Formation of The Industrial Workforce Training System Among Local Ethnic Groups During The Early Years of Soviet Rule in Uzbekistan

Abstract

This article examines the formation and development of the industrial workforce training system among local ethnic groups during the early years of Soviet rule in Uzbekistan (1920–1939). The study analyses the institutional mechanisms employed by the Soviet state to rapidly industrialise a predominantly agrarian society with limited indigenous technical expertise. Particular attention is given to the role of women in the emerging labour force, the impact of the hujum unveiling campaign on female workforce participation, and the contradictions arising from mass migration of workers from other Soviet republics. Drawing on census data from 1926 and 1939, statistical records of the Uzbek SSR, and relevant historiography, the article demonstrates that while the number of industrial workers in Uzbekistan increased more than elevenfold in the industrial sector between 1926 and 1939, the gains were unevenly distributed. Local ethnic minorities remained largely confined to secondary roles, whereas skilled and managerial positions were dominated by migrants from Russia and other Slavic republics. The study further reveals that coercive methods employed during the hujum campaign, though temporarily effective in mobilising women, generated severe social backlash and long-term structural distortions. The article concludes that Soviet industrialisation in Uzbekistan was characterised by a fundamental tension between proclaimed goals of local empowerment and the practical imperatives of rapid economic transformation serving Moscow's strategic interests.