Khabarovsk
On May 26 of 1921 in Vladivostok with the assistance of Japanese interventionists another White Guard coup occurred. In November the White Army headed by Molchanov started a military action against the People’s Revolutionary Army (PRA) that was led by V.K. Blyukher in the near Khabarovsk Amur area. On December 21-23 the troops of PRA were forced to leave Khabarovsk. But as early as on February 14, after fierce fighting near Volochaevka, Khabarovsk was once again taken by PRA. In this way the period of the Civil War ended for Khabarovsk.
The very long war almost completely ruined the industry, agriculture, communications and transport. The Soviet power had to start everything from scratch. To recover national economy in the Far East on November 14 of 1922 Dalrevcom was formed – a temporary body which was given all the fullness of authority. At the same time the Far Eastern Region was formed with the center in the city of Khabarovsk. And then in July of 1924 all the regulatory bodies were moved from Chita to Khabarovsk: Dalbureau of CC of RCP(b), Dalrevcom and others. In 1924 Khabarovsk was ultimately established as the administrative and political center of the Far East.
Recovery of national economy in the Far East went more peacefully than in European Russia. Just like in all Russia in Khabarovsk there was carried out complete nationalization of industry. In the pre-war time the industrial structure of today’s Khabarovsk was created. Agricultural machinery construction began to develop in the city. In 1922 Khabarovsk’s regional arsenal was transformed into an agricultural machine-building factory which in a year already released a complete set of agricultural equipment. In 1924 the Far Eastern committee on fighting unemployment was formed. Workmen’s cooperative associations were created for the unemployed. In 1931 in Khabarovsk a decision to construct an oil refinery was made (the S. Ordzhonikidze refinery), the first order of which was put into operation in 1934. In July of 1932 a shipbuilding factory “Osip’s boat-yard” (the Kirov factory) was put into operation. It was engaged in assembling river barges, tow-boats, vessels which were shipped from the European part of the country and from behind the Urals. In the same year construction of a motor-car repair factory (the Dalenergomach factory) was begun which started to work as early as one year later and 2 more years later was fully put into commission. In 1936 Khabarovsk flour mill came into service.
Transport and communications also didn’t stand still. Active construction of power lines, railroad tracks and telephone lines continued. In 1923 the first bus appeared in the city – a gift from Moscow members of the Komsomol. In March of 1925, a railroad bridge across the Amur was restored, and direct connection with the central regions of the country was opened. The next year a new, stone building of the train station was built instead of the wooden one that was burnt down during the Civil War. At that time there was exploration carried out on the railroad line Khabarovsk—Soviet Haven. In 1936 the Khabarovsk—Komsomolsk-upon-Amur Mainline Railway was opened. New phone lines also opened. In November of 1928 a telephone line Khabarovsk – Kharbin – Vladivostok was grandly opened. And in 1936 construction of the longest telephone line in the world Moscow – the Far East (over 9000 km) was finished. In 1930 the first public transport company was organized. At the same time then brand new air transport began to intensively develop. Only 4 years passed since making of the first plane in 1929 until opening of a regular air line.