The «second virgin land» performance: an attempt to implement the «super program» in the Orenburg Region

This paper discusses complex problems of the «second virgin land» performance – livestock production development. The study analyzes specific conditions in the late 1950s when a massive campaign began; it was widely covered in the periodicals. The author and ideological inspirer of the new project was N.S. Khrushchev, he believed that the farms established on the virgin lands had all the necessary resources for the effective development of the livestock industry. In this regard, in the paper, special attention is paid to the study of a real state of affairs in state farms organized shortly before as well as their «potential capabilities» identification. At the same time, feature characteristics of the «second virgin land» performance on the territory of the Orenburg Territory were noted. The information given in this paper allows us to trace the dynamics of animal husbandry development in the virgin regions. We study the impact of the campaign on the development of traditional pasture and stall (stall-pasture) livestock, characterized by the main ways to improve production efficiency. We raise a problem of providing virgin lands with human resources – specialists demanded directly in the livestock industry. The conducted research allows us to assume that the result of the «second virgin land» performance was a unique experience; however, the results of this campaign are mixed.