The foundation and initial development of Angarsk city: opportunities and limitations of mobilization approaches

Construction was proclaimed the symbol of the Soviet period - the construction of Communism, a new type of man, industry, and “new cities.” Angarsk is both an original and a typical example of a Soviet settlement, born of the decisions of the ruling Communist Party. The economy of the Irkutsk region developed dynamically in the post-War period, receiving capital investments and managerial attention from Moscow as a matter of priority. An overview of historiographical achievements and “finds” is given, as well as the most productive research concepts for a comprehensive understanding of the problems of creating and dev eloping “new cities”, taking into account both Angarsk's past and the general background of the socio-economic transformation of a certain area. Publications can be divided into six blocks according to the degree of conceptuality and information content: p ublications by architects; small in volume, but mass-produced Soviet-era publications - peculiar “booklets”; Soviet scientific and practical works on new urban planning; domestic research literature on the socio-demographic development of Siberia; publications of the post-Soviet period on the history of individual enterprises and organizations; post-Soviet studies of the housing policy of the Soviet state and domestic everyday life. Over the past 100 years, the population within the borders of the Irkutsk region has increa sed 4 times, while in the Russian Federation as a whole it has increased only 1.5 times. The mechanism and “inner kitchen” of such dynamics based on the Angarsk material is discussed in this article. To ensure new construction in the Irkutsk region, the netw ork of correctional labor camps and colonies has been expanded since 1945. The prisoners created an urban environment for future A ngarchans. And people were more willing to move to a “forced” habitable place, already voluntarily. Angarsk is equally a “City born of Victory” and a “City born of the Gulag”. The significant release of prisoners after 1956 required the adjustment of approa ches to the organization of construction in Angarsk. Subsequently, Angarsk developed dynamically (between 1957 and 1987 the p opulation doubled).

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