families coming from Orsk, who sold apartments in the city for next to nothing and moved to the free steppe “bread”. Maybe another twenty or thirty years, and there will be nothing left of the stronghold of the virgin lands? Although I watched local TV, there is information about the celebration of the anniversary of the development of virgin lands. In particular, it is said that in the village of Komsomolsky repair work is being carried out in full swing to celebrate such a grandiose event. Yes, in the same Komsomolsky, where the famous Soviet film “Ivan Brovkin in the Virgin Lands” was filmed.
But what about Tselinny, Vostochny, Svetly, who will help them? ABOUT current state You can judge the East by several videos kindly provided to me by one of the former residents of the village. You can get acquainted with them in my group “In contact” - Local history of the Orenburg region.”
On June 7, 2014, a grand celebration of the development of virgin lands, its 60th anniversary, took place in the village of Komsomolsky. Let us not forget the heroic daily exploits of our fellow countrymen in the development of new lands, the pioneers of the earth, hard workers and unknown heroes. Here is what is written about this on the official United Russia page:
In the village of Komsomolsky, Adamovsky district, ceremonial events were held dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the development of virgin lands, reports an ER.RU correspondent.
The guests of honor of the holiday were the Acting Governor - Chairman of the Government of the Orenburg Region, member of the Presidium of the Regional Political Council of the United Russia Party, Yuri Berg, deputy State Duma RF, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Committee Viktor Zavarzin, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Orenburg Region, member of the Presidium of the Regional Political Council of the Party Sergei Grachev, Vice Speaker of the regional parliament, Deputy Secretary of the Regional Branch of the Party Alexander Salo, deputies of the United Russia faction in the Legislative Assembly of the Ildar region Nasybullin, Alexander Bornikov, Andrey Gerasimenko and Evgeny Malyushin, heads of regional ministries, members of the regional Government and representatives of federal structures.
"IN post-war period“When there was no bread, it was necessary to feed the country, and by any means,” emphasized Sergei Grachev. “Therefore, the decision was made to develop virgin lands, and the goal was achieved. It was really hard work, people were going into the unknown, and they accomplished a feat.”
The history of the village of Komsomolsky, Adamovsky district, began on December 23, 1954, when hundreds of people began to arrive in the bare steppe, to an empty place. For the development of virgin and fallow lands, 44 grain growers were awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor and 10 thousand people were awarded orders and medals for their labor exploits. Thousands of people not only fought for bread, they built state farms and villages from scratch here, and created the infrastructure of the eastern Orenburg region. Their contribution to the development of the region will never be forgotten.
“The lands that were plowed gave a good harvest,” said Alexander Salo. — Our region was awarded two Orders of Lenin for its high performance. Those veterans, those people who worked here are an example for us today, and we, following them, must ensure food security, establish ourselves on the world stage in order to supply our bread. And virgin bread is the best!”
“Given our relations with the West, with America, we definitely need to be autonomous, self-sufficient in terms of food. In this regard, a lot of work is being done in the State Duma. And I think that by joint efforts we will have to help the peasants,” says State Duma deputy Viktor Zavarzin.
I would like to believe that these are not empty promises before the next elections, not the slogans of political parties. How is it possible to restore at once everything that has been stolen and taken away brick by brick over the last twenty years?
The finest hour of virgin soil
Reforms and people in the USSR
On August 16, 1956, the USSR adopted a decree “On the irrigation and development of virgin lands.” More than one and a half million people went to the steppes of Kazakhstan, the Volga region, Siberia and the Urals.
“This is how the harvest leaders are honored at the Leninsky virgin state farm” / Photo: Iosif Budnevich
The development of virgin lands in color photographs from the archives of the Ogonyok magazine - in the Kommersant photo gallery. The development of virgin lands began back in 1954, when there was a grain shortage in the USSR. 50 thousand Komsomol members from the central part of the country went to the Aktobe region (Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) to plow the steppe and plant grain crops.
2.
During the program for the development of virgin lands, more than 45 million hectares of land were plowed and planted with new crops: 25.5 million hectares in Kazakhstan, in the Volga region, Siberia and the Urals - 17 million hectares.
3.
Labor to provide new lands was attracted from the western part of the USSR. Mobilized Komsomol members were entitled to free travel and benefits of about a thousand rubles. In addition, they were provided with a preferential loan in the amount of 20 thousand rubles for 10 years. for housing construction. Over five years, 20 billion rubles have been allocated from the state budget for these purposes.
