Tatyana Pavlovna Teterevleva,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Elena Evgenievna Shurupova,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, Solovetsky State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve, Solovki, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“…Farmers Unfamiliar with Sea or Forest”: Special Settlers and the Development of the Iodine Industry in the Northern Region in the 1930s
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-5-13
The article explores the role of special settlers (spetsposelentsy) in the development of the iodine industry in the Northern Region (Severny Kray) during the 1930s − an important yet insufficiently studied aspect of Soviet industrialization and natural resource exploitation in the Arctic region. Based on a comprehensive analysis of archival sources, the authors reconstruct the socio-economic conditions and organizational mechanisms that shaped the operation of the special settlement system within the distinctive natural and climatic environment of the Northern Krai. The study focuses primarily on the utilization of special settlers’ labor − mainly dekulakized peasants from the southern and central regions of the USSR − for the harvesting and processing of seaweed, the essential raw material for iodine production. The labor of special settlers was characterized by pronounced seasonality, harsh living conditions, and inadequate provision of production means, which reduced overall productivity. The authors analyze infrastructural shortcomings, including shortages of housing, food supplies, clothing, tools, and transportation. The article also assesses the economic efficiency of the Northern Krai’s iodine industry, noting that despite substantial state investments and the mobilization of special settler labor, the sector faced chronic difficulties related to logistics, the seasonal nature of the raw material base, and insufficient workforce qualifications. The authors identify an evolution in the organizational model of special settlements within the industry − from a “hybrid” system combining features of special settlements and workers’ villages to informal artel associations based on elements of self-sufficiency and agricultural production. This transformation is interpreted as an attempt to adapt the special settlement system to the specific needs of the iodine industry and to improve the living and working conditions of special settlers. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the iodine industry of the Northern Krai in the 1930s constituted a complex socio-economic phenomenon situated at the intersection of industrialization challenges, special settlement policies, and resource development under extreme environmental conditions.
Publishing: 28/10/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 05/08/2025
How to cite: Teterevleva T.P., Shurupova E.E. “…Farmers Unfamiliar with Sea or Forest”: Special Settlers and the Development of the Iodine Industry in the Northern Region in the 1930s // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 5 (43), pp. 150−162. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-5-13.pdf]
Links: Issue 5 2025
Keywords: special settlers; iodine industry; Northern Region; 1930s; Soviet industrialization; forced labor; involuntary migration