Belarusian National Technical University, Minsk, Belarus:

S. Yu. Solodovnikov, Head of Department, Professor, Doctor of Economic Sciences, solodovnikov@bntu.by
T. V. Sergievich, Associate Professor, Candidate of Economic Sciences

We explored the BSSR peat industry formation and development in the article. The Republic of Belarus possesses essential peat resources used for the warming, fertilizing and other purposes for many centuries. In the meanwhile, the peat industry history and development in Belarus lacks proper presentation and description in scientific literature on economy, which means insufficient exposure of the peat mining background, little attention paid to the place of the peat industry in Belarusian economy and scarce analysis of employment in the peat industry. The peat use for the domestic, agricultural and industrial purposes on Belarusian lands began in the Russian Empire. But the peat industry as a separate branch of the national economy originated only in the 1920s as a result of organizational, economic, technical and technological, institutional, scientific and personnel support for the peat industry development. The peat importance in the national economy of the BSSR was determined by: large reserves of peat; the lack of the possibility of fuel self-sufficiency of the BSSR at the expense of other resources; good physical, chemical, organic, heat-conducting properties of peat and its suitability for use in agricultural and other purposes. The article shows the importance of the peat industry growth in the BSSR industrialization as a factor in the fuel and energy supply of this process and as an incentive for the formation of Belarusian heavy engineering. The close connection of the peat industry with the fuel and energy and agro-industrial complexes that make up the critical infrastructure makes it expedient to support it to ensure the economic and national security of Belarus.

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