The inception of activities for the preservation of industrial heritage in Sverdlovsk oblast in the 1970s-1980s (based on the materials of the regional periodical press)

The article aims to determine the features of the initial stage of activities to preserve industrial heritage monuments in the 1970s-1980s at the regional level and identify the importance of the print media in this process. The research material was articles in eight newspapers of Sverdlovsk Oblast. The author employed a typological analysis, for which the following type-forming features were identified: publisher, place of publication, purpose of publication, readership, authors, purpose of articles. In the direct analysis of the text of the articles, the author used a qualitative (conceptual) analysis to consistently reflect the phenomena of public life in the context of Soviet history. In total, approximately 7,900 newspaper issues were studied, among which 44 articles, 45 notes, 27 reports were identified as relevant to the study. The articles were aimed at highlighting the activities of state bodies, the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, or individual residents in the preservation of industrial heritage monuments in order to draw the attention of the general public to specific problems that could and had to be solved. The notes and reports contained a brief description of the activities of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments in relation to a particular monument, and also informed readers about the functioning of already established factory museums or the opening of new ones. The authors of the analyzed materials were journalists, representatives of public organizations, museum staff, writers, specialists in various fields of knowledge. All of them knew the specifics of the Urals and understood the need to preserve objects that were a source of knowledge about the scientific, technical, technological and production achievements of previous generations. The monuments that needed to be preserved are industrial plants, hydroelectric power stations, models of equipment and transport. The methods of conservation that the authors of the articles suggested were identification, registration, study, museumification. In the 1980s, the number of articles published on this problem increased, and their focus changed. They began to play the role of a motivator in the struggle to preserve the monument, causing a great resonance among the general public, scientists, specialists, representatives of party and government bodies. The publication of materials in newspapers, which were official publications, confirms that the preservation of the industrial heritage was in line with the national policy.