Obukhov Plant in 1900–1916: Features of Development of Military Production

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century, domestic military industry entered a new stage of development, due to the evolution of scientific and technological progress that led to increasing complexity of weapons and military equipment. In addition, this stage was characterized by Russia’s participation in two wars: the Russian-Japanese War and First World War. All this significantly influenced the nature of development of military production: its scale grew rapidly, and diversification intensified. One of the largest centers for Russia’s military industry was St. Petersburg, where the largest factories for shipbuilding, artillery, ammunition, small arms, gunpowder, explosives, optical instruments, communications equipment, and other military products were concentrated. A special stage in this development was the First World War, during which industry was mobilized. Due to mobilization, the volume of military production in Petrograd increased significantly, and a significant number of large, medium, and small civilian enterprises were attracted to military output. A number of various institutions and organizations in Petrograd received production orders to produce certain types, ammunition and components for production of military products and, in a short time, mastered their production. This process was interrupted by the revolutionary events of 1917, during which Russia plunged into a deep political and economic crisis.