Contribution of Georgy Tabunanov to the creation of the military-patriotic education system in the Yakut ASSR

Тhe article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the activities of Georgy Timofeevich Tabunanov as chairman of the Yakut Regional Council of Osoaviakhim from 1932 to 1937. Based on materials from the National Archive of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and historical research, the process of establishing a system of military-patriotic education in the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic during the pre-war period is reconstructed. Particular attention is paid to the organizational and methodological aspects of his work under unique regional challenges: socio-economic backwardness, low literacy rates, the preservation of traditional ways of life, and vast distances between settlements. The study provides a detailed analysis of the key areas of Tabunanov’s activities: creating the organizational structure of Osoaviakhim through a network of district clubs; developing shooting sports and the Voroshilov Sharpshooter movement; organizing air and chemical defense; and conducting mass military-political and educational work. The strategic importance of Tabunanov’s personnel policy, based on attracting graduates of the Yakut National Military School, which ensured the integration of defense work into the local sociocultural environment, is emphasized. The analysis of Tabunanov’s personal contribution to popularizing the defense movement, particularly his achievement as the first Yakut Voroshilov Sharpshooter, holds special scientific value. The circumstances of his removal from office during the political repressions of 1937 and his subsequent rehabilitation through his combat record during the Great Patriotic War, where he proved himself a competent commander and received the Gratitude of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, are investigated. The article’s materials are of interest to researchers of the history of military education, regional history, and the history of public organizations in the USSR.