On the way to decline: the development of the Donbass coal-mining industry from the 1950s to the 1980s

Abstract

The current crisis in the coal-mining industry of the Donbass has its origins in the Soviet era. The history of the industry from the mid-1940s until the collapse of the Soviet Union can be divided into three periods: (1) post-war reconstruction (1943-50), (2) the ‘golden age’ (1950-75) and (3) creeping stagnation and decline (1975-91). During its ‘golden age’ the Donbass supplied the expanding Soviet economy with hard coal of high quality. Output and productivity increased through mechanization and new capacity was regularly put into operation. However, worsening geological and working conditions accompanied by unremitting planning pressure on the industry led to exhaustion of the industry's potential capacity. The strategy aimed at increasing output was pursued at the expense of necessary new development and the opportunity to restructure the industry in time was missed. By 1975 the industry had reached the end of its productive life-cycle and government investment priorities had shifted to more prospective basins.