Era of Stagnation - Economy

Question 1

how did Brezhnev restore the economy?

Answer 1

• reunited the division between agriculture and industry
• abandoned seven year plans in favour of five year plans
• hoped to provide more consumer goods but was not as optimistic as Khrushchev

Question 2

what were the Kosygin reforms?

Answer 2

reforms that proposed cutting funding from less productive collective farms and diverting it into light industry. he also proposed giving power over production to factory managers and judging success by profit rather than productivity levels.

Question 3

what happened to the Kosygin reforms?

Answer 3

introduced in Jan 1968 but ended in August after similar reforms led to the Czechoslovakian uprising.

Question 4

how did military investment change under Brezhnev?

Answer 4

he wanted to reach military parity with the USA so they would never be forced to back down again as they had to in Cuba. military spending increased to 14% of GDP which became a major drain on the economy.

Question 5

what was developed socialism?

Answer 5

due to growing economic problems the USSR would not reach communism by the 80’s. developed socialism was the idea of high living standards and low prices. this was achieved by importing large amounts of grain from the West. the black market was seen as a necessary evil to provide consumer goods.

Question 6

what reforms did Andropov make?

Answer 6

anti corruption campaign
anti drunkenness campaign
operation trawl - returning people to work

Question 7

what happened to growth rates?

Answer 7

in the 1970’s the USSR’s growth rate fell to 2% - lower than the USA for the first time
central planning had never fixed the inefficiencies that arose in the 1930’s

Question 8

why did living conditions increase despite economic decline?

Answer 8

oil production reached 600 million tonnes in the 80’s meaning the USSR could get loans from the West to hide the economic decline.