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.4 By SIR PAUL DUKES,
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CAN RUSSIA MOLD
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The Tablet."
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WAR RESOURCES IN THE URALS SHIFT
EASTWARD In one of the early broadcasts from Moscow, following the German invasion of June 22, it was stated that Rus-
sia had been taken unawares, and that the attack had found her unprepared. Events have fortunately shown the contrary to be the case, and that this statement belonged to the same category as that issued on the eve of hostilities to the effect that the Soviet was ignorant of any hostile intentions on the part of Germany. Russia was, in reality, astonishingly well prepared, and the manoeuvres being carried out in early June served as an effective pretext for deploying her Armies in the regions in which attack was to be expected. The war found Russia not only ready,
SOVIET
OF
at Perm and Kirov
, and to the south, near the Caspian Sea, near Orsk, and at the mouths of the rivers Ural and Emba. Leaving out of account the Caucasian fields, which have produced nearly ninety per cent of Russia's oil, these cis -Ural fields were producing in 1939 about two-thirds of Russia's remaining supplies. The other third
tempts were actually made to erect new refineries on the spot, these would be subject to bombing attack by both
British and Russians from Persia. The reorientation of Russian industry began some fourteen years ago, the guiding principles being that centres of heavy industry should be created where the necessary resources for pro -
ARCTIC OCEAN 1
VOLCA-URAL AREA AREA
2 TRANS -ORAL
3 KUZBAS 4. 50,/1ET CENTRAL ASIA 7;,rA
Archamiel
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but equipped beyond all expectations. Conjectures in every quarter regarding
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her Air Force and the power of her mechanical units proved to be underestimated, due to the extreme secrecy in which the Soviet Government had shrouded its productive achievements in these departments. The astuteness of this policy has been reflected not only in the surprise it has pleasantly proved to her allies, but unpleasantly proved to the enemy. The veil of secrecy has not been lifted since operations commenced. It has not been easy, even now, to extract from the Soviet authorities what hidThis den resources they still possess. attitude makes it difficult to speak with assurance of Russia's remaining resources, but it gives ground for hope that such knowledge as we do possess of those resources may also prove to be an underestimate. The best known fields of production, those hitherto presumed to be the most valuable, have now either been lost or are gravely threatened. This applies to all regions up to, and including, for the second time, the Don basin. More importance than ever attaches to the newly developed fields in the cis- and trans -Ural regions, and the Siberian centres of production. The cis-Ural area embraces a vast tract of territory lying between the Volga and the Ural mountains. This region contains many potentially rich oil fields, such as those in the SyzranStavropol district at the Kuibishev bend of the Volga; those lying east of this, largely in Bashkir; to the north
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was derived from Central Asia, Siberia
and Sakhalin. In considering the vital subject of oil it must be remembered that refining is as important as production. Should the Russians lose the Caucasus, which is still fortunately by no means certain, they have refining plants at the above -named centres which would enable them to make full use of all available crude oil. The Germans, on the other hand, even if they succeeded in getting the destroyed wells into action again within a few weeks, as they boast they will do, would have to transport their produce all the way to Germany for refining, for the erection of refining plants is a far more difficult undertaking than restoring wells to Furthermore, if any at operation.
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duction could most easily be collected in the neighbourhood, and where in the event of war they would be relatively immune from air attack. While the new trans -Ural production areas are more concentrated than in the cis -Ural region, they are mort distant and proThe tected by the mountain range. trans-Ural region lies along the eastern side of the Urals, from Magnitogorsk to Sverdlovsk, and northwards, a district several hundred miles in extent, embracing many big towns, of which Sverdlovsk, with a population in 1939 of 450,000, is the largest. The local supply of raw materials in the Ural belt amounts to about 25 per cent. of the mineral resources of the Union, Iron, coal, oil, copper, nickel, chrome, and potash are derived from this distract,
INDUSTRY which also boasts several entirely new towns, such as Magnitogorsk, with a population of nearly 150,000 in 1939. Still further distant lie the new production areas of Central Asia, in Turkestan and along the borders of Sinkiang and Mongolia, while embryonic developments have begun in the extreme Far East. The pivot of Russian industrial power has thus been given a marked shift eastwards. The Industrial area known as "Kuzbas," north-west of the Mongolian frontier, is the most important of these recent developments. The largest town in this region is Novosibirsk, whose population has grown from 120,000 in Other towns 1936. to 405,000 in 1939. in the same district, whose growth has been phenomneal, are Kemerovo and Stalinsk, which, from 21,000 and 4,000 in 1936, are reported to have increased to 132,000 and 160,000, respectively, in In 1937 this region produced 1939. about 15 per cent. of Russia's coal, but it is clear from the population figures given above, that production must have increased by leaps and bounds, as the field is known to be very rich, providPlentiing a great variety of fuel. ful supplies of non-ferrous metals are available in Central Asia which can be used by the works established in this region, but though iron deposits exist in the neighbourhood, up to 1939 iron ore still had to be brought from other districts to meet requirements. Between Kuzbas and the Aral Sea there lies the new industrial region of Kazakhstan, centreing round the coalLast year this fields of Karaganda. field produced 6,000,000 tons, as compared with only 90,000 tons in 1930. The town of Karaganda, founded in 1926, had a population of 165,000 in 1939, In 1937 this field produced already about a quarter as much coal as the Kuzbas area, and, based on this, over half its total population in 1939 was industrial, the main output being non-ferrous metallurgy. Kazakhstan is the largest of a group of semi -autonomous States comprising Soviet Central Asia, the remaining States being Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tadzistan, and Kirghizia. They He along the borders of Iran, Afghanistan. and Sinkiang. These vast tracts of territory used to be devoted to (Continued on Page 6.)
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