The Public Policy of Developing Electric Power Industry in the Far East in the 1950s – mid 1960s: Conditions and Features of Realization

The article examines the merits and demerits of the policy of Soviet government in the field of regional electric power industry, in particular the energy projects in the Far East region. It aims to analyze the conditions and features of the implementation of the public policy of the USSR intended to develop the electric power industry of the Far East in the 1950s – mid-1960s; to identify the main trends and contradictions in interaction between central and local authorities dedicated to regional electrification. The research is based on the traditional historical methods, as well as on the state-centered and regional approaches. It is shown that the electric power industry in the Far East has been developing in conditions of limited resources and lack of mutual understanding between the center and the region in solving towards the problems of the industry. The public policy for the development of the Far Eastern electric power industry was based on the idea of a quick and cheaper construction of thermal power plants. The author comes to the conclusion that this policy led to various consequences, including technical lag in the electric power industry and the pace of electrification, an increase in the shortage of electricity and, in general, a slowdown in the socio-economic development of the region.