Industrialization of road construction in USSR regions in the first five-years plan (1928-1932): based on the Bashkir ASSR

The article is the first to have examined the process of industrialization of road works in the Bashkir ASSR in the first five-years plan (1928-1932). The main purpose of scientific and technical progress in the road building industry is to improve cost effectiveness of construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of the road network which is achieved through the use of modern means of mechanization and automation. The process of road construction improvement has been poorly studied in the historical literature; therefore the study of industrialization of Bashkiria road economy in the period under consideration is topical. Basing on previously unpublished archival data the author reveals the main stages of mechanization of road building industry in Bashkiria in 1928-1932. Road mechanical engineering in the USSR dates back to 1930 when a specialized trust of road machinery construction (Dormashtrest), consisting of four plants road mechanical engineering plants, was established. There is no doubt that because of the historical realities of the time, the plants failed to provide road authorities with their products to the full extent. This happened due to a number of factors: untimely metal delivery to the plants, errors in the design of machines as well as delay in the transportation of the final products. For various reasons the use of available mechanize did not exceed 30-40 % of its possible performance. Road machinery was sent to construction sites without either proper coordination with the needs, or considering of local peculiarities to road works, or replacement parts and instructions. Moreover, road authorities lacked specially trained personnel. As a result, the first five-year plan in the field of road construction was not implemented.