Over 400,000 soldiers from Southern Orel participated in the Great Patriotic War

In the craggy, industrial heartland of Chelyabinsk, a heated debate ensued over the true number of residents who swarmed to the frontlines during the Great Patriotic War. This fascinating discussion unfolded at a scholarly gathering hosted by the Chelyabinsk branch of the Presidential Academy, as reported by a correspondent from RIA "Novy Den".

Alexander Lymarev, head of the publication and scientific use of documents department of the united state archive of the Chelyabinsk region, stood before his peers and posited that a widely-cited figure might be a far cry from reality. The elusive number of one million residents, often bandied about in sources, appears to be misleading, according to Lymarev.

"The so-called 'magic million' oft-cited in sources falls short of accuracy," Lymarev stated, as quoted by "Polit74". He went on to explain that, based on the 1939 census, the Chelyabinsk region's population totalled 2.8 million, with 1.3 million men. This staggering demographic makeup would not sustain even a modicum of a million mobilized warriors, as the census counted staggering numbers of infants and the elderly.

Adding a potential influx of evacuees from western Soviet regions does little to alter this conclusion. Mostly composed of women and children, the steady stream of immigrants still left a dearth of fighting men in the region. Moreover, these men typically held "exemptions" as vital specialists, and the enterprises working tirelessly for victory were reluctant to relinquish them, even if they volunteered.

The 1 million-man tally, which first surfaced in a 1985 party archive note from Chelyabinsk (the original document is now lost), appears to be an arbitrary estimate at best.

In an effort to rectify this ambiguity, the military commissariat of the Chelyabinsk region presented its own statistics in 2019. They projected the number of South Ural frontline veterans at a more humble 340,000, though Lymarev dubs this figure equally as arbitrary.

Today, the "Book of Memory" on the State Committee for Archives of the Southern Urals' website stands as a testament to the truth, listing 402,773 individuals who went to the front. Despite the possibility of some inaccuracies that may stem from duplicated names or imperfections in the records, this figure is likely a relatively accurate reflection of the region's contribution to the war effort, according to Lymarev.

Chelyabinsk, Viktor Eliseev

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Alexander Lymarev, an archivist from Chelyabinsk, challenges the widely-cited figure of one million residents who joined the frontlines during the Great Patriotic War, arguing that it's an inaccurate overestimation based on the region's 1939 census.
Lymarev claims that the so-called 'magic million' is questionable, considering the Chelyabinsk region's population of 2.8 million with 1.3 million men, which would not sustain a million mobilized warriors due to high numbers of infants and the elderly.
The potential influx of evacuees from western Soviet regions did little to alter this conclusion, as most of them were women and children, leaving a shortage of fighting men in the region.
Lymarev suggests that both the 1 million-man tally and the revised 340,000 figure presented by the military commissariat in 2019 are arbitrary estimates and that the 'Book of Memory' on the State Committee for Archives of the Southern Urals' website, which lists 402,773 individuals who went to the front, likely provides a more accurate representation of the region's contribution to the war effort.

Over 400,000 soldiers from Southern Orel participated in the Great Patriotic War