Economy under Stalin Flashcards
Stalin’s aims for the economy
To increase military strength
To achieve self-sufficiency
To increase grain supplies
To move towards a socialist society
To establish his credentials as a worthy successor to Lenin
To improve standards of living
What was the Great Turn?
Radical change in economic policy committed to rapid industrialisation under state control
Economic reasons for the Great Turn
Slow pace of industrialisation under NEP
Grain procurement crisis (amount of grain purchased by govt down from 25% from 1927 to 1928)
Ideological reasons for the Great Turn
There were ideological concerns about NEP - Marxist theory states socialism can only be created in a highly industrialised state where majority of peasants are workers (only around 20% in 1928)
What did Stalin announce, starting wave of collectivisation?
In 1929, Stalin announced that he would ‘annihilate kulaks as a class’
Why did Stalin want to rapidly collectivise?
By 1929, less than 5% of peasants were on collective farms
Positive impacts of collectivisation
Increase in grain procurement to fuel industrialisation
Grain exports rose from 0.3 mil tonnes in 1928 to over 5 mil tonnes in 1931
By 1930, 25% of all peasant households were collectivised (all by 1941)
Negative impacts of collectivisation
Created social tensions by incentivising poorer peasants to turn in richer neighbours
Almost 10 million people exiled as a result of dekulakisation
Harvest of 1933 was 9 mil tonnes less than that of 1926
Livestock (around 25%) destroyed so they wouldn’t be collectivised
Overall impact of collectivisation
By 1932, collectivisation had resulted in massive drops in agricultural production and created a famine in which millions died
Aims of first Five-Year Plan
Boost overall production by 300%
6x more electricity
Feed expanding industrial workforce though increases in agri production
Strengths of first Five Year plan
Electricity production tripled (did not meet target)
Coal and iron output doubled
Steel production increased by one third
New railways, engineering plants and industrial complexes (like Magnitogorsk) sprung up
Weaknesses of first Five Year Plan
Targets for the chemical industry were not met and house-building, food-processing and consumer industries were neglected
Many targets not reached (e.g. electrification)
Aims of second Five Year Plan
Develop heavy industry
Promote growth of light industry (like chemicals, electricals and consumer goods)
Strengths of second Five Year Plan
Moscow Metro opened in 1935
Volga canal opened in 1937 and the Dnieprostroi Dam was extended
Steel output tripled
Coal output doubled
By 1937, USSR virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machinery
Weaknesses of second Five Year Plan
Oil production failed to meet its targets
No appreciable increase in consumer goods
Aims of third Five Year Plan
Particular focus on the needs of the defence sector due to threat of Nazi Germany
Strengths of third Five Year Plan
Strong growth in machinery and engineering
Weaknesses of third Five Year Plan
Steel production stagnated
Oil failed to meet targets
As so many resources were diverted to war industry, many other industries found themselves short of raw materials
What was the Stakhanovite movement?
Movement emerged after Alexei Stakhanov mined 102 tonnes of coal (14x expected) in one shift - others wanted to emulate his achievements
Working conditions for managers
Stressful - cd be put on trial, imprisoned or even executed for failing to meet quotas
Stakhanovites = problem
Working conditions for workers
Lack of rights - strikes illegal, long working hours, living conditions appalling
1931 - wage differentials introduced to reward hard work
Working conditions for women
In 1929, concentrated in lowest paid jobs e.g. textiles
Earned around 40% less than men
By 1940, 43% of industrial workforce was female
How many people died from 1932-4 famine?
5-7 million people
Role of foreigners in 1st FYP? (Magnitogorsk)
In 1928, a Soviet delegation travelled to Ohio to discuss how to build Magnitogorsk with the US Steel Company
What was Stalin’s Urals-Siberian method, which he enforced throughout Russia?
Stalin’s officials went across the region, closing free markets, used Article 107 to stop ‘speculation’ (hoarding grain in the hopes that the price will rise) and pressuring local officials to seize grain by force.
What indicated that there was a shift towards support for collectivisation in the summer of 1929?
Molotov was particularly active in pushing collectivisation
The Central Committee introduced a policy of sending 25,000 industrial workers into the countryside to accelerate the development of collective farms
When were each of the Five Year Plans?
1st - 1928-32 (cut short due to economic problems)
2nd - 1933-37
3rd - 1938-41 (finished early due to start of WW2)
What were the aims of the Five Year Plans?
- To industrialise the Russian economy (ideological)
- To catch up on the world stage (Stalin argued that the USSR was 100 years behind the economic capabilities of the West)
- To eliminate the shortcomings of the NEP
- To reflect Stalin’s ambitious identity
What does collectivisation mean?
A process by which agricultural industries were merged and taken over the by state (had both ideological and economic advantages for Stalin as it would end private ownership of land and increase production)
How was collectivisation introduced?
Introduced in phases, varying in intensity.
e.g. following a period of high intensity collectivisation in 1930, Stalin announced it would slow down
How was grain from collective farms distributed?
Those who worked in collective farms could keep some grain to survive on, but the rest would be taken to feed industrial workers
What distinction did Stalin draw between state farms (sovkhozes) and collective farms (kolkhozes)?
