Economic issues

Question 1

What did war communism lead to?

Answer 1

Mass famine as the peasants could no longer feed themselves as all of their grain had been seized.

Question 2

What the social contract in the Soviet Union?

Answer 2

Unwritten mutual understanding between the citizens and the government wherein the Government would provide reasonable living standards and jobs in return for co-operation and not protesting.

Question 3

What were the aims of the first five year plan?

Answer 3

Stalin started the first five year plan in 1928 the main focus was one firstly rapid industrialisation and second the collectivisation of agriculture. Stalin wanted to destroy any record that there had ever been any capitalism in the USSR which there had been under the NEP.

Question 4

The reasons for economic failure in Soviet Union in the 1970s were?

Answer 4

In a command Economy where the majority of power is vested in the centre of government apparatus the success of the economy depended upon the leader and their willingness to attempt to implement economic reforms, Brezhnev was in fact symbolic of the age as he was a communist conservative not willing implement reforms due to the entrenchment of communist officials who’d resist it at every level.

Question 5

Evidence of economic decline includes.

Answer 5

The 1950s saw growth rates of 7% 1960s saw growth rates of 5% but the 1970s saw a decline to just 3%.

Question 6

What was the NEP?

Answer 6

The NEP was an economic policy implemented by Lenin after the civil war, the purpose was to help the Russian economy to recover from the damage done by war communism.The new economic policy involved using privately owned small scale trading and shops.

Question 7

What was the aim of the ninth five year plan 1971-75 under Brezhnev?

Answer 7

Brezhnev oversaw the constitution of the push for consumer goods started by Khrushchev. The rate of consumer goods now produced was now higher than heavy industry but was still not on target.

Question 8

Evidence of economic decline in the USSR includes.

Answer 8

The 1950s saw growth rates of 7% 1960s saw growth rates of 5% but the 1970s saw a decline to just 3%.

Question 9

What did places like Magnitogorsk demonstrate about Stalin’s industrialisation?

Answer 9

Magnitogorsk was turned from a tiny settlement into a vast industrial steel complex.While a lo of the quotas were actually met there was often problems with machinery being poorly maintained with it being a classic example of quantity over quality.

Question 10

What were the three basis that Khrushchev aimed to broaden the soviet economy on?

Answer 10

Light industry, chemicals and consumer goods.

Question 11

What were the aims of the first five year plans.

Answer 11

Despite only running for 3 years up to June 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
More resources were put into developing armaments tanks and weapons additional factories were constructed in the Ural Mountains.

Question 12

What was term used for 105 regional economic councils set up by Khrushchev?

Answer 12

Sovnarkhozy.

Question 13

Give an example of Khrushchev not understanding agriculture.

Answer 13

On a visit to the USA Khrushchev saw the vast fields of corn and wanted to recreate that in the Soviet Union and so forced corn to be grown throughout the USSR even in environments were it wasn’t suitable like the Baltic states.

Question 14

What did the Liberman reforms of 1962 call for?

Answer 14

Greater autonomy for local managers and for the market to replace the state as the decider of prices.

Question 15

What was the Holodomor?

Answer 15

Man man famine between 1932-33 were millions of Ukrainians perished.

Question 16

What were the expected working hours under Stalin?

Answer 16

48 hours.

Question 17

Why was the Holodomor famine deliberately made to happen in Ukraine by Stalin?

Answer 17

Ironically Ukraine the bread basket of Europe worse hit by the famine. There were separatist movements, you can’t fight an independence war if you have no food.

Question 18

What was the NEP?

Answer 18

The NEP was an economic policy implemented by Lenin after the civil war, the purpose was to help the Russian economy to recover from the damage done by war communism.The new economic policy involved using privately owned small scale trading and shops.

Question 19

What was the Virgin land scheme implemented by Khrushchev?

Answer 19

An attempt to grow crops in the uncultivated steppe Atai region.

Question 20

How did Andropov attempt to reform the economy before his untimely death?

Answer 20

As a former head of the KGB his aim was to root out the corruption from within the lines of production and the Communist party.

Question 21

What did Khrushchev’s Severn year plan focus on?

Answer 21

Consumer goods and a focus on shifting away from coal and gas and moving more towards synthetic resources.

Question 22

What was War Communism?

Answer 22

A system where food distribution was centralised by the Bolsheviks so that the troops in the red army were fully supplied during the civil war.

Question 23

How was War Communism enforced?

Answer 23

Peasants who refused to hand over their grain were executed.

Question 24

What did Brezhnev do in his agriculture policy?

Answer 24

Reversed the decentralisation reforms achieved under Khrushchev.

Question 25

What the social contract in the Soviet Union?

Answer 25

Unwritten mutual understanding between the citizens and the government wherein the Government would provide reasonable living standards and jobs in return for co-operation and not protesting.

