Evacuation transportation as one of the activities of the Kirov railway at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War

Evacuation transportation, carried out by the Kirov railway in summer and autumn of 1941, was performed in the state of emergency. Simultaneously with the evacuation of the KFSSR residents and the material-technical base of the company, the staff of the Kirov railway dismantled and removed the property of its services and depots. The staff members of the Archive of the railway management also transported the documents. The well-coordinated activity of the railway workers made it possible to save and transport to the home front a significant part of the industrial equipment, livestock, construction materials, foodstuff, and population of the republic. Only a small part of the railway property remained on the territory occupied by the enemy. However, according to the documents of management and record keeping of the National Archive of the Republic of Karelia, the activities of the Kirov railway were valued at a low rate. In particular, it was pointed out that the administration of the railway did not fulfill the plan of the rolling stock provision for the enterprises and organizations of KFSSR. The research analysis of historical sources and comparison of available data helped to reveal a set of objective reasons that prevented the railroad management from directing the planned number of wagons and platforms for evacuation needs. For the same reasons, railway workers had to destroy and leave the property of the railway company on the territory occupied by the enemy. All these circumstances are analyzed in the article thoroughly.