Military Industrial Committees

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MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEES (VPK), public administration for military and economic regulation, established during the First World War of 1914-18 for the mobilisation of private enterprises to producing military goods. In May 1915 the Ninth Congress of Industry and Trade Representatives adopted the decision establishing Regional and District Military Industrial Committees. At the First Congress of Military Industrial Committees (25-27 July 1915) the representatives of Petrograd Regional Military Industrial Committee were the leaders of Petrograd Society of Plant and Factory Owners E.L. Nobel, V.V. Dufour and I.I. Komissarov. The latter entered the Central Military Industrial Committee created for the co-ordination of local committees (it was located in Petrograd at 48 Liteiny Avenue, there also the Congresses of Military Industrial Committees' Representatives were held); in Petrograd its press organ, Proceedings of the Central Military Industrial Committee (1915-18), was issued. The Chairman of Central Military Industrial Committee was A.I. Guchkov (July 1915 - March 1917, May - October 1917). The meetings of Petrograd Military Industrial Committees were held in Solyanoy Settlement. E.L. Nobel was a member of the Bureau of the Second Congress of Military Industrial Committees Representatives (26-29 February 1916) that established the so-called working groups in the structure of the Military Industrial Committees: ten representatives of Petrograd workers headed by Menshevik K.A. Gvozdev were elected to Central Military Industrial Committee, six - to Petrograd Military Industrial Committee. The main objective of Military Industrial Committees was the centralised receipt of government contracts for the delivery of ammunition and their arrangement among industrial enterprises. Military Industrial Committees engaged large scale enterprises and about 1,300 medium to small enterprises in the munitioning. It established about 120 private enterprises and workshops, thus having increased considerably the production of ammunition, uniforms and other military items. After the February Revolution of 1917, some leaders of the Central Military Industrial Committee joined the Provisional Government. Following the decision of Bolshevik authorities of 26 October 1917, all members of the working group of Central Military Industrial Committee were arrested. After the Fourth Congress of Military Industrial Committees (17-29 March 1918), their enterprises and a part of the apparatus were reorganised in the National Industrial Committee that was finally abolished in October 1918.

References: Труды съезда представителей военно-промышленных комитетов, 25-27-го июля 1915 г. Пг., 1915; Труды второго съезда представителей военно-промышленных комитетов, 26-29-го февр. 1916 г. Пг., 1916. Вып. 1-2; Дякин В. С. Русская буржуазия и царизм в годы первой мировой войны (1914-1917). Л., 1967.

A. G. Kalmykov. Dufour V.V.
Guchkov Alexander Ivanovich
Gvozdev Kuzma Antonovich
Komissarov I.I.
Nobel Emmanuel Ludwigovich
Liteiny Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 46
Труды [первого] съезда представителей военно-промышленных комитетов, 25-27-го июля 1915 г. Пг.
Труды второго съезда представителей военно-промышленных комитетов, 26-29-го февр. 1916 г. Пг.
Дякин В. С. Русская буржуазия и царизм в годы первой мировой войны (1914-1917). Л., 1967 Society of Plant and Factory Owners of St. Petersburg
Solyanoy Settlement
February Revolution of 1917
Provisional Government of 1917
1915