Collective farms would exist as cooperatives, in which the resources would be shared between the peasants working there
In state farms, peasants worked directly for the State
However, once collectivisation became compulsory, the distinction effectively went away
What policy coupled with collectivisation?
Mechanisation, a process of improving farming methods to boost production and ease up labour for industrial expansion
How many families were on the average kolkhoz?
c75 - on some larger kolkhozes, schools and clinics were established
How much grain did each kolkhoz have to give to the state?
A quota of up to 40% with a low purchase price set by the government (the government would pay nothing if the kolkhoz failed to meet the quota)
How did Stalin maintain political control over kolkhozes?
Every kolkhoz was under the control of a Communist Party member
Peasants were forbidden to leave their kolkhoz through a system of internal passports (from 1932)
What was the advantage of working on a sovkhoz?
Farmers paid a wage by the State (but movement just as limited as kolkhoz farmers)
What were set up from 1931 to support mechanisation?
Machine Tractor Stations, from which farms could hire out machinery
How many MTS were established?
2500 (but there was only one MTS for every 40 collective farms by 1940)
Who was sent to farms to try to improve farming methods?
Agronomists, vets, surveyors and technicians (state farms were offered the most support)
Statistics to show success of mechanisation
By 1938, 95% of threshing, 72% of ploughing, 57% of sowing and 48% of harvesting were carried out mechanically (but other farm operations were less mechanised and many of the machines were still labour intensive)
Were there enough lorries for the effective transportation of goods?
No - by the end of 1938, there were 196,000 lorries used in Soviet agriculture compared to over a million in the USA
How many peasants died as a result of resistance or deportation?
Around 10 million
How did dekulakisation effect the agricultural labour force?
By 1939, 19 million peasants had migrated to the towns - for every 3 peasants who joined a collective farm, 1 peasant left the countryside to become an urban worker
Example of harsh punishment for peasants (supporting the theory of ‘new serfdom’)
From August 1932, anyone who stole from a collective farm could be gaoled for 10 years
Further decrees gave 10-year sentences to anyone who tried to sell meat or grain before the quota was met
Where did the famine of 1932-34 hit?
Started in Ukraine, then spread to Kazakhstan and parts of the Northern Caucusus
How many people were sent to labour camps due to dekulakisation?
1.5 million
How did dekulakisation impact grain production?
Decreased from 83.5 million tonnes in 1930 to 67 million tonnes in 1934
How long did it take to recover from the disaster of collectivisation?
Grain output did not exceed pre-collectivisation levels until 1935 and it took until 1953 for livestock numbers to reach what they had been pre-collectivisation.
How did the aims of the Second Five Year Plan evolve?
The focus of the plan shifted slightly as a greater emphasis was placed on rearmament, which rose from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% by 1937
What was the justification for the first Five Year Plan?
Purely ideological
Example of target (almost) met in first Five Year Plan
Target production of oil - 21.7 million tonnes
Actual production of oil - 21.4 million tonnes
Example of target missed in first Five Year Plan
Target coal production - 75 million tonnes
Actual coal production - 64.4 million tonnes
Example of target missed in second Five Year Plan
Target oil production - 46.8 million tonnes
Actual oil production - 28.5 million tonnes
Example of target met in second Five Year Plan
Target steel production - 17 million tonnes
Actual steel production - 17.7 million tonnes
Why was the third Five Year Plan doomed to fail?
There was a lack of good managers, specialists and technicians following Stalin’s purges
Successful projects of the first Five Year Plan
Dnieprostroi Dam (opened in 1932) - one of the largest power plants in the world, generating some 560MW
The Turksib Railway (completed in 1931) - connected Central Asia with Siberia - used in propaganda as an example of Soviet sucess, with Viktor Alexandrovich Turin directing a documentary about its construction
Magnitogorsk, the ‘steel city’ (opened in 1930)
Successful projects of the second Five Year Plan
Moscow Metro (opened in 1935) - first underground railway system in the USSR built to deal with the influx of peasants arriving to the city - it was a symbol of Soviet achievement, built with marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers
Volga Canal (completed in 1937) - connected the Muskva and Volga rivers - again a propaganda opportunity, as it was built with one of the tallest statues of Lenin in the USSR
Example of prison camp labour being used on industrial projects
Volga Canal built by prisoners from the Dmitlag labour camp (200,000 workers were employed of which c22,000 died)
Example of volunteer labour being used on industrial projects
Komsomolsk (in the far east of Russia) was a shipyard built by volunteers from Komsomol in 1931
Examples of expertise from foreigners informing Soviet projects
American Henry Ford trained Russian engineers and helped design the car plant at Gorky
Six American engineers (such as Colonel Hugh Cooper and G. Thompson) were awarded the ‘Order of the Red Banner of Labour’ for their work at the Dnieprostroi Dam
Construction of the Moscow Metro relied on British engineers
Why did some foreigners come to Russia to work as ordinary labourers?
Disillusioned by the Great Depression and genuinely believed that they were contributing to the new world order
Examples of foreign workers looked upon with suspicion?
Secret police arrested numerous British engineers working in Moscow because they had gained an in-depth knowledge of the city’s layout
