Economic Consequences of the War Flashcards
what happened to the USSR after victory in the war
it established the Soviet Union as a superpower
how did the war benefit the USSR
it galvanised it and unleashed its huge economic potential
what did the war make the USSR when it came to the military
it became by the far the dominant military power on the continent
how did the glow of victory help to strengthen the Stalin regime
the war seemed to vindicate communist ideology, offering the ‘road to socialism’ as a replacement for fascism, and an alternative system to capitalism
what did the war bring about for the soviet union
massive territorial expansion
What countries and states became incorporated into the Soviet Union
the previously independent Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and parts of East Prussia
what were the statistics about the great mass migration after the war
12 million refugees, many of them ethnic Germans, fled westwards from 1944 to 1945 as the Red Army advanced
What was Stalin anxious about
- the economic power of the US and how it might be used in Europe
- a resurgence of Germany
- he mistrusted many of his own people
what were there already disagreements over
the four-power occupation of Berlin
what was the four-power occupation of Berlin
defeated Germany was divided into four occupation zones; Soviet, American, British and French. Even though Berlin was entirely within the Soviet Zone, the city was also divided into four zones, ruled by a joint Allied Control Commission.
how many people died in the war from the USSR
approximately 20 million soviet citizens died: 7.5 million in the armed forces and more than 12 million civilians
what happened to the USSR’s infrastructure during the war
large sections of the USSR were utterly devastated
what was the effect of the war on the Soviet economy
it was devastating. Between 1941 and 1945, the war killed one in eight of the population and caused massive dislocation
what did Stalin promise in 1945
that by 1960, the USSR would be the leading industrial power
what happened in 1945 to try and aid economic growth
Gosplan was instructed to prepare a new Five Year Plan for economic recovery.
what did the fourth five-year plan do
it set ambitious targets, for industry and agriculture.
where was the focus of economic spending
third of the third five-year plan’s expenditure was to be spent on Ukraine, which had been one of the areas most devastated by war and was a very important region both for industry and for agriculture.
what had to happen to industrial production at the end of the war
it had to shift away from military needs to the civilian economy
what did the industry struggle to do
adjust to peacetime conditions in 1945 and 1946
what was mining production at the time
it running at less than half the 1940 level
what happened to electric power at the time
it was running at 52% of the 1940 level
what happened to steel production at the time
it was running at 45% of 1940 levels
what intensified problems of post-war economics
the sudden ending of foreign aid through Lend-Lease in August 1945
what occurred under the fourth five-year plan
considerable industrial recovery. Many of the plan’s targets were equalled and exceeded.
