In this article the newspaper “Socialist Karaganda”, published by the Karaganda Regional and City Party Committee and the City Council of Workers’ Deputies, is considered as a source for studying the history of socio-economic progress of Central Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War. The main attention is paid to the rear activity of the workers of the region. As a result of the author's analysis and study of the structure of this publication, as well as the content of its materials, the contribution of the Karaganda region to the achievement of victory over fascism was determined, and the conditions that contributed to this process were revealed. The ideological and informational role of the newspaper in uniting the people in support of the front, in mobilizing efforts for victory, the organizational role in forming tank convoys is shown of “Kazakh Komsomol”, “Kazakh Kolkhozshy”, “Karaganda Kolkhozshy”, “Kazakhstan Metallurgist” and “The Karaganda Miner”. Since the first years of the war, the dynamics of coal production in the Karaganda coal basin has changed significantly. Under the conditions of war, when it was difficult to introduce modern technologies in industry and agriculture and it was impossible to renew equipment, the increase in labour productivity was mainly achieved at the expense of human potential. This was due to the high moral values of the workers, such as patriotism, perseverance, kindness, tolerance and organization. Simple work organization also proved to be important. The results show that improvements in labour efficiency were achieved through economic methods, original ideas and innovative solutions. Women’s labour played an important role in alleviating labour shortages, highlighting their importance in the situation.