Lend-lease and the operation of Soviet railway transport in 1941–1945

Abstract

In recent decades, every effort has been made in the Western information space to belittle the importance of the USSR’s contribution to the victory of the anti-Hitler coalition over Germany and its satellites. At the same time, the role of the United States of America is being extolled — especially the assistance it provided to the allies, in particular the USSR, under the Lend–Lease programme. This article is based on published archival materials and is intended to show the state of railway transport in the Soviet Union in the pre-war years and in different periods of the Great Patriotic War, as well as the heroic efforts of Soviet railway workers to carry out military transportation for various purposes. The paper provides an objective view on the scale and importance of American supplies of equipment and materials for the needs of railway transport of the Soviet Union during the war years. It deals with the specifics of USSR lend-lease orders for railway equipment, indicating the key quantities and the priority of railway products over supplies of other goods. The paper explores opinions on the subject in question presented by both Soviet experts from among top executives in the railway industry, historians, and American researchers.