Question 26

The NEP stood for….

Answer 26

New Economic policy.

Question 27

The NEP stood for….

Answer 27

New Economic policy.

Question 28

What did war communism lead to?

Answer 28

Mass famine as the peasants could no longer feed themselves as all of their grain had been seized.

Question 29

The reasons for economic failure in Soviet Union in the 1970s were?

Answer 29

In a command Economy where the majority of power is vested in the centre of government apparatus the success of the economy depended upon the leader and their willingness to attempt to implement economic reforms, Brezhnev was in fact symbolic of the age as he was a communist conservative not willing implement reforms due to the entrenchment of communist officials who’d resist it at every level.

Question 30

What were the average weekly working hours under Stalin

Answer 30

48. Hours.

Question 31

What the main focus of the Ninth five year plan.(1971-75) focus on?

Answer 31

Khrushchev’s push for greater consumer goods was continued by Brezhnev. The rate of production in consumer goods now exceeded heavy industry, the goal not fulfilled yet what was achieved was still impressive 85% of families had televisions and 70% had washing machines.

Question 32

How was War Communism enforced?

Answer 32

Peasants who refused to hand over their grain were executed.

Question 33

Why were Khrushchev’s more liberal reforms towards the economy often watered down?

Answer 33

Conservatives within the party clung onto the Stalinist worldview on how the state should be run.

Question 34

What did places like Magnitogorsk demonstrate about Stalin’s industrialisation?

Answer 34

Magnitogorsk was turned from a tiny settlement into a vast industrial steel complex.While a lo of the quotas were actually met there was often problems with machinery being poorly maintained with it being a classic example of quantity over quality.

Question 35

What the main focus of the (1971-75) focus on?

Answer 35

Khrushchev’s push for greater consumer goods was continued by Brezhnev. The rate of production in consumer goods now exceeded heavy industry, the goal not fulfilled yet what was achieved was still impressive 85% of families had televisions and 70% had washing machines.

Question 36

What was War Communism?

Answer 36

A system where food distribution was centralised by the Bolsheviks so that the troops in the red army were fully supplied during the civil war.

Question 37

How did Khrushchev encourage increased initiative though autonomy in factories.

Answer 37

Gave owners of factories a 40% amount of profits to further invest in his factory.

Question 38

What were the aims of the first five year plan?

Answer 38

Stalin started the first five year plan in 1928 the main focus was one firstly rapid industrialisation and second the collectivisation of agriculture. Stalin wanted to destroy any record that there had ever been any capitalism in the USSR which there had been under the NEP.

Question 39

Why did Khrushchev’s virgin land scheme fail.

Answer 39

Although partly successful at first crops began to fail in the Atai region due to only one type of crop being grown.

Question 40

What did the average working hours per week become under Khrushchev?

Answer 40

41 hours.

Question 41

What were the aims of the second five year plan 1933 37.

Answer 41

Partly as a reaction to the aggressive expansion of Germany. Further investment in steal production Further investment in railways and communication.

ALLFATHER.

Question 42

What were the aims of third five year plan 1938-41?

Answer 42

Only running for 3 1/5 years the third five year plan focus on the development of resources needed to produce weapons as well as the development of the overall military industrial complex.

Question 43

What were some of the Benefits of corruption within the USSR for the average worker?

Answer 43

It was very difficult to dismiss a worker for laziness, incompetence or alcoholism .

Question 44

What is moonlighting?

Answer 44

Due to the low wages and large amount of free time of the average worker they would look to additional sources of income. These would include unofficial working, usually in the workers free time using tools that were often stolen from other factories and businesses.

Question 45

How did some of Krushchev’s economic policies appease the masses?

Answer 45

Khrushchev started a trend of focusing five year plans not on heavy industry but on consumer goods so that the masses would enjoy a greater standard of living in general.

Question 46

What was unique about Brezhnev’s Ninth five year plan (1971-76)?

Answer 46

It set a higher growth rate for consumer goods than heavy industry.

Question 47

How did Khrushchev try did solve the housing issue in the USSR ?

Answer 47

He constructed 178 million square metres in 1951 to 394 in 1961. Most of this housing was provided directly by the state through co-operatives.

Question 48

Although this housing scheme improved the lives of many what severe criticisms did it face.

Answer 48

The houses were built in a rush as to met the quotas which the government had set, resulting in houses that were often incomplete and poor quality with the interior not always being completed.

Question 49

What nickname we’re Khrushchev’s given?

Answer 49

Krushchoby ( Krushchev’s slums).

Question 50

What was the scissor crisis?

Answer 50

During the early stages of the NEP the gap between prices of agricultural and industrial goods began to widen. This issue was called the scissor crisis because the graph looked like a pair of scissors ✂️.