2.2 Industry and agriculture in the Stalin era Flashcards
What was Gosplan?
The state planning authority that set out targets
Describe the Third Five Year Plan
- January 1938 - June 1941 (ended prematurely due to German invasion)
- Prioritised military and defence
Describe the Second Five Year Plan
January 1933- December 1937 - initially set higher targets for consumer goods but the rise of Hitler redirected focus onto the needs to defence the rearmament
Nature of the plans
- Designed to increase production
- Gosplan formulated production targets for every factory, mine and workshop
- There was massive propaganda campaign designed to inspire workers to fulfil the plans; celebrated the successes of the plans; claimed that the plans led to the destruction of capitalism; described the modern, industrial future the plans would create
- There was lists of targets backed up by a propaganda campaign
What was agriculture collectivisation?
- Between 1928 and 1941, soviet agriculture was collectivised
- Collectivisation was a process by which small farms were merged into large farms of anything between 20 and 50 families
- At the same time, ownership of the farmland and all the farm’s resources was taken over by the state
What were the causes of collectivisation?
- Communist ideology
- The failure of NEP
- The leadership struggle
Causes of collectivisation: communist ideology
- Communism said private property was one of the foundations of capitalism and one of the causes inequality.
- During the NEP, peasants with large farms had grown rich whilst those with small farms had done much less well; therefore all communists wanted to abolish private property and replace it with state-run farming to end capitalism and inequality.
- Communists were suspicious of peasant farming: historically, Russian peasants had wanted to own the land they worked on, which implied an individualistic desire for money, closer to capitalism than socialism; collectivisation would hopefully show the peasants the superiority of socialist methods and embrace communism
- Created an efficient economy: large farms would be more effective than small farms
When was collectivisation introduced?
1929
What was collectivisation?
Farms were forcibly merged and equipment was taken from richer peasants and given to poorer peasants. Peasants who worked on collective fat=rms were allowed to keep a small amount of grain to love on; the rest was used to feed workers in the cities or sold abroad to provide money to fund industrialisation
What were the consequences of collectivisation 1929-1934?
- Collectivisation devastated Soviet agriculture but released much more money to fund industrialisation
What were the success of collectivisation?
Enough food was produced to feed the towns and the red army, the country fooled other nations that collective model was working and agriculture began to recover after a good harvest in 1933
Why was agricultural collectivisation introduced?
1) An increase in agricultural productivity was needed for the Soviet Union to defend itself against and attack by the capitalist powers
2) Collective farms would create economies of scale. Food production would increase and reduce labour requirements due to the use of machinery
3) Would extend socialism to the countryside and ensure the survival of the revolution. It provided the opportunity to get rid of the Kulaks who hoarded food for their own consumption rather than providing it for their own consumption
What were the failures of collectivisation?
Supply of machinery was slow, many relied on Kulaks for the hire of tools, resistance damaged agricultural production, shortage of meat and milk, grain production fell, rural population starved, 4 million died in 1933 alone and humans were forced to pull machines themselves due to a lack of tractors/livestock
What did the fourth five year plan involve?
Machinery was taken from Germany as reparation. Trade agreements were signed with Eastern Europe. The plain aimed to restore the economy to pre-war levels
What were the successes and failures of the fourth five year plan
Successes- Industrial production recovered quickly due to slave labourers in the Gulag and the metal industry and heavy industry were successful
Failures - Consumer goods, plastics and chemical were neglected
What were the successes and failures of the fifth fifth year plan?
Successes- Living standards did start to recover, there were price reductions and workers were given a real wage
Failures - Canals were built which were not very cost effective and this money could have been used to address the shortage of housing. Things were much slower to recover in the countryside
When was the Fourth Five Year Plan?
1946-50
