ECONOMY & SOCIETY UNDER KHRUSHCHEV Flashcards
What aim did Khrushchev have against the USA?
Competed in the Space Race, which required much more investment.
What did Khrushchev want more emphasis placed on?
Chemical industry and consumer goods.
What did Khrushchev regard himself as?
An agricultural expert.
What did Khrushchev announce in 1953 to the Central Committee?
That grain stocks under Stalin were lower than under the Tsars.
What did Khrushchev create in 1959?
The 7 Year Plan in 1959 - with more realistic targets.
What did Khrushchev set up?
Regional economic councils in 105 areas to take the place of national ministries.
How were living standards affected by Khrushchev’s aims?
Increase in housing and communal flats of Stalin’s day were abandoned.
How did transport improve under Khrushchev?
Tracks electrified and new train lines in ‘Virgin Lands’, to transport grain and agricultural products.
What was introduced in 1955? What was introduced in 1956-9?
A sixth 5YP, but scrapped for being too optimistic.
In 1956-9 7 year plan was introduced.
Who became the first man in space? What year?
Yuri Gagarin, 1961.
What did Khrushchev devolutionise?
Powers to the republics, which strengthened Party control and decreased ministry control.
What did Khrushchev hope the reorganisation of the economy would achieve?
More realistic planning and more progress. Had to breakdown resistance from planners who had been trained to believe consumer goods were of little importance.
What campaign did Khrushchev launch?
The Virgin Lands Campaign.
What was the Virgin Lands campaign designed to do?
Plough up vast areas of virgin and fallow land in Kazakstan, the Urals and Siberia for grain.
How many Konsomol volunteers were there for the Virgin Lands campaign?
300,000.
How much of the Virgin Lands had been cultivated by 1956?
35.9 million hectares.
What happened to the harvest in 1956?
Largest in Soviet history, over half of the 125 million tons came from Virgin Lands.
What was the result of the Virgin Lands campaign by 1963?
The grain harvest was disastrous, with a drop of nearly one-third of the expected grain output.
What was the long-term issue of the Virgin Lands campaign?
The scheme had been poorly managed and poorly planned.
What did Khrushchev claim in 1957 regarding the Virgin Lands campaign?
The USSR would catch up with the USA in per capita meat output by 1960.
Give an example of another agricultural change that occurred in 1958.
MTS Stations abolished. Kolkhozy now had to buy machinery.
Why were Khrushchev’s more radical and innovative policies a failure?
Due to lack of co-operation from senior Communist party officials and bureaucrats.
What was the issue with the highly bureaucratic Soviet ‘system’?
Too cumbersome to allow for reforms to be implemented quickly enough.
What did Khrushchev fail to realise about some of his policies?
Some communist party members may have felt threatened by the changes made.
