Economy and society, 1929–1941 Flashcards
When were the 2 stages of Collectivisation
Stage 1 - 1929-1930
Stage 2 - 1931-1940
What % of peasant housholds were destroyes compared to kulak households?
15% destroyed, 4% Kulak
What % of houses were collectivised in Oct 1930?
20% compared to 50% in 31 and 100% in 41
What was the quota of Kolkhoz farms?
Very high - 40%
By 1938 what % of threshing, ploughing and harvesting were doing mechanically?
Threshing - 95%
Ploughing - 72%
Harvesting - 48%
How many died due to resistance or effects of collectivisation?
10 million
In 1939 how many peasants migrated to towns?
Over 19 million
Who carried out collectivisation
Stalin enlisted an army of 25,000 urban party activists
OGPU and military control pop through fear and violence
What methods were used to ensure collectivisation?
Villages were ‘persuaded’ to sign a
register demanding to be collectivized
Terror – ‘Kulaks’ or those who resisted were
rounded up and shot, imprisoned or deported.
Propaganda – Anti-kulakand promoting collectives
How did the peasants resist collectivisation?
Riots and armed resistance
Sabotage, Burned crops, tools and houses. Slaughtered animals and gorged on them (25-30%)
All female revolts
MIgrating to towns
Why was there a famine from 1932 to 1934
Burned crops, tools and houses. Slaughtered animals and gorged on them (25-30%)
Huge amounts of animals had been slaughtered as part of resistance
There was a drought in 1931
Estimated 7 million died because of famine
Some suggest the famine was man - made
Impact of collectivisation on agriculture
Grain output did not achieve pre collectivisation levels until 1935, same with livestock
Collective farms were poorly organised
Most of the best farmers were killed during dekulakalisation
By March 1930 58% of peasant households were collectivised but this reduced to just 20% by October after Stalin relaxed measures
on the back of complaints and resistance
By 1934 what % of farms were collectivised
70%
Was collectivisation economically successful?
Allowed more grain procurement than under the NEP
Grain exports rose from 1 million tonnes to 5 million tonnes
Grain harvests were frequently smaller than they had been under the NEP
Collective farms were frequently less successful than private farms
How did Collectivisation benefit Stalin?
Allowed Stalin control over the countryside
Party didn’t have to negotiate with the peasants for grain
Made the peasants serve the workers and towns
Aims of the five year plans
28-32 - develop heavy industry, electrification, double output for light induustry
1933-37 - Continue frowth for heavy industry, develop communication, boost consumer goods
38-41 - Renew emphasis on heavy industry, rapid rearmanent, complete transition to communism
How successful was the 1st 5 year plan?
Electric output trebled
Coal and Iron doubled
Magnitogorsk
Little growth in consumer goods
Chemical target not fulfilled
Lack of skilled workers created major issues
How successful was the 2nd 5 year plan?
By 1937, USSR largely self sufficient in machine making and metal working
Minerals such as copper and zinc mined for the first time
Consumer goods still lagging
Oil Production did not meet the expected advances
How successful was the 3rd 5 year plan?
Defence and armaments increase rapidly
Fuel crisis
Material shortages
Industrial Projects
Magnitogorsk - A gigantic steel plant and town of 150,000 people
Moscow Metro - Opened 1935, designed to cope with the influx of peasant workers
Social Impacts of the 5 year plans for workers
For working men - 7 day week, dismissed if late for work, Stakhanovite movement, 1938 labour books used in order to log employment and discipline issues, wages lower than in 1920’s
Managers - Recieve bonuses for exceeding targets (led to poor products), trialed or executed if they failed to meet targets
Social Impacts of the 5 year plans for women and foreigners
Women - State provided nurseries, crèches and child clinics, managers encouraged to hire wives of workers, by 1940 around 40% of workforce women who earned less than men
Foreigners - Foreign companies were recruited to provide expertise developing new industries, higher wages and prestige of working on mega projects attracted Westerners, OGPU arrested British engineers working on the Moscow Metro under suspicion of spying
Stakhanovite movement 1935
Stakhanov was a miner, known for being very productive
A system was set up to supply him with air and tools to allow him to produce a superhuman 16 times more coal than the average produced in a shift - set a record
Several miners demanded the chance to beat the record, and by 5th September 2 had done so
There was pressure from above to meet increased targets, and from below with workers wanting to break records, meaning all managers had to adopt the new methods of production to keep up
Development of the stalin cult
Grew steadily from 1929
Icon of confidence during a period of rapid change
Stalin was shown as the all-knowing
leader
How was the Stalinist cult maintained
The History of the All-Union
Communist Party was published as
the main historical textbook for all
educational institutions in 1938
Photographs were doctored to
remove Stalin’s enemies and show
Stalin at the side of Lenin
Use of propaganda
How did the Cult affect culture?
Socialist realism - art focused on workers and socialism, artists encouraged to fit needs of the state
Literature - In 1934 the Soviet Union of Writers was formed, work had to allign with socialist realism
Arts - In the 1930s Soviet art featured paintings of peasants on collective farms, industrial workers and images of Stalin, architecture was to reflect the worker
Jazz music banned and radios were usde for propaganda
Conditions of the Soviet Union by 1941 - Strengths
Economic Strength - Highly industrialised nation, by 1940 overtake Britain in iron and steel production
Social Strengths - State ownership made in industry and agriculture, food rationing ended 1934, benefits of workers who met their targets, more women allowed to work due to childcare provisions
Conditions of the Soviet Union by 1941 - Weaknesses
Economic Weaknesses - Economic development was uneven (consumer goods vs heavy industry), quality of product often poor due to target mania
Social Weaknesses - 10 million died due to dekulakalisation, famine, poor living conditons, 500,000 senior party officials were
rewarded with better living conditions and food
