Economic & Social Chnages, 1924-41 Flashcards
When NEP failed what did Stalin turn to?
Five Year Plans
What was collectivisation meant to do?
Improve agricultural output, but led to starvation
What did Stalin want politically?
More control of the countryside
How did the industrial workers feel?
That peasants were benefiting from the revolution in a way that they weren’t.
What were Marxist principles?
- countries would be industrialised & factories made efficient and productive
- move towards urbanisation
- abolishment of private property
- wealth redistributed to the poor
What were the problems with NEP?
- farmers could by land and employ people, form of capitalism which was unpopular with Politburo and Stalin
- Stalin had to get rid of kulaks
When was peasant grain output falling?
1927
Why did communists and workers not pay for their grain to encourage production?
They did not want the peasants to be in control
What was the Urals-Siberian method?
Stalin demanded grain seizures from peasants.
Who were kulaks?
Anyone who refused to join a collective farm during 1929-30.
How many kulaks were killed in 1930-31?
30,000
What were initial problems with collectivisation?
- richer and poorer peasants didn’t like governments interference
- would destroy their crops so communists don’t receive
When was collectivisation paused?
1930
What did Stalin do when collectivisation paused?
Accused party officials for being too harsh when they were just following orders
How many people died due to starvation?
- 1 million by 1933
- 5.7 million during collectivisation years
What happened to Ukrainians?
Brutally oppressed the ones who refused to join collective farms
What were the successes of collectivisation?
- Stalin was in control of the countryside, political success
- grain sold abroad paid for 5YPs, economic success
What were the failures of collectivisation?
- no significant increase in yield
- Russians agricultural technology didn’t improve
- huge loss in life
- unpopular policy
What was ‘Holodomor’?
Starvation in Ukraine
What does Stalin mean?
Man of steel
Why was there war scare in 1927?
There was concerns about industry as Russia would need the industrial capacity to produce weapons in order to compete with capitalist West.
When did Gosplan start?
1920
What was Gosplan?
Committee responsible for delivering the 5YPs
How many factories were built 1928-37 due to Gosplan?
5,000
What was a main success of 5YPs?
First two were each completed within 4 years
What did the first 5YPs focus on?
Heavy industries
What did the second 5YPs focus on?
To use resources more efficiently, and to provide consumer goods
What was the Stakhanovite movement?
- son of peasant in Ukraine
- mined 102 tons of coal in 6 hours, 14x more than quota
- national hero
Successes of industrialisation
- workers gained more power/influence in the communist system
- production levels in industry increased 1928-39
- electricity supply/machinery production were successes
Failures of industrialisation
- harder to find places to live
- unrealistic goals
How was housing in towns?
Low quality and living standards were low.
Where did people live in towns?
Barracks/communal accommodation
When did fruit and meat consumption go down 66%?
1928-33
What could lead to a worker losing their job?
One day off work without a good reason
When were internal passports introduced? What were they?
1932, to stop the free movement of people around the country.
What was the housing in countrysides?
Basic, outside toilets and no running water
Food in countrysides
Rations, allowed Stalin to take excess food for cities
How was productivity in countrysides?
Very poor, in 1939 government allowed peasants to sell produce from garden plots for profit
How did party officials live?
Luxury, access to special shops for consumer goods. They became more important than workers.
When was ‘Zhenotdel’ closed down? Why?
1930, male leaders felt that it was no longer needed
How many party members were women?
13.5%
Why was the state now a supporter of marriage?
Stalin thought marriage breakdown caused abandoned children to roam the streets
When was male homosexuality made illegal?
1933
What happened to those who wanted a divorce?
Fees, workers couldn’t pay them
When was abortion made illegal?
1936
Why was abortion made illegal?
Boost population growth, attempt to create next generation of workers
How many women were in work in 1928?
3 million
How many women were in work in 1940?
13+ million
What % of industrial workers were women?
38-42%
When was the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia announced?
November 1917
How much of the population was Russian?
55%
How many Soviet Socialist Republics were there?
15
What were minorities referred as?
Bourgeois
When was the invasion of Poland?
1939
How many Poles were sent to the gulag in Siberia?
1 million
What were gulags?
Hard labour camps in Siberia. Freezing conditions and starvation led to many deaths
What nationality was Stalin?
Georgian
