Krähnholm Manufactory

one of the largest enterprises in the Soviet cotton-textile industry. Located in the city of Narva, Estonian SSR. Produces finished cotton material for dresses, underwear, and industrial use; towels and bed sheets; and yarn for the knitwear, lace-curtain, and rope industries.

The Krähnholm Manufactory was founded in 1857 on the island of Krähnholm in the Narva River, when the first spinning and weaving factories were built (the present-day StaropriadiPnaia and Starotkatskaia factories). In 1890 the manufactory produced almost 8 percent of the total cotton-textile output in Russia. In 1872 there was a general strike at the manufactory; it was one of the first major acts of the working class in Russia. Another strike broke out in 1882 and spread to the entire city. The Krähnholm workers took an active part in the Revolutions of 1905–07 and 1917. During the Civil War and military intervention of 1918–20, the workers of the Krähnholm Manufactory formed the Narva Communist Regiment. During the bourgeois dictatorship in Estonia (1920–40), the manufactory entered a period of decline.

In 1940, Soviet power was established in Estonia and the Krähnholm Manufactory was nationalized. Production began to increase quickly. During the Great Patriotic War (1941–45), Narva was occupied by fascist German troops (1941–44). The Krähnholm Manufactory was completely destroyed, and part of the equipment was removed to Germany. After the liberation of Narva, the manufactory was restored.

In 1970 the Krähnholm Manufactory included three spinning factories, with a combined capacity of more than 27,000 tons of yarn per year; three weaving factories, producing more than 138 million m of fabric per year; and a finishing factory, producing more than 164 million m of fabric per year. All factories are supplied with highly efficient, modern equipment. The products of the manufactory are in great demand both in the USSR and abroad; they are exported to Finland, France, Sweden, and other countries. The manufactory was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1957 and the Order of the October Revolution in 1971.