“Baibakov minimum” in the theory and practice of industrialization of Yugra

The Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug (Yugra) had little interest for the Soviet economy until the discovery of "Big Oil" in the early 1960s. The development of unique deposits led to rapid and full-scale industrialization of the Tyumen North, giving a powerful impetus to the development of the country and helping solve economic, social and geopolitical problems. However, it was not possible to fully dispose of extracted wealth due to a number of factors. One of these is the discrepancy between theory and practice in field development. For example, plans for oil production were violated from the beginning, as were plans to create all necessary production and social infrastructure. This article examines why this happened through the example of a specific planning document, the so-called "Baibakov Minimum", which is a colloquial term for "Mandatory Minimum of Preparation Work to be Completed Before Drilling in a Surveyed Area". N.K. Baibakov, Chairman of the USSR State Planning Committee, signed the document. It prohibited the construction of wells in areas that had been explored without the completion of a mandatory amount of preparatory work. However, this regulation was not followed anywhere in the Tyumen region. The failure to comply with this "minimum" reflected the overall situation of the creation of the oil and gas industry. An attempt was made to identify the mutual influence and interdependence of processes that occurred in the country and region during the 1960s and 1980s, and the plans and results of implementing the Yugorsk project were compared.