American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research
66
https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ajsshr
VOLUME
Vol.05 Issue03 2025
PAGE NO.
66-69
10.37547/ajsshr/Volume05Issue03-17
Transportation problems of karakalpakstan in 1941-1945s
Allamuratov Gulmurat Sultamuratovich
PhD in the field of historical sciences, Nukus Military-Academic Lyceum "Temurbeklar Maktabi" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of
the Republic of Uzbekistan, Nukus, Uzbekistan
Received:
27 January 2025;
Accepted:
25 February 2025;
Published:
23 March 2025
Abstract:
The article highlights the state of transport communication in Karakalpakstan during the Second World
War. With the beginning of the war, the entire transport system of the republic was reorganized. All its activities
were aimed at meeting the needs of the front. Most of the cars and tractors were mobilized to the front, shipping
and railways were heavily burdened. The republic had sea and river transport, through which all cargo flows were
carried out. The republic had transport links through the Aral and Amu Darya shipping lines and had access to
large railway lines.
Keywords:
World War II, transport, main line, railway, shipping, economy.
Introduction:
The Second World War is one of the
greatest tragedies in the history of all mankind. It also
negatively affected the life of the people of
Karakalpakstan, its socio-economic and spiritual
condition. According to the historiography of the topic,
it is known that since the beginning of the war, all
efforts and resources were directed towards the
struggle against fascism, the heroic labor of the
population of the republic and the contribution of the
Karakalpakstan people to the common victory.
One of the poorly studied topics of that period is the
state of the republic's transport communications,
which began to form in the 1930s. Vehicular roads of
Karakalpakstan were of particular importance in the
economic and cultural growth of the republic,
therefore, in the pre-war years, special attention was
paid to this. The entire network of roads was natural,
profiled and only a small part was improved with
cartilage and shell. The total length of roads was 4695
km, of which 4024 km were of local importance and 672
were of national importance [1].
The difficult situation in the national economy of
Karakalpakstan during the war years and the increased
cargo turnover forced the local authorities to pay more
and more attention to the construction of the road.
Despite the fact that the republic had a large stock of
building materials (stone, gravel - Khodjeyli region,
sand, gravel - Khalkabad, Nazarkhan, shells - Nukus),
the condition of the roads in these named points was
poor, with the exception of the Khodjeyli - Pristan road.
Therefore, in order to ensure year-round traffic along
the Nazarkhan section and from Nukus to the border of
the Chimbay region, repairs of that road began in 1941.
In addition, in 1941 it was planned to build a reinforced
concrete bridge across the Kyzketken canal with an
approach to the Nukus pier, as well as the construction
of the Nukus - oil depot road, rebuilding of bridges on
main canals in order to ensure normal navigation.
During this period, for the first time in Karakalpakstan,
a crushed stone highway was built between the old and
new cities of Nukus.
One of the determining factors in strengthening the
material and technical base of the transport of the
autonomous republic in 1941 was the reconstruction of
the Turtkul - Aral Sea highway (314 km), which
contributed to the economic development of the
region. At the beginning of 1942, a significant part of
tractors and vehicles were sent to the front, therefore,
water transport and railways began to play an
important role in the transport communication system.
The republic had sea and river transport, which allowed
access to the railway network. It is known that through
the Aral Sea the republic had access to the Orenburg
railway line, connecting it with the metropolis. During
the war, by river and sea transport, troops were
transported through the Amu Darya and the Aral Sea,
and the goods necessary for the front and rear. Over
70% of the total cargo turnover of the Aral and a
significant part of the Amu Darya shipping company fell
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)
on cargo going to the republic. The management of
both shipping companies was outside the republic - this
affected the quality of service (i.e., delay in delivery,
loss of cargo, quality, etc.). Under the existing service
system, the 200 km section (Urgench - Khojeyli)
remained outside the field of activity of both shipping
companies, since the service line between them was
established for the Amu Darya along the Chardzhou -
Urgench line, and the Aral Sea - along the Aral Sea -
Khojeyli line.
Meanwhile, all cargo arriving for Karakalpakstan via the
railway went through the Chardzhou station of the
Ashgabat railway (from Khodjeyli - 700 km) and the
Aralsk station of the Orenburg railway (500 km), then
reloaded onto water transport. From Chardzhou along
the Amu Darya, and goods from the Orenburg railway
line - through the Aral Sea. Cargoes were transported
along the water by a wagon or mechanized fleet.
Returning to the reconstruction of the main highway
Turtkul - Aral Sea, the construction project of which
be
gan in 1938, it’s noted that the highway was an
important component of the transport network of
Karakalpakstan, connecting 7 regions of the republic,
where transit and local cargo traffic was carried out.
