Employment situation in Karelia after World War II: problems and solutions

Providing employment for the population is an essential precondition for social stability and wellbeing of people. These topics remain insufficiently covered in historical literature. This article analyzes major problems and regional features of the employment situation in Karelia after World War II using previously unpublished archival materials. The combination of the system approach, problem-chronological, historical-comparative, and statistical methods was used for the study. The key solutions for the staffing problem in the Republic are described, the forms and methods of involving citizens in public production, and the efficiency of labor potential use are analyzed, with special focus on the political dimension of the goal of “employment for everyone”. Particular attention is given to the causes of unemployment among certain population groups, particularly among women, and to the actions taken to develop the social sphere. Able-bodied working-age people evading “socially useful labor” and violating workplace discipline were subject to tough administrative penalties and criminal prosecution. It is stated in the conclusion that by the late 1950s the Republic achieved the target of high labor activity of the population, but women's labor remained discriminated against and the labor potential was not used efficiently enough.