Sibzoloto Trust (1925–1927): Organizational Structure and Leaders

Abstract

The gold mining industry occupies an important place in the history of the economic development of Siberia. In the early 1920s, crisis phenomena caused a strong decline in its role in the economy of Western Siberia. The authorities made efforts to increase gold production and the Sibzoloto Trust was designed to ensure the dynamic development of the industry. There are no works on the history of the state trust of regional significance Sibzoloto in Russian and foreign historiography. The purpose of the article is to analyze the evolution of the organizational structure of the Sibzoloto Trust, to characterize the professional qualities of its leaders. The research is based on a region-oriented approach developed by Russian scientists within the framework of the theory of frontier modernization.
It is established that the Sibzoloto Trust used the territorial principle of organizing gold mining operations, which was applied in the first half of the 1920s and will be in demand in the following decades. During the period of activity of the Sibzoloto Trust (1925–1927), its territory increased significantly, however, gold production in the 1926/27 operating year decreased by 12.7% compared to the previous year. The increase in the number of mines at this stage did not lead to an increase in gold production. An analysis of the activities of Sibzoloto’s managers showed that the trust was managed quite competently, without sudden disruptions. At the same time, during the two years of the trust’s activity, four of its leaders were replaced, the principle of belonging to the Communist Party came out in the first place.