Factories, Memory, and Collapse: Soviet Working-Class Identity Formation in Armenia and Kazakhstan

• In Event: Industrialization, Deindustrialization, and the Soviet Modernization Project: Revisiting Economic Transformations in Late Soviet Central Asia

Abstract

This paper examines the long-term consequences of Soviet industrialization through the lived experiences of industrial workers in Armenia and Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on the Brezhnev era. Drawing on oral history interviews and archival materials from Pavlodar and Ekibastuz (Kazakhstan) and Vanadzor and Alaverdi (Armenia), I explore how Soviet factory life shaped working-class identity, social expectations, and political attitudes. Despite the distinct historical and demographic backgrounds of these republics, the shared practices of Soviet industrialization forged a common working-class experience, fostering a sense of stability, collective purpose, and paternalistic ties between the state, enterprises, and workers. The collapse of the Soviet Union shattered these expectations, giving rise to narratives of loss, resentment, and nostalgia. By foregrounding personal testimonies and archival insights, this study offers a bottom-up perspective on how the Soviet industrialization project—one of the most ambitious modernization efforts in human history—shaped society in enduring ways. It contributes to broader debates on labor history, post-socialist transitions, and the political ramifications of deindustrialization in former Soviet republics.

Author

• Liu Peng, Peking U (China)