Territory and population of the stalingad region in 1939-1944

Introduction. The Stalingrad region was founded on the 5th of December 1936. In 1939-1944 the territory and population of the region underwent changes. It included a number of areas of the Volga German ASSR and the Kalmyk ASSR eliminated in 1941-1943. The Astrakhan district was transformed into an independent region, the Germans and the Kalmyks were deported to the eastern regions of the country. Methods and materials. The author of the article uses statistical materials of the All-Union Population Census of the USSR of 1939 and the information and statistical reference book Stalingrad region (1939 - 1943). Figures and facts. A comparative historical method is widely used to reveal the peculiarities of the national composition of the population of the Stalingrad region and its neighboring regions, and to show the changes that took place in different areas of the region during 1939-1944. For the first time in research literature, 5 groups of rural areas of the region are distinguished. Analysis. The national composition of the population of Stalingrad, Astrakhan and rural areas of the region is investigated, and a comparison with neighboring regions is conducted. Representatives of more than 80 nationalities lived in the Stalingrad region, among them Russians (87.6 %), Ukrainians (3.6 %), Kazakhs (3.2 %), Tatars (2.8 %) and Germans (1.0 %) prevailed. Special attention is paid to the change in the territory and composition of the region’s population after the annexation of 7 areas of the eliminated Volga German ASSR in 1941 and 2 areas of the eliminated Kalmyk ASSR in 1944 and the deportation of Germans and Kalmyks to the eastern regions of the country. Results. The war led to a change in the national composition and a substantial reduction in the number of residents in the region. It took about 20 years to overcome the consequences of the war and deportation to restore the population of the Stalingrad region.