Cooperation of the Urals and Belarus in the construction of a potassium plant in the BSSR based on the materials of the newspaper “Za kalii” of the Bereznikovskoye potassium plant in the 1960s

The article examines the forms and methods of cooperation between the Ural and Belarusian potash producers during the construction of the potash plant in the Byelorussian SSR (BSSR) and the provision of assistance in the supply of potash fertilizers for the republic's agriculture. The source base for the study was the materials of the large-circulation newspaper “For Potash” of the Berezniki Potash Plant, which allows us to consider the problem from the point of view of the production team directly involved in the process of interregional interaction. The relevance of the study is due to the need to study the mechanisms and forms of economic cooperation between the regions of the USSR during the period of active development of industry and agriculture, as well as the need to identify the role of individual enterprises in the implementation of national tasks. The methodological basis of the study is a combination of historical-genetic, historical-comparative and historical-systemic methods, which allows us to consider the problem in dynamics, identify common and specific features of cooperation, and assess its impact on the development of the potash industry and agriculture of the BSSR. The study revealed the main forms of cooperation, including patronage assistance, exchange of experience, socialist competition and participation in meetings on the exchange of best practices. A conclusion was made about the significant role of Ural potash workers in the development of the potash industry and agriculture of the BSSR in the 1950–1960s.