More fish to the lines!

At the end of 1941 almost all fish-industrial area of SSSR (the Azov sea, the Baltic) were occupated by Nazy army. On January 6, 1942 the Council of People’s Commissars of SSSR and the Central committee of All-Russian Communist Party (the Bolsheviks) took a decision ‘On the development of fish industry in the river basins of Siberia and the Far East’ to provide food for the Army. On February 9, 1942 bureau of Yakut Regional Committee took a decision where the events to perform this resolution were planned.

In 1941 Yakut fish trust consisted of 7 factories. New Kolymo-Indigirskiy fish trust was founded. It consisted of 4 fish factories: Nizhnekolymskiy, Srednekolymskiy, Verkhnekolymskiy and Allaikhovskiy.

So, the decision that became a beginning of tragic fate for thousands farmers was made. Arrangements made by the Regional Committee of All-Russian Communist Party, the Council of People’s Commissars and local administration were deficient. The date and terms were set very infelicitously. Resettlement was organized in a rush; there were lots of large families, disabled and sick people among migrants. There were no housings nor food or cattle fodder where they were moving. People had to live in makeshift shelters built in a rush. There were no any help. And these exhausted people had to fulfill a fishing plan. Mass mortality from starvation began while several tons of fish were wasting in ice cellars of fishing factories during that time (according to crude data, 1747 people died).

Equipment for collective fishing

There was a lack of workers. 1449 workers and employees, 376 graduates of work schools and industrial schools were enrolled in Yakutsk and regions of republic. About 6 thousand people from western regions of the Union were sent to the North. Almost 50% of migrants from Baltics consisted of children under 16 years of age and over-50s. At the end of 1942 about 10 thousand people were brought to the North. 24 fishing kolkhozes and hundreds of brigades were organized in agricultural regions. 4 new fishing factories were founded (Trofimovskiy, Ust’-Olenekskiy, Kobyaiskiy and Vilyuiskiy)

There were lots of problems: people who came were maladjusted to the conditions of Thule; they didn’t know fishing methods, waters, places where fish swam; there was a lack of fishing equipment, clothing, shoes, even houses; people had to live in the open air although severe Polar winter began.

By December 1942 7683 people were fishing. Ice-fishing started.

In 1943 385 brigades consisting of 5535 fishermen were organized. Three new factories were set up (Omoloyskiy, Govorovskiy and Ust’-Kamelekskiy). 1345 people were sent to the northern fishing factories when navigation opened. For the first time engine-fishing stations appeared. Bestyakhskiy dockyard was put into operation. Fish pick-up and processing subdivisions, ice cellars were built. Another 18 fishing kolkhozes were organized by migrants and local population. Only migrants in Polar Regions counted more than 6500 people.

Many fishing kolkhozes and co-operative fishers’ societies, hundreds of brigades, sections and fishermen were ahead of schedule occasionally. Big group of fish industry workers were decorated with orders and medals of SSSR and Certificate of Appreciation of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of YASSR. Hundreds of people were conferred a decoration "Expert of Fishing Industry" and certificates of People’s Commissariat of Fishing Industry of SSSR. In 1943 fishermen from Tit-Arinskiy, Trofimovskiy, Yakutskiy, Aldanskiy, Olekminskiy and Kobyaiskiy factories distinguished. Kolkhoz n.a. Molotov of Bulunskiy region provided to the government 62500 poods (sixteen kilograms) of fish, which includes 23500 poods above the target. Brigade of A.S. Noev caught 7000 poods. Kolkhoz "the Arctic" of Ust’-Yanskiy engine-fishing station provided 11000 poods of fish above the target. According to the information of Yakut State Fishing trust to Yakut Regional Committee «About fishing brigades and co-operative fishers’ societies included to the Republican Recognition board» of January 30, 1943: "... Brigade of Noev Alexey Semyonovich from fishing kolkhoz n.a. Molotov fulfilled a IV quarter plan on 404%, provided to the government 850 hundredweight of fish, and fulfilled an annual plan over than 300%". Alexey Semyonovich Noev became a first Yakut who was awarded the supreme recognition of his work – the Order of the Red Banner of Labour and Certificate of Appreciation of People’s Commissariat of Fishing Industry which he was given by M.I. Kalinin, the Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars, in Kremlin.

In 1942 over 50 brigades and kolkhozes fulfilled and overfulfilled an annual plan of fishing, including kolkhoz n.a. Molotov of Bulunskiy region that caught 6424 hundredweight of fish or 134% of its plan, kolkhoz ‘Red reindeer’ – 132%, kolkhoz n.a. Kuibyshev – 127%, brigade of kolkhoz ‘Red Aldan’ of Tattynskiy region – 407%, kolkhoz ‘Yuner olokh’ of Namskiy region – 304% and others. Fish brigades of Ust’-Aldanskiy region fulfilled plan over 122% ahead of schedule and won challenge Red Banner of the Council of People’s Commissars and Regional Committee of All-Russian Communist Party.

Altogether in 1943 fishermen of YASSR caught and provided 127 813 hundredweight of fish, which is twice as much as in 1942. It was the highest-ever result of fishing in Yakutia (118.95 thousand hundredweights were caught since 1936 to 1940, 411.5 thousand hundredweights were caught since 1941 to 1945).

Due to heroic work of the rear during the war period Yakutia provided to the country 1/5 part of all-union gold-mining, thousands of tons of phlogopite, many stannum, Muscovy glass and other resources. It provided fur costing almost 90 million rubles, about 2 million poods of fish, meat, butter and other food products. This was a huge contribution into enforcement and development of military economy of the country and into the Victory.