Researchers on peculiarities of government policy in relation to the Ural defense industry in the early ХХ century

The problem of government policy in relation to the Ural defense industry in the early ХХ century is sufficiently completely described in the historic literature. However, there were no historiographical works devoted to this topic at the time. Consequently the main tasks of the article are the following: giving an analysis of the level of knowledge of the problem in total, assessment of different approaches and points of view in scientific works of soviet and post-soviet times, determination of their historiographical value. Another important task of the work is to show the way the historians assess the role and place of government in the issue of foreign funds in modernization of defense industry on the example of Motovilikhinsk Plants. For this purpose the author gives an analysis of the polemics which rose in journalism and historic literature on the role of foreign firms in modernization of military plants. In the end of the article the author makes a conclusion that the level of the Ural defense industry development was significant and most of historians are joint in this matter and the government policy bore protectionist character in relation to the Ural defense industry.