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Russian History > 22. Economic and social developments under Khrushchev (1953-64) > Flashcards

22. Economic and social developments under Khrushchev (1953-64) Flashcards

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1
Q

How much of the USSR’s industrial capacity was destroyed by WW2?

A

70%

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2
Q

What were Comecon and Cominform?

A

International agencies set up by Stalin in response to Marshall Aid

  • Comecon - coordination of Eastern Bloc economies
  • Cominform - propaganda
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3
Q

What was done with East Germany after WW2?

A

They were forced to pay reparations to the USSR.

The Opel factory was moved from East Germany to the USSR

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4
Q

How much did production increase in the 4th Five Year Plan (1946-50)?

A

It doubled

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5
Q

What did Khrushchev say about theory?

A

“You cannot put theory in your soup”

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6
Q

Why were heavy goods naturally favoured in the USSR?

A

Targets were often judged using weight.

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7
Q

How did working conditions improve in the seven year plan (1959-65)?

A

40hr working week
40% wage rise

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8
Q

What was Aeroflot?

A

A state-subsidised airline with offered cheap long-distance travel. It was said that peasants could buy a ticket to Moscow, sell their produce there and still make a profit.

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9
Q

When was Sputnik launched? And when did Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space?

A

Sputnik launched in 1957

Gagarin went into space in 1961

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10
Q

By how much did TV sets increase between 1955 and 1965?

A

495k (1955) to 3.7m (1965)

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11
Q

By how much did fridges increase between 1955 and 1965?

A

They increased tenfold

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12
Q

What was the USSR’s annual growth rate before 1958?

A

10%

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13
Q

What proportion of the agricultural labour force had been lost during WW2?

A

Two thirds

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14
Q

How much did the 1945 harvest produce?

A

Less than 60% of pre-war levels

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15
Q

How many horses were there in 1950 compared to in 1929 (before collectivisation)?

A

Only 15m in 1950, compared with 35m in 1929

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16
Q

How did Khrushchev decentralise agriculture?

A
  • He made the Ministry of Agriculture a merely consultative body. Power was devolved to local Party bodies.
  • Kolkhozes could set their own production targets.
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17
Q

How did peasants’ lives improve under Khrushchev?

A
  • 25% increase in the price which the state paid peasants for their grain
  • Quotas and taxes were reduced
  • They became eligible for state pensions for the first time
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18
Q

What were ‘agrocities’?

And by how much did the number of kolkhozes decrease between 1950-1960?

A

An idea by which kolkhozes would amalgamate into huge collective farms.

This led to the number of kolkhozes halving between 1950 and 1960, but the idea of agrocities never really got past the conceptual stage.

19
Q

How much new land was cultivated under the Virgin Lands scheme?

A

36m hectares

20
Q

By how much had wheat output increased by 1960, due to the Virgin Lands scheme?

A

50%

21
Q

What were the failures of the Virgin Lands scheme?

A
  • Much of Kazakhstan became a dustbowl due to overfarming
  • Only 1/6 of maize was harvested ripe (it was an unsuitable crop)
22
Q

Who was Trofim Lysenko?

A

A biologist who rejected traditional theories and thought planting the same successful grain would result in more success in future.

The lack of crop rotation took all the nutrients out the soil and led to a dustbowl developing in Kazakhstan.

He was relied upon by both Stalin and Khrushchev.

23
Q

How much did meat production increase between 1952 and 1964?

A

5m tonnes (1952) to 9m tonnes (1964)

24
Q

How much of produce was from the peasants’ private plots during the Khrushchev era?

A

30%, despite the plots only representing 3% of cultivated land.

25
Q

What were Khrushchev’s fertiliser and cornflake campaigns? Were they successful?

A
  • A 1962 campaign increased the use of fertiliser, leading to more efficient farming
  • Khrushchev tried to introduce cornflakes, but they were seen as an Americanism. Unsuccessful.
26
Q

How much did peasants’ incomes increase between Stalin and Khrushchev?

A

Under Stalin, they were 20% of industrial workers’.

Under Khrushchev, they were 60% of industrial workers’.

27
Q

By how much did washing machines increase between 1955 and 1966?

A

There were 77 times more washing machines in 1966

28
Q

How did Khrushchev improve the living standards of Soviet citizens?

A
  • 40hr week introduced
  • Wage rises for the poorest (USSR had the lowest wage gaps of any industrialised country)
  • New housing initiatives combatted overcrowding and homelessness
29
Q

How did Khrushchev improve the lives of women?

A

He increased maternity leave and pensions (to encourage them to have more children).

30
Q

In what ways did Party elites still live better than ordinary citizens?

Also give one example of high-level corruption.

A

They had non-monetary privileges like holidays, healthcare, cars and access to scarce commodities.

Corruption was rife with party leaders giving jobs to their friends and family. Khrushchev made his son-in-law editor of the newspaper Izvestia.

31
Q

How many people attended the World Festival of Youth in Moscow in 1957?

A

34,000

32
Q

What were the effects of the thaw on Soviet youths?

A
  • The ‘Intourist’ programme allowed foreigners to visit the USSR.
  • Young Soviets were excited by the Westerners’ modern dress, music, behaviour and slang.
  • Some youths boycotted lectures or dining rooms at university.
  • According to a 1961 Soviet survey, most young people were cynical about communist ideals, and motivated by material goals.
33
Q

What book was written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1962?

A

‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, about his experiences in the gulags. Critical of Stalinist times.

Sold 1 million copies in 6 months.

34
Q

How much did Orthodox churches decrease between 1959 and 1965?

A

From 22,000 (1959) to 8,000 (1965)

35
Q

How did Khrushchev revive anti-religious persecution?

A
  • Orthodox churches decreased from 22,000 to 8,000
  • Seminaries shut down, pilgrimages banned.
  • 1961: Children banned from church services.
  • All higher learning institutions had to teach a course on ‘the foundations of scientific atheism’.
  • Devout citizens could be imprisoned and have their children taken away.
  • Clergy who criticised atheism could be sent to labour camps.
  • Some monks were even sent to mental hospitals.
36
Q

In what ways was Khrushchev anti-Semitic?

A
  • He opposed Jewish schools
  • He complained that Jews preferred intellectual pursuits to ‘mass occupations’ (ie. manual labour)
  • He refused to let Jews emigrate to the new State of Israel
37
Q

How were ethnic minorities treated under Khrushchev?

A
  • There was no movement towards self-determination.
  • The Party aimed for all ethnic distinctions to disappear and a single common language to be adopted by all.
38
Q

What effect did the abolition of MTSs have?

A

More freedom for kolkhozes, less oversight from Party and secret police.

However, it meant many mechanics sought work in the towers and the peasants were left with machines they couldn’t fix.

39
Q

What happened in the 1963 harvest?

A

A drought meant the USSR had to import grain from the US. Very embarrassing.

40
Q

When were university fees abolished?

A

1956

41
Q

How many people moved into new apartments from 1956-65?

A

108 million

42
Q

How many of the Soviet gulags were closed by Khrushchev?

A

11,000 of 20,000

43
Q

When was the leaving age increased to 15?

A

1958

44
Q

What proportion of Soviet citizens were under-30s during the Khrushchev era?

A

55%

Russian History (23 decks)

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