MECHANISMS OF MOBILIZATION OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE USSR DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

Abstract

During the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945), the USSR's financial system faced an unprecedented need to mobilize all available resources to meet the needs of the front and rear. The primary instruments used included government loans, tax policy innovations, emission, and confiscatory measures. Each of these instruments had its own advantages, limitations, and socioeconomic consequences. The purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyze the mechanisms for mobilizing state financial resources during military operations, as well as to assess their effectiveness and long-term consequences. Material and Methods: A retrospective analysis of regulatory acts and scientific research by historians and economists on the financial policy of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War was conducted. Comparative and qualitative analysis methods were used, along with elements of quantitative analysis to assess the volume of resources attracted. Results: The fundamental features of the centralization of financial support for state expenditures in the USSR during the war period were identified. The key instruments for mobilizing financial resources are identified: government loans (RUB 76.8 billion, 25.6% of additional military spending), tax policy (RUB 72.1 billion, 24.0%), money emission (RUB 43–57 billion, 14.3–19.0%), and confiscatory measures (RUB 20–30 billion, 6.7–10.0%). It is shown how these measures made it possible to meet the needs of the front and rear, support the country's economy, and conduct military operations in the face of significant financial challenges. Conclusions: centralized financial management and the use of diverse, often shocking, methods of resource mobilization under the extreme strain on the economy during the Great Patriotic War are an extremely important historical and economic experience. This determined a change in the financial policy of the USSR and the search for new financing instruments, while maintaining economic stability. The article, devoted to the mechanisms for financing military expenditures of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, is interdisciplinary in nature and can be useful to a wide range of specialists, researchers, and practitioners.