4.
5.
6.
In total, 1.7 million people took part in the campaign to develop new agricultural land in 1954-1959.
7.
“In 1956 it struck finest hour virgin lands. The harvest in the steppe was rich: instead of the promised 600 million, 1 billion poods of grain were handed over to the state,” Leonid Brezhnev wrote in his book “Virgin Land”.
8.
In 1956, the USSR harvested a record harvest of 125 million tons of grain, half of which was obtained on virgin lands.
9.
“People have to reckon with natural processes and adapt to them, opposing their invention wildlife. But no matter what happened and despite all the difficulties, virgin bread remained the cheapest,” wrote Nikita Khrushchev in his memoirs.
10.
In the virgin regions, leisure activities familiar to young people were organized: clubs, cinemas, libraries.
11.
To get quick results and high yields, virgin lands were fertilized with chemicals. Their consumption, and accordingly, production in the country has doubled.
12.
Experts ignored the peculiarities of the climate of the steppe zone - the active use of fertilizers led to frequent dust storms, erosion and loss of soil fertility.
13.
14.
15.
16.
The sharp outflow of labor from the central part of the USSR had a negative impact on the indicators of agricultural production in these areas. In 1974, the country's authorities declared a “second virgin land” - this time in the non-black earth European part of Russia.
17.
The plowing of gigantic lands in Kazakhstan has led to a reduction in pastures and hayfields. This affected the traditional branch of agriculture in the region - livestock farming, which found itself in crisis in the early 1960s.
18.
19.
The virgin epic was so captivating Soviet Union that in 1961 the city of Akmolinsk in Kazakhstan was renamed Tselinograd (now the capital of the republic - Astana), in 1963 the Ust-Uysky district of the Kurgan region was renamed Tselinny.
23.
About 4 thousand virgin soil workers were awarded orders and medals, five of them received the title of Heroes of Socialist Labor.
24.
25.
Despite all the successes of the virgin lands program, the pioneers did not remain to live on the developed lands. From 1965 to 2000, 280 thousand residents left only 10 virgin districts of the Orenburg region. This is four times more than the number of people who came to the region for agricultural work.
On August 16, 1956, the USSR adopted a resolution “On the irrigation and development of virgin lands.” More than one and a half million people went to the steppes of Kazakhstan, the Volga region, Siberia and the Urals.
“This is how the harvest leaders are honored at the Leninsky virgin state farm” / Photo: Iosif Budnevich
The development of virgin lands began back in 1954, when there was a grain shortage in the USSR. 50 thousand Komsomol members from the central part of the country went to the Aktobe region (Kazakh Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic) to plow the steppe and plant grain crops.
2.
During the program for the development of virgin lands, more than 45 million hectares of land were plowed and planted with new crops: 25.5 million hectares in Kazakhstan, in the Volga region, Siberia and the Urals - 17 million hectares.
3.
Labor to provide new lands was attracted from the western part of the USSR. Mobilized Komsomol members were entitled to free travel and benefits of about a thousand rubles. In addition, they were provided with a preferential loan in the amount of 20 thousand rubles for 10 years. for housing construction. Over five years, 20 billion rubles have been allocated from the state budget for these purposes.
4.
5.
6.
In total, 1.7 million people took part in the campaign to develop new agricultural land in 1954-1959.
7.
“In 1956, the finest hour of the virgin lands struck. The harvest in the steppe was rich: instead of the promised 600 million, 1 billion poods of grain were handed over to the state,” Leonid Brezhnev wrote in his book “Virgin Land”.
8.
In 1956, the USSR harvested a record harvest of 125 million tons of grain, half of which was obtained on virgin lands.
9.
“People have to reckon with natural processes and adapt to them, contrasting their imagination with wild nature. But no matter what happened and despite all the difficulties, virgin bread remained the cheapest,” wrote Nikita Khrushchev in his memoirs.
10.
In the virgin regions, leisure activities familiar to young people were organized: clubs, cinemas, libraries.
11.
To get quick results and high yields, virgin lands were fertilized with chemicals. Their consumption, and accordingly, production in the country has doubled.
12.
Experts ignored the peculiarities of the climate of the steppe zone - the active use of fertilizers led to frequent dust storms, erosion and loss of soil fertility.
13.
14.
15.
16.
