Social Security for the Disabled of the Great Patriotic War in Donbass (1943-1953)

The article considers the problem of the development of the social security system for disabled war veteran in the post-war Donbass, and analyzes the content of the measures of the Soviet state adopted for the social security of this category of the population. The article examines the effectiveness of the activities of state structures aimed at improving the situation of disabled front-line soldiers. Social security of the disabled veteran of the Great Patriotic War in the Donbass in 1943-1953 became an important aspect of the post-war reconstruction policy of the USSR. During this period, the state faced the need to support millions of citizens who were wounded and maimed during the hostilities. Donbass, as one of the key industrial regions that suffered greatly during the war, required special attention in matters of social rehabilitation of the disabled. The main areas of social security were pension payments, employment, medical care and housing. Already in 1943, as the territory was liberated, evacuation hospitals operated, where veterans received treatment and prosthetics. Since 1945, state programs for the employment of disabled people have been actively implemented in the region, including quotas for jobs at enterprises and the creation of specialized cooperatives. Local social security agencies played an important role, assigning pensions, organizing sanatorium treatment and distributing financial assistance. However, despite the efforts of the authorities, in the post-war years there were difficulties with financing, a shortage of medicines and prostheses, as well as housing problems. The study is based on archival materials, legislative acts and reports of Soviet agencies, which allows us to analyze the effectiveness of social support measures. Despite the objective difficulties of the post-war period, the state managed to create a system of assistance to war invalids, which became the basis for the further development of social security in the USSR.