Extra detail: Industrial and social developments in towns and cities

Question 1

Why were Gosplan’s targets ambitious?

Answer 1

They forced managers and workers to devote their maximum effort to the programme

Question 2

What was the effect of the Wall Street Crash?

Answer 2

It bankrupted many enterprises in the USA and Europe that relied on American loans

Question 3

How much did the first 5YP aim to increase production by?

Answer 3

300%

Question 4

How much did the first 5YP aim to increase electricity production by?

Answer 4

600%

Question 5

What reduced the effectiveness of the first 5YP?

Answer 5

• Too few skilled workers
• Too little effective central coordination for efficient development
• Smaller industrial works and workshops lost out in the competition from the bigger factories

Question 6

What was the effect of the greater focus on rearmament in the second 5YP?

Answer 6

It rose from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% in 1937

Question 7

What was the actual production of coal in 1932 compared to the target and the output in 1928?

Answer 7

Target: 75 mill tonnes
1932: 64.4 mill tonnes
1927: 35.4 mill tonnes

Question 8

What was the actual production of oil in 1932 compared to the target and the output in 1928?

Answer 8

Target: 21.7 mill tonnes
1932: 21.4 mill tonnes
1927: 11.7 mill tonnes

Question 9

What was the actual production of steel in 1932 compared to the target and the output in 1928?

Answer 9

Target: 10.4 mill tonnes
1932: 5.9 mill tonnes
1927: 4 mill tonnes

Question 10

What was the actual production of pig iron in 1932 compared to the target and the output in 1928?

Answer 10

Target: 10 mill tonnes
1932: 6.3 mill tonnes
1927: 3.3 mill tonnes

Question 11

What was the actual output of electricity in 1932 compared to the target?

Answer 11

Target: 22,000 m.kWh
1932: 13,540 m.kWh

Question 12

How many machine tools were produced in 1932?

Answer 12

19,700

Question 13

How many machine tools were produced in 1940? (need to double check the year)

Answer 13

50,600

Question 14

What was the actual production of coal in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 14

Target: 152.5 mill tonnes
1937: 128 mill tonnes

Question 15

What was the actual production of oil in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 15

Target: 46.8 mill tonnes
1937: 28.5 mill tonnes

Question 16

What was the actual production of steel in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 16

Target: 17 mill tonnes
1937: 17.7 mill tonnes

Question 17

What was the actual production of pig iron in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 17

Target: 16 mill tonnes
1937: 14.5 mill tonnes

Question 18

What was the actual production of machine tools in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 18

Target: 40,000
1937: 45,500

Question 19

What was the actual production of tractors in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 19

Target: 166,700
1937: 66,500

Question 20

What was the actual output of electricity in 1937 compared to the target?

Answer 20

Target: 38,000 m.kWh
1937: 36,000 m.kWh

Question 21

How much energy did the Dnieprostroi Dam generate?

Answer 21

560 MW

Question 22

How much coal did Stakhanov cut?

Answer 22

102 tonnes in 5 hrs 45 mins
14x the amount expected for that length of time

Question 23

How much were work norms raised by in 1936?

Answer 23

10-50%

Question 24

Describe the living conditions of workers in the 1930s

Answer 24

• extremely cramped communal apartments
• inadequate sanitation
• erractic water supplies
• overcrowded public transport
• shops often empty
• queues and shortages an accepted feature of life

Question 25

When did the free labour market end for workers and what did this mean?

Answer 25

1940
Skilled workers could be directed anywhere, others needed permission to change jobs, social benefits were cut

Question 26

Describe the conditions in the Belomor Canal

Answer 26

• Built almost entirely by manual prison labour 1931-33
• ~300,000 employed for the construction at its peak
• Many died of overwork, poor treatment, lack of food and disease
• 700 died a day
• 1500 new arrived every day
• Average survival time of 2 years

Question 27

How much of the workforce did women represent in 1929?

Answer 27

~29%

Question 28

What jobs did women typically do in 1929?

Answer 28

Low paid jobs requiring minimal skill: particularly textiles and light industry

Question 29

What was Zhenotdel?

Answer 29

The department of the Russian Communist Party devoted to women’s affairs

Question 30

When was Zhenotdel closed down?

Answer 30

January 1930

Question 31

How were women treated in the workforce around 1929?

Answer 31

Routinely discriminated against and paid less than men for fulfilling the same work norms

Question 32

How did the employment of women indirectly help the accumulation of capital for further industrial growth?

Answer 32

• They provided a valuable labour resource
• More reliable than victims of collectivisation from the countryside
• Employment of urban women reduced the need for further housing to cope with migrants from the countryside

Question 33

How did the industrial workforce change 1928-32?

Answer 33

It doubled

Question 34

How did the urban population change 1926-1939?

Answer 34

26 mill - 56 mill