The sharp outflow of labor from the central part of the USSR had a negative impact on the indicators of agricultural production in these areas. In 1974, the country's authorities declared a “second virgin land” - this time in the non-black earth European part of Russia.
17.
The plowing of gigantic lands in Kazakhstan has led to a reduction in pastures and hayfields. This affected the traditional branch of agriculture in the region - livestock farming, which found itself in crisis in the early 1960s.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
The virgin lands epic captured the Soviet Union so much that in 1961 the city of Akmolinsk in Kazakhstan was renamed Tselinograd (now the capital of the republic - Astana), in 1963 the Ust-Uysky district of the Kurgan region was renamed Tselinny.
23.
About 4 thousand virgin soil workers were awarded orders and medals, five of them received the title of Heroes of Socialist Labor.
24.
25.
Despite all the successes of the virgin lands program, the pioneers did not remain to live on the developed lands. From 1965 to 2000, 280 thousand residents left only 10 virgin districts of the Orenburg region. This is four times more than the number of people who came to the region for agricultural work.
DEVELOPMENT OF VIRGIN FELINA
A.A. Chibilev, S.V. Levykin, E.A. Semenov
(Geographical atlas of the Orenburg region. M.: publishing house Dik, 1999. p. 80).
In the fifties of the 20th century, the Orenburg region found itself in a zone of large-scale development of virgin and fallow lands. From 1954 to 1963, 1.8 million hectares were plowed in the region, which is 11% of the total area of virgin soil raised in Russia.
Conventionally, 10 districts out of 35 in the region are considered virgin: Adamovsky, Akbulaksky, Svetlinsky, Yasnensky, Dombarovsky, Kvarkensky, Novoorsky, Pervomaisky, Gaisky, Belyaevsky. As a result of the development of virgin lands in the region, a change in the structure of land use occurred. The sown area in virgin regions increased by 3.5 times, including in Adamovsky and Svetlinsky - by 5.5 times.
In addition to the originally planned plan, over 700 thousand hectares of land were involved in arable land. Among the newly plowed lands, about 120 thousand hectares were sandy and sandy loam lands, 600 thousand hectares were solonetzes, 500 thousand hectares were erosion-hazardous lands. The plowing of land unsuitable for agriculture, combined with low grain production standards, led to a sharp drop in the natural fertility of the soil cover in virgin areas. Over the 30 years after the start of virgin land development, the soils lost from 30 to 50% of their humus reserves. The area of land susceptible to wind erosion has increased 5 times.
The development of virgin lands made it possible to quickly increase grain production, but did not ensure sustainable development of the agro-industrial complex in the region. In lean years (once every 4 years), complete destruction of crops was observed on 15% of the area, and on one third of the area the yield did not exceed 2.5 c/ha.
The average yield of grain crops in virgin areas (7-8 c/ha) was lower than the regional average (9-10 c/ha) and significantly lower than in the old developed lands of the region (13-15 c/ha). In the virgin collective farms of the eastern Orenburg region on saline and eroded soils, the average grain yield is 3-4 c/ha. The low efficiency of virgin farming and the inexpediency of organizing many grain state farms is evidenced by the data that 75% of modern agricultural enterprises in virgin lands are unprofitable. Capital investments aimed at the development of agriculture in virgin regions over time were transformed into gratuitous loans. Thus, the growth of gross grain production in the Orenburg region was achieved due to large financial investments, high production costs, and deteriorating environmental conditions. Enormous damage was caused to steppe flora and fauna. Dozens are included in the Red Book of Russia biological species, including typical steppe inhabitants: bustard and little bustard.
The development of virgin and fallow lands caused a wave of population migrations to areas of new agriculture. In the first years of the virgin conscription, 70 thousand migrants arrived in the Orenburg region, mainly from Ukraine, Central Russia and Belarus. Most of the pioneers of the virgin lands lacked the experience and traditions of steppe agriculture. Severe climatic conditions and the unusual steppe landscape prevented settlers from settling in new lands. The development of virgin lands also proved to be a serious ethnic stress for the indigenous population of the steppe, who were engaged in grazing. Environmental nostalgia and the instability of the economic well-being of farms have led to reverse migration processes and frequent turnover of the population. From 1965 to 1995, 280 thousand residents left the virgin lands of the region, which is 4 times the number of virgin lands residents.
