Volodymyr Kulikov1; 1 University College London, UK
Discussion
This paper presents the study of the coal company towns of the Donbas region, which played a key role in shaping both the industrial capitalism of the Russian Empire and the industrial socialism of the Soviet Union. These towns powered imperial and socialist ambitions by supplying cheap energy and minerals essential for large-scale transportation and infrastructure development projects. Though home to only a small fraction of the entire imperial/Soviet labour force, company towns were critical nodes where global technologies, scientific expertise, managerial practices, and human labour converged to convert natural resources into important commodities. The paper explores the distinctive social order that emerged within these towns and traces their profound influence on the economic, political, and social institutions of the region and the broader nation.