One of the major intermediate points was Shabbaz, the
center of the district of the same name. Irrigation was
highly developed in the Shabbaz region, the smallest
network was of a non-engineering type of irrigation
ditches, which were fed from the main canals taking
water from the Amu Darya River. The highway crossed
the main canals: in the Turtkul region - Bozyab,
Shurakhan, Amirabad; in the Shabbaz region - Shimam-
yab, Naiman-yab, Kzyl-kala - channel, Kok-Darya. Kzyl-
kala was an affected irrigation ditch with insignificant
speed. The water was injected in order to feed and to
supply water to the nearby lands. Kok-Darya was an old
channel of the Amu Darya, which was used in those
years as a discharge for the Naiman ditch.
In 1941, the road network of the Shabbaz district was
exclusively dirt-driven roads. The nearest railway
station for Shabbaz was Chardzhou at a distance of 400
km. Communication with it was carried out by road,
water and air transport. The main mode of transport
within the district was cartage. Cartage was used to
transport mainly cotton goods. Cartage traffic was
separated into a separate road bed. There were 19
outlets in the region, which received industrial food
products from the Shabbaza-Calysh pier. In 4 km from
the center of the district there was a marina connected
with a motorway. The marina was poorly equipped due
to the inconstancy of the Amu Darya river bed.
However, despite this, this route was of great economic
importance for the region, as well as for
communication with Khorezm.
The state river fleet served the transportation of 79
mechanized and 208 non-mechanized vessels with a
total carrying capacity of 20.7 thousand tons [2]. Due to
the lack of containers, the river fleet refused to
transport cement, lime, salt, oilcake, timber, firewood,
etc. They were sent by vehicles. At that time, the
operation of the self-propelled fleet on the intra-
republican channels was not yet ensured, the use of the
sailing and strap mode of movement continued,
despite the turnover of 50-55 thousand tons along the
Kyzketken canal.
Aviation was another type of transport communication.
At the beginning of the war, postal communication with
the regions and cities of the Autonomous Republic was
carried out by post airplanes. In 1941, a regular mail
aircraft service was opened along the northern circle:
Nukus - Takhtakupir - Chimbay - Karauzyak - Kungrad -
Kegeyli - Nukus every day. However, the lack of vehicles
complicated and worsened the work of the republic's
postal service in wartime conditions. Communication
with other regions, with the center was broken. During
1942-1943. mail was delivered in 15-30 days, and
sometimes in 1.5 months. In order to improve the work
of mail, 2 boats were transferred to the
Communications Department of the KKASSR, between
Chardzhou and Nukus, after the situation improved
somewhat, mail began to be delivered no more than 3-
4 times a month [3].
The need for the development of a transport
communication network was determined not only by
the situation in the economy, but also by the general
daily life of the population. To meet the needs of the
inhabitants of the republic in essential goods, clothing
and footwear, by the end of 1941, 12 new regional
industrial plants and 124 workshops were organized in
the republic, and in 1942 at the Karakalpak Industrial
Union 5 construction workshops, 5 flour-grinding
enterprises, 5 thread-binding workshops, iron
foundries and knitting shops were opened.
Nevertheless, during the war, the material and
technical base of industry in the cities of the republic
remained weak, and the output of products was
sharply reduced. For example, the population of the
city of Chimbay experienced an acute shortage of
essential household items, clothing and shoes. One of
the reasons that only a meager amount of goods
reached the local consumer, most of the goods were
sent to the front according to the plan, as well as to
ensure special orders of local industrial enterprises.
One of the largest enterprises in the region, the
Chimbay cotton ginning plant, was unable to fulfill its
planned obligations during the war years. The plant was
suspended on August 2, 1941 for some time. By the
beginning of the war, only 2 qualified personnel worked
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)
at the plant, 64 workers and employees, of whom 66
were women, in 1943 - 595 workers [4]. In the pre-war
years, the production of cotton fiber at the plant in
1933 was 4300 tons, in 1938 - 8157 tons, in 1939 it was
10,022 tons, which showed an average growth of 90%
compared to 1933. Since the beginning of the war, the
majority workers of the enterprise went to the front,
the import of fuels and lubricants and packaging
material through the transport routes of the republic
decreased, so in 1943 the output of fiber amounted to
only 4893 tons against the plan of 5500, in 1944
compared with 1943 - 2864 against the plan of 6293
tons. Meanwhile, in Chimbay, by the beginning of the
war, there was an automobile, postal, passenger and
air communication with all neighboring regions of the
republic. During this period, a telegraph and telephone
exchange with a capacity of 100 numbers operated in
the city of Chimbay. Telephone communication was
with all the village councils, with one machine-tractor
station, 8 collective farms, 23 letter carriers worked
there, which served the collective farms, in addition,
the city and the next 45 collective farms were equipped
with 847 radio points [5]. During the war years, all this
communication fell into decay.
