The government of the Russian SFSR announced in 1931 plans to construct a shipyard on the Amur at the present site of Komsomolsk, with construction beginning in 1932. The town was largely built using volunteer labour from the Communist youth organization Komsomol, thus receiving the name Komsomolsk. However, the construction of the town was aided with the use of penal labour from the prison camps situated in the area.