Economic and social changes, 1924-41 Flashcards
Stalin’s reasons for changes, including the problems of the NEP
When Stalin came to power, he wanted to restructure and develop Soviet industry and agriculture to compete with the West. He believed that industry and agriculture in Russia were 10 years behind that of the West and wanted to catch up and overtake the West within 10 years to prove the power of Socialism worldwide.
Stalin also wanted to destroy Lenin’s legacy of the New Economic Policy (NEP). The NEP had always been intended as a temporary measure as it allowed for small businesses to be taxed and make profits (a Capitalist idea) rather than giving all produce straight to the state for equal distribution (along the lines of Socialism).
The organisation of collectives
Collectivisation was introduced in 1928 as part of the First Five Year Plan. As a result, peasants gave up their land and moved to large state farms where they worked collectively and gave their produce to the state.
Stalin believed that this would make agriculture more efficient and eliminate the landed classes to make a Communist society. In turn, this increased Stalin’s power as it meant that he held more control over the peasants who were now monitored by the state.
There were two types of collective farms introduced in 1928:
Sovkhozy: Farms run by the state whereby workers were given a set wage and all of their produce was given directly to the state. This meant that many farms underachieved and the state found them very expensive to run.
Kolkhozy: Farms whereby peasants were given plots of land to work for themselves and they would be paid a fixed amount by the state to produce a certain amount of food. If they produced any excess they were allowed to keep it for themselves. This provided them with an incentive to produce more than the state quota; it also meant that if they underachieved they would starve, so either way they had a big incentive to work hard. They were therefore more successful than Sovkhozy farms.
Mechanisation and the attack on the kulaks
Machine tractor stations were intended for the mechanical development of the countryside. However, many tractors broke down and peasants were unable to fix, nor use them properly as they did not know how they worked.
Stalin disliked kulaks because he could not control them; Kulaks could rely on their own profits that they had been able to make under the New Economic Policy (NEP) and therefore had no reason to obey Stalin.
Stalin also disliked that the Kulaks resisted his implementation of collectivisation and his seizure of grain in 1928 and 1929 when he tried to resolve food shortages in the cities. In response, he condemned the Kulak class and announced that they needed to be removed as a class. Through ‘dekulakisation’, a term used by party officials to describe the destruction of the kulak class under Stalin, whole villages (made up of kulaks, or, rich peasants) were sent to labour camps and any resistance resulted in death.
In response to ‘dekulakisation’, the kulaks, who had worked hard to develop their farms, preferred to destroy their livestock and farms then hand them over to the state collective farms.
By the summer of 1930, due to the resistance to forced Collectivisation, one third of the USSR’s pigs had been destroyed and the Soviet Union suffered its largest famine in history.
The successes and failures of collectivisation
Collectivisation was successful as in 1932 records showed that wheat production in the Soviet Union had increased by one third.
However, this did not stop food shortages and the peasants largely disliked the process as they were being forced to grow crops for Russia’s industry rather than to feed themselves. This did not encourage peasants to work hard, which was confirmed by figures that showed in 1937 that independent peasants who were permitted to work on their own plots produced much more than those that worked on state-owned farms.
The five year plans (i)
The state planning agency Gosplan was formed in 1921 and was based in Moscow. It set the targets for the production of industry and one of its main ‘achievements’ was the development of the Five Year Plans.
Stalin introduced the First Five Year Plan in October 1928. Alongside collectivising agriculture, it focused on heavy industry such as steel, engineering and electrical power. Stalin wanted the Soviet Union to catch up and overtake the rest of the world in its quantity of industrial output.
During the First Five Year Plan, industrial production definitely improved but the focus on increasing the quantity of industrial output meant that although production increased, the products were not necessarily of good quality. The Plan was also considered a failure as it did not manage to meet all of the targets, which were set too high, and did not take local conditions into account. Factory managers, who did not achieve goals set out by Gosplan and faced losing their jobs and being sent to Gulags, were often so scared of the consequences that they would fix their books to make it seem as if they had achieved as they were meant to. Moreover, many peasants went to the cities to find work during the rapid industrialisation but were often unskilled which meant that they would use machinery incorrectly causing it to break down and produce bad quality products.
The five year plans (ii)
The Second Five Year Plan was implemented in 1933 and continued to focus on heavy industry, as well as mining, transport and communications. Successes included the building of the Moscow underground railway. However, from 1934 onwards Stalin adjusted the Plan and shifted Soviet expenditure to a military focus owing to the rising threat from Nazi Germany.
During the Second Plan, coal miner Alexei Stakhanov dug 102 tonnes of coal in one shift whereas the norm was 7 tonnes per shift. He then became famous for it and many workers strove to become ‘Stakhanovites’, i.e. someone who worked hard. The Stakhanovite Movement was a form of propaganda used to encourage workers to achieve like Alexei Stakhanov.
The Third Five Year Plan began in 1938 whereby some factories began producing consumer goods such as bicycles and radios. However, it was interrupted by the German invasion of 1941 due to the Second World War. This meant that weapon production became the main focus which largely helped the Soviet Union defeat the Nazis.
The results of the Five Year Plans were overall generally positive as by 1940 the Soviet Union stood second to America in terms of worldwide industrial powers.
living and working conditions
During the Five Year Plans, living standards got worse. The majority of the general public of the USSR lived in poor conditions under Stalin as wages did not increase alongside rising prices. This made it more difficult for many Soviets to live in good conditions.
Many people flooded to the cities for industry work and living conditions became severely overcrowded with poor sanitisation.
Industrial workers faced brutal discipline within factories, alongside the pressure of high targets and fines if they did not meet them. Being late for work or absent led to harsh punishments or dismissal.
Lots of the workers on projects such as building canals were prisoners who had been sentenced to hard labour for being suspected political opponents such as kulaks. Working conditions were appalling and led to many deaths, as evidenced with the construction of the Belomor Canal where approximately 100,000 workers died.
In contrast to the starving Soviet workers, Soviet leaders and professional workers lived in comparative luxury involving luxury goods, food, holidays and privileges. Whilst this elite group of wealthier citizens’ practises went against the key principles of communism, it was kept secret from the rest of the population.
The differing experiences of social groups
The Five Year Plans’ changed females’ roles in Soviet society as the increased focus on industrial production meant that women were needed to work in factory jobs which was outside of the domestic domain.
Women made up approximately 40% of industrial workers and 70% of health workers by 1937 and crèches were set up for childcare.
Ethnic minorities faced persecution during this period. Stalin forced some ethnic groups to Siberia, and many whole populations were forced from South Russia to East Russia when he was leader.
summary
When Stalin came to power, he wanted to restructure and develop Soviet industry and agriculture to catch up and overtake the West within 10 years to prove the power of Socialism worldwide.
Stalin introduced the First Five Year Plan in 1928, the Second Five Year Plan in 1933 and the Third Five Year Plan in 1938.
There were 2 types of collective farms introduced in 1928 which were Sovkhozy farms and Kolkhozy farms.
Stalin condemned the kulaks and announced that they needed to be removed as a class through ‘dekulakisation’.
By 1940, the Soviet Union stood second to America in terms of worldwide industrial powers.
During the Five Year Plans, living standards got worse and the majority of the general public of the Soviet Union lived in poor conditions.
