ECONOMY Flashcards
what were Stalins economic aims?
1- leadership - to be the sole leader
2- improve agricultural production - collectivisation
3- a socialist economy
4- deal with economic problems - (effects of civil war, autarky etc)
5- increase rapid industrialisation - gosplan
6- modernisation - by using military
what is gos plan?
the state planning agency
what were the first 2 5 year plans focused on?
improving heavy industry - coal, oil steel and electricity
what was in 1926?
the 1926 party conference
peasants with the NEP
- peasants weren’t producing enough gran for export (didn’t achieve 1913 levels)
- agriculture backwards
-foreign trade exports were at 33% of their 1913 levels
-sharing land meant smaller holdings
-peasants required to sell their grain at lower prices
-by 1927 grain gained by state was at 75% of what it had been in 1926
-poor harvest-1928 grain seizures
proletariat with the NEP
- by 1928, wages were only slightly better than in 1913
- workers lives were better (8 hours a day)
-high unemployment level and gaps in level of pay - female workers forced out of jobs in favour of ex soldiers
- housing still overcrowded
-crime frequent in cities
15th party conference December 1927
the decision to abandon the NEP
- move away from a capitalist style economy and towards a command economy
why was there such a rush for industrialisation?
through the fear of war - by 1927 relations with France, Poland and Britain deteriorated
what were the aims of the first 5 year plan?
1- land to be socialised through collectivisation rather than private ownership
2- rapid industrialisation (new soviet man)
3- increase military strength
4- improving heavy industry
5- increase grain supplies
what were the failures of the first 5 year plan?
1- very little growth
2- chemical targets were not filled
3- lack of skilled workers
4- workers constantly changing jobs - which created instability.
what % of the population were workers?
in 1928 only about 20% of the population were workers
what is a socialist utopia ?
all classes could voluntarily adopt their plan for society if it was presented convincingly.
what were the results of the first five year plan?
1- oil doubled in output
2- electricity was 250% of 1928 figure
3-steel production up 62%
4- iron production up 59%
5- heavy metallurgy up 67%
what was the aim of the second 5 year plan?
-emphasis energy production and construction materials
-avoid waste and poor quality of goods
what were the result of the 2nd 5 year plan?
1- 14% increase per year
2- railways largely double tracked
3- show pieces created - Volga-don canals and Moscow underground and dnieper dam.
what were some failures of the second 5 year plan?
1- russia was an international threat by 1937
2- by 1933, only 3.4% expenditure was spent on armaments
3- by 1936 only 16.1% expenditure was spent on armaments
4- consumer goods still lacking, but were improving.
5- oil did not meet aims.
what were the aims of the 3rd 5 year plan?
1- consumer goods initially and then military production
what were the results of the 3rd 5 year plan?
1- production of industrialised goods increased 2.6 times (1928 levels)
2- key industries (coal, oil,electricity) grew even faster
3- proletariat grew from 32% to 47%
4- GNP increased by 12%, compared to UK-2.5%,USA 1.3%
5- unemployment basically 0.
what are the failures of the third 5 year plan?
1-steel output grew insignificantly
2- oil failed to meet target and led to a fuel shortage/crisis
3- many factories fell short of materials.
why was the 3rd year plan never fully achieved?
as it was interrupted by war
who did the 5 year plans get rid of?
nepmen, private business owners and traders.
what was soviet agriculture like in 1928?
1- based on small peasant farms
2-little use of machinery
3- privately owned by peasants/few kulaks
4- inefficient, especially when compared to the rest of Europe
5-unable to produce enough grain to support industrialisation
what were the political results of collectivisation?
1- there was heavy resistance from peasantry, many animals killed to prevent them falling in hands of government
2- spread of party control to countryside
3- extended central government control over rural areas.
4- the party became modernised with collectivisation
5-the party gained control of villages and didn’t have to bargain anymore
6- in 1930, the kolkhoz administration replaces the mir.
what were the social results of collectivisation?
1- the removal of a traditional village role.
2- removal of capitalist classes, eg KULAKS
3- abolition of the peasants controlled mir
