Economy 1953- 1985 Flashcards
Nazi invasion impact
Impact of Nazi invasion in 1941 was devastating, capturing and destroying 1/3 of industry. Industrial production dropped 40%
Production of grain fell by 50%
25m people homeless, 1,700 towns and 70,000 villages destroyed – 20m in total killed.
Stalins Recovery 1945
even exceeding pre-war levels, Command Economy meant that the economy had become fully centralised and able to respond quickly
Stalin’s ‘reorganisation of the economy’: Council for Evacuation set up in 1941 to oversee transfer of entire factories to East of Ural mountains, packed up and sent to safety on wagons and trains
By Dec 1941 2,500 factories up and running beyond the Urals, along with millions of workers
The War Economy success due to
Once completed, evacuation of industry allowed armament production to double by 1945
Gosplan and Terror created a centralised economy in which all decisions were made quickly
50% of Russian spending was dedicated to the war, more than Britain, Germany or America
Fourth five year plan (1946-50) focus on
Reconstruction, slave labour (2m slaves from the Gulag) Focus on heavy industry (Priorities of the 1930s again adopted: coal, steel and oil; failure to develop chemicals/plastics.) Soviet Bloc (Exploitation of natural resources through control of Eastern Europe)
Fifth Five Year Plan (1951-55) focus on
Focus on arnaments due to cold war, military budget (Substantial growth in defence expenditure,
reducing investment in other industries) Prestige projects (Massive infrastructure projects which proved
useless but built as a display of Stalin’s power
Volga-Don Canal – carried no traffic but lined with statues of Stalin)
Problems with agriculture during wartime 6
Destruction of farmland, loss of machinery, conscription into the army, drafted into workforce. Mostly woman workforce, livestock halved. Draught 1946, famine 1947
Brezhnev’s Economic Priorities 4
Reverse his more radical reforms
Put economic power back in the hands of the CP
Deal with economic decline through limited reform
Growth rates: 7% in 1950s; 5% in 1960s; 3% in 1970s
Return to stalinist command economy
The Kosygin Reforms 1964/5
Reward creative and innovative managers and provide incentives for those who focused on efficiency and quality. But ruined by conservatives raised bonuses for productivity even higher, Meant managers focused on producing more, not efficiency.
What was to blame for economic decline under Breznev
Stalin’s legacy(quantity>quality), Role of Brezhnev (conservative, kept people happy), command economy(didnt encourage growth), outdated tech (Focus on coal/iron/steel and not microchips and other advanced technologies), Dominance of the Military-industrial complex (18% of investment and 30m employees)