Transport also played an important role in the
republic's communal services. In the first years of the
war, one of the main tasks was the supply of fuel
(firewood) to city institutions, organizations, hospitals,
schools, families in the cities of Chimbay, Nukus,
Khojeyli, in Turtkul. For this purpose, by the decision
and petition of the Karakalpak regional committee of
the KPUz, transport was allocated for the removal of
fuel from forest dachas.
The construction of roads in the republic, mainly in
large cities, began in the pre-war period. But in many of
them the roads became impassable during the thaw.
Measures were taken to repair the Khalkabad road,
form a road line, lay out residential buildings and other
facilities.
During the war years, there were frequent
interruptions in the supply of the urban population
with bread, flour and other products. In addition, due
to the lack and lack of transport to bring food products
from the Nukus pier, the bakery and other enterprises
were poorly supplied. During the period under review,
almost every organization in the city of Nukus had
sowing areas. So, the area of 23 large organizations of
the city in 1942 under socialized vegetable gardens was
245 hectares, already in 1943 - 491 hectares. These
organizations carried out cleaning and repair of the
Nukus-Abad flood gravity canal. Despite the fact that
the sown areas of vegetable and melon collective
farms, subsidiary farms of ORS and the sowing areas of
individual vegetable gardens practically coincided, the
yield in the private sector was higher than in the state
one.
On the left bank of the Amu Darya, the city of Khojeyli
was a major transport point. Before the war, the
population of the Khodjeyli region communicated with
the railway by air and motor transport through the
Nukus-Turtkul-Urgench highway. However, during the
war, passenger traffic stopped. An important line of the
district's road network was the Khojeyli - Pristan line
with a length of 6.5 km from the regional center
Khojeyli in the northeastern direction to the bank of the
Amu Darya. 4 km of the road at that time was covered
with phosphorite pebbles, 2.5 km - soil-profiled. In
winter, the road condition was poor. However, the
Khojeyli - Pristan road was the only one that connected
with the Kungrad and Porsin regions of Turkmenistan.
The Khojeyli - Kunya-Urgench and Khojeyli - Kalininsk
roads connected the region with neighboring
Turkmenistan. The internal lines of the roads Karasu -
Khojeyli had a length of 20 km, Saraikul - Khojeyli - 12
km, Dzhana-Jap - Khojeyli - 4 km. From July to
September 1941, with the help of the population and
transport, repair work was carried out along these
routes.
In 1941-1945. in Khojeyli there was a cotton-cleaning
plant with a power capacity of 450 HP and 6 gins. In
October 1942, gas generator sets were manufactured
to convert the existing tractor engines to gas. As a
result, tens of tons of liquid fuel were saved at the
enterprise every month. A device for semi-automatic
feeding of cotton into the raw chamber was created at
the Khojeyli cotton-cleaning plant, which halved the
need for workers in this operation. The plant processed
raw cotton from the Khojeyli, Kungrad, Kuibyshev
regions, in addition, 8000 tons came from the Turkmen
regions of Porsa and Kunya-Urgench. As one of the
largest enterprises in the republic, the cotton plant had
its own transport: 15 machines (with a carrying capacity
of 1.5 and 2.5 tons), transporting the goods of the
cotton plant. In addition to cars from the procurement
point to the plant, the main transport remained the
traditional means - the arba. In the Khojeyli region
during these years the number of cars was 47, of which
with a carrying capacity of 1.5 tons - 34, 2.5 tons - 8 and
5 cars [6].
If earlier steamers in the backwaters of the Khojeyli pier
worked on liquid fuel, then in 1942 here and at many
other enterprises they switched to solid fuel. Gas
generating units were installed to save fuel on the
steamships "Kazakhstan", "Chapaev", "Smidovich",
"Dekhkanin", "Andreev", "Komsomolets", "Khodjeyli",
"Khanki", "Pyandzh" and others. In 1942 For the
Khojeyli pier the “Nord” boat with full equipment for
operation on the Kyzketken, Kegeili and Kuvanysh-
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American Journal Of Social Sciences And Humanity Research (ISSN: 2771-2141)
Jarma canals was given by Karakalpak water transport
agency.
Thus, the Second World War put the transport
institutions of Karakalpakstan with the need to search
for new ways of their work, to fully subordinate it to the
interests of the country's defense. Due to the absence
and paucity of animal-drawn transport, much attention
began to be paid to water and rail transport lines, which
played an important role in providing the front with the
necessary goods and food, as well as in the delivery of
goods from other regions to Karakalpakstan.
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AZHK RK - F.2, Op.1, D.43, L.12.
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