Abstract: The article is devoted to characterizing the role and contribution of regional branches of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (VOOPIK) in activities related to industrial heritage sites. The relevance is due to the urgent need to attract the attention of the general public to the problem of the destruction of the remaining monuments of the industrial past. To conduct the research, both archival documents and published sources were used, including the regulatory framework for security activities. The scientific novelty of the article is due to the lack of research aimed at fully studying the contribution made by the regional branches of VOOPIK to the process of identifying the industrial cultural heritage. The practical value of the study lies in the attraction of the public attention to the problem of participation of all actors, including public organizations, in the conservation of industrial heritage sites. To conduct this study, archival materials were used: documentation and statistical materials, as well as legislative and regulatory acts, periodicals. The author comes to the conclusion that identifying potential monuments is the first priority step in their conservation efforts. This activity was in line with state policy in the 1960-1980s. In the Sverdlovsk region, there was a targeted identification of industrial heritage sites with the aim of studying them, registering them with the state institutions and further preserving them. Regional branches of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments made a great contribution to this activity. The author found that by the end of the 1980s, more than 40 objects had been identified in the Sverdlovsk region, 37 of which were registered with the state institutions' help by 1989, including 18 as monuments of republican significance.

Keywords: legislation, cultural policy, government accounting, WOOPIK, protection of monuments, industrial architecture, identification, industrial heritage, Sverdlovsk region, factories