Archive of Scientific Articles

Submitted: March 23, 2026

Abstract. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of the processes of organizational formation and development of trade unions in the Krasnoyarsk Territory on the socio-economic development of the city of Krasnoyarsk in 1948-1956. The article examines the degree of influence of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Council of Trade Unions (Kraisovprof), established in 1948, on the activities of trade union organizations in the city. The key areas of activity of trade union organizations in the city of Krasnoyarsk are analyzed: the mobilization of labor collectives through socialist competition; social protection and monitoring of compliance with labor legislation; participation in solving housing and household issues, organization of healthcare, leisure and sports. Trade union membership reached up to 85.6% of the working population during this period. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time, on the basis of unpublished archival sources stored in the State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the activities of trade union organizations of a large industrial center of Siberia in the post-war period have been comprehensively reconstructed. The dual nature of trade unions as agents of state policy and institutions for the protection of workers’ rights was revealed. New statistics on the effectiveness of production meetings and rationalization efforts were presented. The study showed that the influence of trade unions was contradictory. On the one hand, the organization of socialist competition contributed to an increase in labor productivity at key enterprises in the city (the Sibtyazhmash and Voroshilovsky plants, the steam locomotive and wagon repair plant). On the other hand, it turned out that the primary trade union organizations of Krasnoyarsk factories demonstrated their inability to protect workers in conflicts with management, supporting illegal management decisions and refraining from monitoring compliance with labor standards and the distribution of social benefits. On the contrary, Kraisovprof acted as a genuine defender: of the 453 complaints received by this trade union body in 1949-1950, 90% were resolved in favor of the workers. Kraisovprof’s lawyers challenged unfair sentences in criminal cases involving absenteeism in the Supreme Court, sought to overturn illegal orders from directors on weekend overtime, intervened in disputes over compensation for innovators, and prevented abuses in the distribution of social benefits to high-ranking Soviet and party officials. The effectiveness of trade union propaganda directly depended on the level of the trade union body: primary organizations were an instrument of administrative control, while Kraisovprof acted as an arbitrator restoring violated workers’ rights.

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