Editing Pyotr Masherov (section)

=== Industrialisation ===
{{main|Belarusian economic miracle}}
Masherov's primary policy as First Secretary of the CPB was expansion of Belarusian industry. Coming into office the same year as the [[1965 Soviet economic reform]] (popularly known as the Kosygin reform), Masherov established himself as one of its supporters and enacted it in Belarus. Uniquely among the SSRs, there were frequently public discussions on the economic situation in Belarus, including openly stating issues with the economy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ioffe|first=Emmanuel|title=From Myasnikov to Malofeyev: the Rulers of the BSSR|year=2008|location=Minsk|pages=138}}</ref>

{{sidebar|image={{Photomontage
| photo2a = Minsk1981-11.jpg{{!}}The [[Minsk Sports Palace]] in 1981
| photo2b = Pkolosa_15.jpg{{!}}[[Ploshcha Yakuba Kolasa (Minsk Metro)|Ploshcha Yakuba Kolasa]], a station of the [[Minsk Metro]]
| size = 350
| spacing = 5
| color = transparent
| border = 0
| text_background = transparent
| text = The [[Minsk Sports Palace]] and [[Minsk Metro]], two of the most recognisable symbols of Masherov's efforts to modernise and industrialise the city
}}}}

While Masherov was in power numerous enterprises came into existence, including [[Grodno Azot]] and chemical plants in [[Novopolotsk]] and Gomel. One of the most well-known hallmarks of Masherov's time as First Secretary was the construction of the [[Minsk Metro]]; [[Gosplan]] originally intended to build a metro in [[Novosibirsk]] (plans which would eventually [[Novosibirsk Metro|come to fruition]] in 1986). However, Masherov wrote to Brezhnev (or Kosygin, according to some accounts),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Linyevich |first=Yaroslav |title=The Beauty of the Belarusian Territory |pages=300}}</ref> and eventually received support for the construction of a metro in Minsk, in the process working his former rival Kiselyov.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ioffe|first=Emmanuel|title=From Myasnikov to Malofeyev: the Rulers of the BSSR|pages=139}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=11 August 2007|title="His Name Was Tikhon"|url=https://www.sb.by/articles/ego-zvali-tikhon.html|access-date=29 July 2021|website=Belarus Today}}</ref>

Masherov did much as First Secretary to modernise [[Minsk]], the nation's capital. He pursued a rapid modernisation of the city, in the process destroying much of the original town which had survived the Second World War.<ref name=Rulers>{{Cite book|last=Ioffe|first=Emmanuel|title=From Myasnikov to Malofeyev: the Rulers of the BSSR|year=2008|location=Minsk|pages=138}}</ref> He would later state that he regretted doing this and wished that it had been possible to create something similar to [[Warsaw Old Town]] on [[Niamiha Street]].<ref name=Rulers/> The [[Minsk Sports Palace]] was built, and [[Dinamo Stadium (Minsk)|Dinamo Stadium]] was renovated for the [[1980 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dubrovskaya|first=Alesya|date=13 April 2017|title=Pyotr Masherov: Teacher, Partisan, Leader|url=http://lesgazeta.by/people/istorija-v-licah/petr-masherov-uchitel-partizan-rukovoditel|access-date=29 July 2021|website=Forestry Gazette}}</ref> The Vileyka-Minsk water system was built as well, providing running water to most of Minsk.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grigoriyev|first=Yu. P.|title=Creative Personality|pages=238–239}}</ref>