DUSHANBE, 26.04.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – Several Central Asian cities may be awarded the status of “City of Labor Prowess.” This was stated the day before by the Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society Konstantin Mogilevsky in an interview with Sputnik.

According to Mogilevsky, back in 2020, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS countries (IPA CIS) adopted the recommendation to assign a special status to cities that had distinguished themselves during the World War II.

Dushanbe was suppose to be awarded the title of “City of Labor Prowess” for its great contribution to the victory in the Second World War.

“This honorary title is being awarded by a presidential decree, and 50 cities have already received this title. These are both large and small cities, as well as regional centers,” said Mogilevsky.

According to him, the status of the “City of Labor Prowess” helps people to become more aware of the significance of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

«Of course, it’s a shame, there is some feeling of injustice, because in the Soviet Union this large-scale evacuation, unprecedented, in fact, was organized literally within a few months in 1941, and led to the movement of enterprises from the western part of the country to the east,- in Volga, in Ural, in Siberia, and, of course, in Central Asia,” he stressed.

On June 29, 2020, the IPA CIS Council adopted a resolution “On conferring the honorary title ‘City of Labor Prowess.’”

“We must not forget about the feat and help of the cities and countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, during the years of the Second World War, namely Ashgabat, Tashkent, Almaty, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Baku, and other settlements,” states the document.

During the Second World War, Tajikistan took an active part in the creation of new military units that were sent to the front. Approximately 300,000 inhabitants participated in important battles and events of the Second World War. More than 90,000 fighters and commanders of the Red Army, which make up 34.5% of the total number of those called up, came from these regions.

In the republic, evacuation hospitals were set up for wounded soldiers. By 1942, 29 evacuation hospitals were set up in the territory of the republic, which worked until the beginning of 1944. Tajiks sent warm clothes to the front for the fighters, and collected money to build tanks and planes for the front. In order to maintain the morale of the soldiers, concert teams were sent from Tajikistan.

In 1941-1945, the Tajik SSR sent over 1 billion rubles, 1,015 tons of grain, 213 tons of meat, 2,014 tons of potatoes and vegetables, 458 tons of fruits, more than 150 wagons of food, 532,000 sets of warm clothes, 123,000 sheepskins, 25,000 meters of fabric, and 993,400 kilograms of wool to the front.

Along with this, the industrial enterprises of Tajikistan produced military clothing, cartridges, parachutes, and other items for the front.

During the war years, Tajikistan became a second home for many people. Residents of besieged Leningrad, Moscow, Kyiv, Minsk, and many other cities and villages in the western regions of the Soviet Union were evacuated to the republic. About 100,000 people found shelter here, of which almost 10,000 were children.

In the Tajik SSR, 102,000 people were awarded medals «For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.» About 1,000 front heroes received high government awards. Over 50 residents of Tajikistan were awarded the highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union and 15 became holders of the Order of Glory in the III Degree.