Onezhsky Machine-Building and Metallurgical Plant at the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War

This study focuses on the Onezhsky Machine-Building and Metallurgical Plant, a key enterprise in the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic during the early stage of the Great Patriotic War. The main objective is to examine the plant’s operations during this period. The research draws upon a variety of published and unpublished sources, such as office records and ego-documents, in order to reconstruct the complex process of evacuating assets and employees and executing strategic defense tasks. Two stages of evacuation are analyzed, along with the operations of the “small plant”. The article highlights instances of disorganized and conflicting actions by governing bodies that influenced the timing and routes of evacuation. Ultimately, the study draws a conclusion that this period played a significant role in the plant’s history, as it led to the preservation of valuable equipment and materials and the swift resumption of production in a new location. The research is grounded in principles of historicism and scientific objectivity, utilizing systematic, historical-comparative, and descriptive methods of analysis.