State Defense Committee
Nikolai Baibakov, a citizen of Baku, was in charge of a special headquarters coordinating the supply of military units with fuel. In 1942, he became a member of the State Defense Committee in destruction of oil wells and oil-producing enterprises in the Caucasus. He utilized scorched earth tactics: in the time of the enemy's approach, all valuable equipment was demolished and sent back to the east of the country; stripped wells were immediately destroyed, but ones with significant productivity were continually used and only wrecked in the certainty of their seizure by the enemies. As a result, Germans were unable to use the resources of Krasnodar oil fields. Later, Baibakov became a representative of the State Defense Committee in relocation of oilmen and equipment of the Caucasian regions to the East. In 1941, The State Defense Committee decided to relocate parts of the oil enterprises of Baku, evacuate residents, and reorganize transportation flows. According to Baibakov, "A Great Resettlement of Baku oilmen is happening". More than 10,000 people were sent to Krasnovodsk with their families and oil equipment on steamships and tankers, then further ferried on to un-populated regions by trains.