11. economic developments Flashcards
1
Q
WHAT WAS THE GREAT TURN
A
- radical change in economic policy, party rejected nep and commited to rapid industrialisation udner state control, with collectivisation of agriculture
- turn began in 1925, where 14th party congress commited to industrialisation, the 15th in 1927 announced the end to the nep
- marked the start of stalinsim
2
Q
HOW WAS THE SLOW PACE OF INDUSTRIALISATION UNDER THE NEP A REASON FOR THE GREAT TURN
A
- by 1927 nep failing to produce growth that leading communists had expected
- anxious to increase ussrs military strength and develop its slef sufficiency
- serious weaknesses in industrial management aslo needed to be addressed
- more efficiency was needed to increase production and to improve the quality of industrial goods
3
Q
HOW WAS THE BRAIN PROCUREMENT CRISIS IN 1927 -28 A REASON FOR THE GREAT TURN
A
- in the winter of 1927-28, the amount of grain purchased by the government was 25 percent down on the previous years total
- local party officials blamed the peasants for hoarding their grain in the hope for higher prices
4
Q
HOW WAS IDEOLOGICAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE NEP A REASON FOR THE GREAT TURN
A
- many in the party were impatient to return to ‘true communist ideology to manage the economy
- it was important to development industry and to not have the state dependent on grain procurement from purchasing from peasants
- state had lost control over the countryside and this control had to be regained in a war of grain so the Ussr could get back on the right ideological path
5
Q
HOW WAS STALINS CHANGING ATTITUDE A REASON FOR THE GREAT TURN
A
- having previously supported NEP, Stalin was was ready to be more radical, this may have been because economic circumstances pushed him to look for new solutions or because he now felt secure enough in power to push through the policies he had always wanted
- stalin emerged from the pwoer struggle as dominant leader ready to enforce his leadership and impose stalinism
6
Q
WHEN DID STALIN LAUNCH THE FIRST 5YP AND WHAT WHAT IT’S AIMS
A
- 1928
- catch up with industrial strength of capitalist countries Stalin said that the Ussr was between 50 and 100 years behind
- get the Ussr ready for war with capitalist countries- stalin remained his people that russia had often suffered defeats and explotitation because it was backwards
7
Q
WHEN DID STALIN LAUNCH THE FIRST 5YP AND WHAT WHAT IT’S AIMS
A
- 1928
- catch up with industrial strength of capitalist countries Stalin said that the Ussr was between 50 and 100 years behind
- get the Ussr ready for war with capitalist countries- stalin remained his people that russia had often suffered defeats and exploitation because it was backwards made so
8
Q
WHAT WRE THE KEY FEATURES OF THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
A
- CENTRAL PLANNING- gosplan set targets for different industrial sectors
- RAPID INDUSTRIAL GROWTH- planned to increase by 300% between 1928 and 1932, heavy industry (coal, iron, steel, oil and machinery) was prioritised, light industry expected to increase by 100%
- INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTURE- plan called for huge increase in supply of electrical power in order to transform the economy and society. there was significant investment in infrastructure especially the railway network
- NEW INDUSTRIAL CENTRES- thousands of new industrial centres were planned, some on a massive scale. e.g the steel city of magnitigorsk was built from virtually nothing to a settlement of 175,000 people by 1932, with a huge steel production factory at it’s centre
- PROPOGANDA AND DISCIPLINE- propoganda campaigns were the driving force for acheieving the 1st 5YP, boards made outside factories shwoing worker output levels and plan targets. the threat of harsh punishment motivated managers and workers to find ways to hit these targets
- IDEOLOGY- that socialism could acheive what would seem impossible to borgeois capitalists. stalin said in 31 ‘ there is no fortress we cannot capture
- USE OF FOREIGN EXPERTS- industrial experts brought in to build complexes and train soviet workers, e.g magnitigorsk was planned by american company
9
Q
WHAT WERE THE POSITIVE REACTIONS TO THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
A
- many party members pleased to see commitment to radical social change and an end to the compromises of the NEP
- Propoganda had a considerable impact, urban workers hoped for better employment prospects and higher living standards
- many poor and ‘middle’ peasants were led to hope they would beneift from further land reform and the introduction of more modern methods
10
Q
WHAT WERE THE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE 1ST 5YP
A
- stalin authorised higher wages for skilled workers (including industrial experts). some worried that this was creating different classes within the proletariat
- the harsh imposition of collectivisation, and the switch in investment from agriculture to industry, was a worry to many in the party who worried it would lead to less food being produced.
