Employment and social support for disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945): a case study of Khakassia

The article addresses the challenges of social support for disabled veterans of the Great Patriotic War in the Khakass Autonomous Oblast during 1941–1945. Drawing on a wide range of archival materials, the author provides a detailed analysis of the efforts by local authorities and social services to organize vocational training and employment, provide prosthetic and orthopedic care, and ensure food and manufactured goods supplies. The study reveals significant difficulties and contradictions in the implementation of state social policy at the regional level. Despite the measures taken, the support system was fragmented and failed to cope with the scale of the tasks in wartime conditions. Employment remained incomplete, the quality of prosthetics was low, and the material and living conditions of the disabled were extremely difficult. The author concludes that, given the resource shortages and the priority of the front’s needs, the state was unable to ensure the full rehabilitation of war veterans and their integration into society.