Not yet an industrial city
In 1927 Bratskoye had 177 households and 887 residents. Its rural district was much larger, sustained by farming, livestock, hunting and fishing. District population cannot be substituted for that of the future city. The hydrometeorological station established in 1928 observed the river before its transformation.
The cost of economic transformation
Collectivisation altered property, labour and village relationships. The chronicle records collective farms and armed conflict. Its labels for opponents of Soviet power reflect period language, not a ready-made judgment on individuals. The district newspaper’s 1934 launch illustrates the spread of new institutions.
The home front and a new direction
During the war, residents farmed and collected money and goods for the front; the chronicle records 1,700 pairs of mittens and socks in 1942. Post-war Angara development decisions and the 1949 surveys pointed toward change, without making the later city and reservoir a foregone conclusion.