Eastern branches of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the economic development strategy of Asian Russia in the 1930s — mid-1950s

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This article examines the development of academic institutions in the country's eastern macrozone in the context of a regional economic strategy. It is noted that plans for their organization began to be discussed as early as the late imperial era. Thus, the Academy of Sciences hoped to increase its contribution to the study and development of natural resources. However, the practical implementation of this task began during the first five-year plans. Based on historiographic background and documentary sources, the article shows the difficulties encountered, how they were overcome, and why the actual development trajectory of academic institutions in the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East diverged from the adopted plans. It is concluded that only in the first post-war years was it possible to establish a comprehensive network of branches of the USSR Academy of Sciences, which became "springboards" for the advancement of "big science" in the east of the country. This played a significant role in maintaining the high rate of economic development in these regions.