Chapter 14 - Industrial and social developments in towns and cities 1929-1941 Flashcards
When was the first 5YP launched?
1928
When was the Dnieprostroi Dam completed?
1932
When was the second 5YP launched?
1933
When was new emphasis placed on armaments production?
1936
When was the Moscow-Volga Canal completed?
1937
When was the third 5YP launched?
1938
What doubled in 1940?
Armaments spending
What/who organised the Five Year Plans?
Gosplan (the State Planning Agency)
What did Gosplan do?
Drew up plans and set output targets for each economic enterprise in accordance with Party directives
Why were Gosplan’s targets usually very ambitious?
If Party leaders didn’t consider them ambitious enough, they would be revised upwards
Why was the process of setting targets for the 5YP’s difficult?
Gosplan did not have reliable statistics about the economy (especially imports and possible exports) to base them on
Why did enterprises falsify their production figures?
There were severe punishments for missing targets
Overambitious planning assumptions never got corrected
What did Regional Party bosses compete for?
For their regions to be given the most resources and assigned the most prestigious new projects
Aims of the first 5YP
- Develop heavy industry
- Boost electricity production
- Double the output from light industry e.g. chemicals
Successes of the first 5YP
- Electricity output tripled
- Coal and iron output doubled
- Steel production increased by 1/3
Limitations of the first 5YP
- None of the extremely ambitious targets were met
- Improvements in the chemical industry lagged behind
- Consumer industries were badly neglected
Aims of the second 5YP
- Continue the growth of heavy industry
- Boost light industry: chemicals, electricals, consumer goods
- Develop communications
- Foster engineering
Successes of the second 5YP
- Some large-scale communication projects
- Rapid growth in electricity production and chemicals
- New metals (e.g. copper and tin) mined for the first time
- Steel output tripled
- Coal production doubled
- The USSR was self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools by 1937
Limitations of the second 5YP
- Oil production failed to meet its targets
- Consumers were still very short of some products
- Quantity increased but quality still tended to be very low
Aims of the third 5YP
- Renewed emphasis on heavy industry
- Promote rapid rearmament
- Complete the transition to communism
Successes of the third 5YP
- Some strong growth in machinery and engineering
- Defence industries developed exceptional models e.g. the T-34 tank
- Spending on rearmament doubled 1938-40
Limitations of the third 5YP
- Other areas stagnated after defense was prioritised
- Oil production failed to meet targets, causing a fuel crisis
- Lack of specialists due to Stalin’s purges
- The German invasion of 1941 disrupted the Plan, causing it to end early
What was a fundamental problem with the plans?
Stalin’s increasingly authoritarian and repressive regime, where any criticism of the system was likely to be viewed as treason
What happened during the first 5YP?
The 1929 Wall Street Crash
What world event impacted all of the 5YP’s?
The Great Depression
1929-39
The Dnieprostroi Dam
A dam generating hydro-electric power, built on the Dnieper river in Ukraine
When was the Dnieprostroi Dam constructed?
Between 1927 and 1932
Why was the Dnieprostroi Dam significant?
One of the largest power stations in the world at the time
How did the Dam impact Soviet electricity?
Increased Soviet electric power by 500% after 5 extra generators were installed in the second 5YP
What did the Dam power?
Aluminium and steel production in new nearby industrial cities
When was the Moscow Metro constructed?
1932-1937
A project of the second 5YP