The evacuation of industry in Russia during the First World War

During the First World War in Russia the need for evacuation of industry from the war zones into the empire depths arose for the first time. This was the first major transfer of the largest enterprises and factories into the inner regions of the empire. But today, despite the increased interest in the events of the war of 1914-1918, the questions of the evacuation of factories and plants in Russia are still not sufficiently investigated. The large-scale incursion of the German army in 1915 on the eastern front posed a threat to capture the important industrial centers of the western regions of the country. Thereby, the Russian government was forced to initiate necessary actions for the withdrawal of the most significant factories, enterprises and plants from the western provinces to the hinterland. This article discusses the implementation of the evacuation of industrial sites and factories. The author covers the activities of government and military authorities, as well as non-governmental organizations to address the problem and provides the analysis of the legislation in this area. In addition, the article follows the attempt to trace the influence of the evacuation events on the economy in Russian Empire during the First World War.