Participation of Kursk region youth in the development of virgin and fallow lands (1954–1955)

Relevance . Summarizing the domestic experience of developing virgin and fallow lands in the mid-20th century is important for an objective assessment of the mechanisms of the Soviet state’s mobilization agrarian policy and the role of young people in implementing major socio-economic projects. The social aspects of young people’s participation in the virgin land campaign in the Kursk region have not previously been the subject of special research, which necessitates their reconstruction based on archival and periodical sources. Studying the motivation, mobilization activity, and forms of public support for young virgin land workers makes it possible to clarify the regional dimension of the USSR’s agrarian history and the experience of involving young people in addressing socially significant tasks. Purpose : to summarize the experience of youth participation in the development of virgin and fallow lands in the Kursk Region at the initial stage of organizing their cultivation. Objectives : to determine the chronology and scale of the mobilization of Kursk Komsomol members for the Virgin Lands Works; to identify the characteristic features of the campaign; to historically reconstruct the sociodemographic profile of young virgin land workers; to characterize the sponsorship assistance and the practice of exchanging labor obligations; to illustrate the contradictions in the mobilization of young Kursk residents for the Virgin Lands Works using specific examples. Methodology . The study is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity. Historical-genetic, historicalcomparative, statistical, and problem-chronological methods were used. Results . It was established that the mobilization of Kursk Komsomol members for the development of virgin and fallow lands began on February 10, 1954. The number of Komsomol members from the Kursk Region sent to develop the Virgin Lands Works was determined. A profile of a young Kursk virgin land worker was defined. The forms of support provided by Kursk Komsomol members to the Virgin Lands workers are assessed. The validity of the Komsomol Central Committee's criticism of the Kursk Regional Komsomol Committee regarding the quality of volunteers sent to the Virgin Lands is confirmed. A conclusion is drawn regarding the contradictory nature of the Komsomol mobilization for the Virgin Lands. Conclusion . The Kursk Regional Komsomol organization made a significant contribution to the development of the Virgin Lands, sending 2,500 people there by 1957. The participation of young Kursk residents in the "Virgin Lands Epic" proved to be a contradictory process, in which labor heroism and disciplinary measures coexisted.