33 - Economic Developments, 1945-64 Flashcards

1
Q

What did most Russians hope for after the hardship and suffering experienced in wartime? What Plan was returned?

A

Better quality of life

Five-Year Plans

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2
Q

What did Russia want to rebuild after 1945? Why did they want to rearm?

A

The economy

For the Cold War

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3
Q

What 2 areas were given priority in the Five-Year Plans?

A

Heavy industry

Defence

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4
Q

What 2 areas were ignored in the new Five-Year Plan?

A

Consumer goods

Infrastructure

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5
Q

How many towns had the War destroyed? How many villages?

A

1,710 towns

70,000 villages

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6
Q

How many factories had the War destroyed? How many collective farms had stopped working?

A

30,000 factories

100,000 farms

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7
Q

What 2 industries were rebuilt after 1945? What reopened?

A

Factories
Steel works
Mines

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8
Q

What 2 areas of production passed 1940 levels post-war?

A

Coal

Steel

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9
Q

What weapon was tested by Russia in 1949? Who did this show that the Soviet Union was catching up with?

A

Atomic bomb

US

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10
Q

In what 2 factors was the new Five-Year Plan achieved?

A

Longer hours

Harsh discipline

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11
Q

What did the prison camps provide for the workforce? How much did the population rise from 1945 to 1950?

A

Unpaid labour

500,000 to 1 million

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12
Q

Where did peasants continue to be squeezed of their resources?

A

Countryside

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13
Q

How much of peasants’ grain did the state take? Why was this an issue?

A

70%

They could barely feed themselves

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14
Q

Who paid low prices for grain? What 2 things saw grain exports increase so they could be paid for?

A

Peasants
Industry
Military

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15
Q

Where did famine take place again in 1946-47? Approximately how many people died?

A

Countryside

Over a million

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16
Q

What standards did Khrushchev recognise needed to be raised? What did he need to tackle?

A

Living standards

Poverty

17
Q

What shortage was present in Russia? What advancement did Khrushchev want to bring to Russia that previous leaders promised?

A

Housing shortage

Material advancement

18
Q

What pay did Khrushchev increase for peasants? What did he cut?

A

Grain payments

Taxes

19
Q

What was the name of the big house-building programme Khrushchev developed?

A

The “Virgin Lands” scheme

20
Q

What shortages did the Virgin Lands scheme want to solve? What would be developed to do this?

A

Chronic food shortages

Developing uncultivated land in Siberia and Kazakhstan

21
Q

How many people were mobilised to go East and and become pioneers of the Virgin Lands scheme? Who were most of these people?

A

300,000

Young party enthusiasts

22
Q

How did the Virgin Lands scheme appear initially? How much did grain production rise from 1954 to 1958?

A

Successful

75%

23
Q

What was an issue with most of the uncultivated land in the Virgin Lands scheme? What was it subject to?

A

It was on the edge of deserts

Drought

24
Q

What was an issue with the soil used in the Virgin Lands scheme?

A

It wasn’t properly prepared or fertilised

25
Q

What happened to the top soil used in the Virgin Lands scheme? What erosion was it subject to?

A

It became arid

Wind erosion

26
Q

How could the planning of the Virgin Lands scheme be described? How was it implemented?

A

Poorly

Too hastily

27
Q

How could the management of the Virgin Lands scheme be described?

A

Ineffective and inefficient

28
Q

Who suffered with poor housing during the Virgin Lands scheme? What happened as enthusiasm waned?

A

Volunteers

Many drifted back to the comfortable city life

29
Q

Why did the Soviet Union have to import large amounts of grain from North America in 1963?

A

To avoid famine

30
Q

What did Khrushchev recognise the need for within Russia’s industry? What development was emphasised?

A

Modernisation

Technological development

31
Q

Who did Khrushchev want the Soviet Union to “catch up with and overtake” in industry? What ideology did he want to prove worked?

A

“Catch up with and overtake America”

Communism

32
Q

In what 2 industrial resources did investment increase? What goods production increased?

A

Oil
Natural gas
Consumer goods

33
Q

Whose economy was Russia’s economy growing faster than by the late 1950s? What did the Soviets launch into orbit in 1957, the first ever?

A

US

Satellite

34
Q

Why was Soviet prestige increased in 1961? What was the name of this man?

A

Russia launched the first man to space in history

Yuri Gagarin

35
Q

Who gained more control from Khrushchev’s reorganisation of management? How many factories were transferred from central government to regional government?

A

Producers

11,000

36
Q

What did regional devolution measures strengthen? What did this come at the expense of?

A

The Communist Party

Economic ministries in Moscow

37
Q

Whose power and control was strengthened by devolution? What did increasing costs in defence and space cause in the early 1960s?

A

Khrushchev’s control

Slow growth

38
Q

What does Historian Edward Acton believe the growth in agricultural production leave behind?

A

“The growth in agricultural production left the stagnation of Stalinism behind”