The totality of environmental and socio-economic consequences of the development of the Orenburg virgin lands shows that modern structure land use in these areas needs fundamental changes. The essence of these changes is that grain farming with the production of high-quality varieties of wheat should be focused on the best soils using effective agricultural technology and adaptive landscape farming methods. Low-productive arable land in virgin regions, where the production of marketable grain is unprofitable, should be converted into hay and pasture land. This will make it possible to create in the steppe regions a zone of harmonious combination of conservation agriculture and highly efficient cattle breeding.
Yesterday in the east of the Orenburg region there was a grand celebration dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the development of virgin and fallow lands.
The Orenburg region is second in terms of the volume of new arable land after Altai. Now it’s hard to imagine, but in the first year of 1954 alone, 1 million one hundred and thirty thousand hectares of steppe were plowed in our region.
Disputes about the need to raise virgin soil continue to this day. However, we should not forget that at that time the country was in dire need of bread. The first famine post-war decade has not yet ended. The international situation was such that the USSR had to rely primarily on its own resources and ensure what is now called the country’s food security.
As the newspapers wrote then, the youth of the entire country responded to the call of the March plenum of the CPSU Central Committee. Tens of thousands of young people, some at the call of their hearts, some in pursuit of a long ruble, and some on urgent recommendation, arrived in the Orenburg steppe. Reality immediately put everything in its place. The weak left, and those who withstood difficult field conditions remained forever faithful to the choice of their youth.
Tselina raised 44 Heroes of Socialist Labor in the Orenburg region. More than 10 thousand people were awarded orders and medals for their labor feats.
First of all, it was for them that a regional holiday was held on June 7 in the famous village of Komsomolsky, Adamovsky district.
More than three hundred delegates from all virgin regions of the Orenburg region gathered for it. They were the most honored guests.
A representative delegation headed by Acting Governor of the Orenburg Region Yuri Berg, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly Sergei Grachev, and State Duma Deputy Viktor Zavarzin arrived to congratulate them. The delegation included ministers of the regional government, heads of cities and districts, and deputies of the regional legislative body.
The ceremonial events began with the opening of a unique rural settlement Virgin Lands Museum.
The main celebrations took place in a large field, not far from the village. Each virgin land region - and these are Dombarovsky, Gaisky, Yasnensky, Kvarkensky and, of course, Adamovsky - created unique exhibitions from the history of the development of virgin lands. There was a dance floor, a drive-thru, a movie theater, and a radio center.
Those gathered were reminded that the virgin lands had become a multinational region, and improvised national farmsteads were located not far from the stage: Kazakh, German, Tatar, Ukrainian, Mordovian and Cossack kuren. The arriving delegation of regional leaders was warmly welcomed in each of them. And in Mordovian acting the governor began to dance.
A special exhibition of virgin land equipment, including rare specimens, was open for guests and participants of the holiday. A friendly match was held on the football field between the teams of the agricultural technical school and the village of Komsomolsky.
The main theatrical action took place on the main stage.
Opening the holiday, Yuri Berg reminded the audience that the development of virgin lands was a grandiose project of the twentieth century, which had no analogues in world history. But first of all, his speech was addressed to veterans.
“Present here,” he said, “are the heroic order bearers from the galaxy of those who were the first to set foot on the steppe lands and survived the hottest days.” Thank you, dear virgin land veterans! And a low bow!
For an entire hour, an enchanting theatrical and musical performance unfolded on stage with the help of the Orenburg Russian Folk Choir and the regional philharmonic, with songs, dances, and scenes from the life of the virgin lands.
A very unexpected continuation of the virgin history was the wedding of the driver and accountant from the village of Komsomolsky, Dmitry and Lyudmila Pisnyaev. Congratulating them, Yuri Berg said:
“You and your children are the future of the virgin land,” and he presented the newlyweds with a gift - a Lada Granda car from the regional government.
After this, performances by groups from cities and districts throughout our region continued for several hours.
The holiday was a success. This is the general opinion of the owners, veterans and guests of special events.
At the end of the holiday, journalists did not miss the opportunity to ask the members of the delegation about their attitude to the film “Ivan Brovkin in the Virgin Lands,” which made the village of Komsomolsky famous throughout the country. Of course, everyone recognized this kind and cheerful film as one of their favorites. The story of the film was continued. Operators of a possible remake of this film, which will presumably be shot by a creative team from Chelyabinsk, worked together with journalists.
It is still unknown who will play Ivan Brovkin and Zakhar Silych. But preliminary agreements on the production of the film have already been reached.
The development of the Orenburg virgin lands is already history, and behind it is our present life.