The Birth of Dniprotsal and Aluminum Plants in Zaporizhzhia: Rare 35mm Archival Footage & Industrial Construction History

1931 · history · History Museum of PJSC Dniprospetsstal

nvaluable and extremely rare historical documentary footage from 1931 capturing the initial phase of construction of the "Dniprostal" metallurgical giant and the Aluminum Plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Originally filmed on 35mm motion picture film, this unique footage has survived through the archives of the Dniprospetsstal plant. FILM CREDITS AND PRODUCTION NOTE: - Digitization: Digitized from the original 35mm reels by the specialists of the Center for Urban History in Lviv (LivArch) in 2024. - Archive: The physical film master and records are permanently preserved in the collections of the History Museum of PJSC "Dniprospetsstal" in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. HISTORICAL CONTEXT & ANALYSIS (Based on the book "Stanovlennya. 1931-1941" by Yuri Rylsky): The film captures the harsh realities of the First Five-Year Plan (1931 was declared the "Third Decisive Year") and the implementation of the landmark GOELRO electrification plan. The industrial complex in Zaporizhzhia was designed to cover 20 square kilometers with 60 major industrial structures, powered by the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station (DnieproGES). The footage documents the "zero cycle" (foundation works) of the future metallurgical complex, which initially included: 1. The Tool Steel Shop (TSIS - Tsekh Instrumentalnykh Staley): The direct predecessor of the Dniprospetsstal plant. It was planned to house 10 electric arc furnaces (including two 10-ton furnaces purchased from the German firm "Demag") with a projected annual capacity of 75,000 tons of steel ingots. 2. The Blast Furnace Shop (Domenny Tsekh): Footage features the laying of the very first batch of concrete into the foundation of Blast Furnace No. 1 on January 21, 1931 (coinciding with the 7th anniversary of Lenin's death). 3. The Open-Hearth and Ferroalloy Departments. 4. Construction sites of the adjacent "Sotsgorod" (Socialist City / "Great Zaporizhzhia"), designed to house 50,000 residents in 3- and 5-story buildings. THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE CONSTRUCTION: While official Soviet propaganda portrayed the construction as seamless, primary sources and local newspapers ("Proletar Dniprobudu", "Dniprostal" magazine from March 1931) reveal immense systematic struggles: - Manual Labor & Technical Shortages: In early 1931, the entire "Site A" possessed only three pieces of heavy machinery: one excavator, one derrick crane, and one concrete mixer, which constantly stood idle due to breakdowns. Most foundations were dug entirely by hand by local shovelers (grabari). - Extreme Labor Turnover: The labor turnover rate at "Site A" reached an astonishing 75-78% per month. Workers literally fled the construction due to a lack of running water, electricity, and basic human living conditions in the makeshift barracks of Settlements No. 8 and No. 9. Even though recruiters (such as the prominent recruiter Solokha) brought nearly 20,000 workers in the first quarter of 1931, over 11,000 abandoned the site within the same period. - Elite Labor Teams: To force a breakthrough, the management deployed elite concrete-pouring teams, most notably the famous "Tatar Brigade" led by Zaydulla Khamedullovich Khayrulin (who had been working on the Dnieper construction since 1928). - Censorship: The film also marks the beginning of the foundations of the Thermal Shop (June 20, 1931). Due to sharp criticism of management and central organizations in the first issue of "Dniprostal" magazine, the local Communist Party bureau officially banned its publication in April 1931, replacing it later with strictly curated ideological materials. This footage is a premier primary visual source for international scholars studying Soviet industrialization, the daily life (povsednevnost) of the early Soviet working class, forced modernization, and the urban history of Zaporizhzhia. Original YouTube link: https://youtu.be/ocOL4F5bWaw Official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JuryRylsky Curator Contact: rylskiju62@gmail.com / rylskii.iurii@dss.com.ua