- many managing industrial production were already critical of the adverse impact of central planning. they regarded a huge new emphasis on central planning as a high risk gamble
11
Q
EXPLAIN THE GRAIN PROCUREMENT CRISIS
A
- poor harvest reuced supply of grain, but state had still set a low grain price.
- shortage of manufactured goods meaning there was little for peasants to buy, few incentives for peasants to sell their grain
- in 1928 in the Urals and western Siberia, the harvest had generally been good but grain procurement was down a third on the previous year, convinced Stalin that kulaks were responsible for hoarding grain
- Stalin closed free markets, pressured local officials to seize grain by force. he believed his brutal Urals Siberian method was successful and should be extended throughout Russia
12
Q
FEATURES OF THE DECISION
A
- already some collective farms in ussr (they had been introduced with the 1917 decree on land) but not popular with peasants. at the start of 1929, only 5% of farms had been voluntarily collectivised
- central commitee decided on using sovkhovy (state farms- directly owned and run by the state) and kolkhozy (collective farms- voluntary cooperative of farmers pooling their resources and labour)
- the target of collectivisation of the first 5yp was 15% of the ussrs farms. this was expected to lead to 50% increase in agricultural production
- central commitee sent 25,000 industrial workers to countryside to promote it. forced peasants to collectivise and they also worked to remove kulaks
13
Q
HOW WAS BUKARIN INVOLVED IN COLELCTIVISATION
A
- he was an opponent of the urals siberbia method and of accelerated collectivisation, he criticised the harsh use of methods to increase grain supplies because it had risked peasants stopping the supply for food, during war communism this had led to food shortages, rationing and protests
- however during 1929, drive for accelerated collectivisation became more popular in party, local party officials enthusiastic and this fed back up to top of party hierarchy
- as a result Bukharin’s position weakened, outvoted on agriculture policy in the politburo
- in November 1928, Stalin attacked Bukharin directly accusing him of a right deviation from Marxism- Leninism. in November, Bukharin removed from politburo
14
Q
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS AND THE N THEREFOR SOLUTIONS FOR ACCELRATING COLLECTIVISATIONS
A
- rev broke up old landlord estates and agriculture was now small scale peasant farming using traditional methods, this agriculture could never produce enough food for a workforce that needed to build socialism on its own. SOLUTION- collective farms would combine peasant families and their land together, tractors would enable the land to be worked efficiently and production could be on a large scale
- private farming not socialist, created petty bourgeois attitudes that were selfish and capitalistic. SOLUTION- collective farms would bring peasants together who would work co-operately for the good of everyone in the Ussr
15
Q
LIST SOME FEATURES OF STALINS STLE OF GOVERNMENT
A
- divine and rule- stalin brought people into favour but if they became too powerful he encouraged rivals to bring them down
- fear- the role of the scret polic (OGBU) became more pervasive under stalin, faer permeated the imposition of stalins policies. e.g collectivisation was forced through by extensive use of the secret police
- loyal supporters- stalins ability as general secretary to influence the appointment of party officials was key to his control over the government, politburo filled with stalins loyalists supporters made decisons that the central commitee approved without question
- continuing lenins legacy- by psoitioning himself as lenins heir and the cheif interpreter of lenins wishes, stalins responded to any challenge by showing how lenins words supported him
- bureauctratic centralism- under stalin, the cnetral control of the economy was matched by the central control of government. party leadership controlled the appointment of key beaurucratic positions down to a local level
