The role of the Caspian offshore shipping company “Raidtanker” in oil transportation in the Northern Caspian Sea in the first half of 1942

10.54398/1818510Х_2024_1_56

Annotation

From the standpoint of today, it seems relevant to study the historical experience of the development of transport communications, since their decisive influence on strengthening the economy and defense power of the country is undeniable. The purpose of the work is, based on archival materials and special literature, to study the role of the Caspian offshore shipping company "Raidtanker" in the implementation of the tasks of transporting oil and petroleum products in the Northern Caspian Sea in the first half of 1942. The sources for writing the article were the regulations of the State Defense Committee (GKO), which regulated the operation of water transport in the waters of the Northern Caspian Sea and the Lower Volga, published in the collection of documents and materials “Stalingrad Region in the Resolutions of the State Defense Committee” and previously unpublished paperwork documentation of the shipping company, extracted from the funds of the State Archives of the Astrakhan Region (GAAO). The research is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, allowing to avoid distortions when conducting historical research. The use of general scientific and special historical methods made it possible to identify the essential characteristics of the problem under study. The article presents measures taken by the State Defense Committee and the shipping company itself aimed at improving its work. Based on the study, a conclusion is drawn about the exceptional importance of oil transportation in the Northern Caspian Sea in 1942 and the key role of the Reidtanker shipping company in their implementation. However, it was not possible to continue the work begun in full, since in the summer of 1942 the military situation in the waters of the Northern Caspian Sea and the Lower Volga became sharply complicated.

Keywords

• The Great Patriotic War
• State Defense Committee
• Northern Caspian
• navigation
• shipping company “Reidtanker”
• Astrakhan
• oil
• transportation
• Astrakhan sea raid
• Lower Volga
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References

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