First 5 year plan

Question 1

When was Gosplan established?
What was Gosplan?
Who was involved in developing the soviet unions economic policy
Who suggested that “the mid 1920’s were a time of genuinely innovative economic thinking in the Soviet Union?”

Answer 1

1921
Role was to plan and coordinate a single economic plan for the state
Mensheviks and other non part economists
Alec Nove

Question 2

Which two lines of thought competed with eachother?

Which one was favoured more?

Answer 2

geneticists- focused on methods required to reach industrialisation
teleologists- focused on target setting for outcomes

teleologists line of thinking more favourable- objecting to targets on the grounds of realism was a dangerous revolutionary act

Question 3

What two variants were there for the first 5 year plan?
what purpose did these have?
what was this made clear in?

1928: Initial coal production

1932 Coal production?

Initial Target:

Optimal target:

Answer 3

initial and optimal variant of the plans- very unrealistic targets
crude economic incentive- failure to strive towards them was proof of disloyalty
made clear in the early show trial of Shakhty 1928.

1928- 35 million tonnes

1932- 64 million tonnes

Initial Target: 68 million tonnes

Optimal- 94 million tonnes

Question 4

What did the Politburo decide in 1929?
What did this make a clear incentive for?

what was one of the most disruptive aspects of continually inflated targets?
What was an issue with organising this?
What did Alec Nove argue?

Answer 4

it was to be completed in 4 years instead of 5
Clear incentive for officials to fabricate results

Shock constructions diverted recourses to prestigious projects to complete them quickly and to the detriment of lesser projects.

plans were constantly revised and interfered resulting on logistical chaos.
Nove suggested however, that socialist competition and socialist emulation did have a noticeable effect in improving productivity and technical expertise, reducing costs and increasing output.

Question 5

Society:
How many peasants entering towns in the first week?
What were conditions like for the Workers?

what did workers do when they were unhappy and how did the government counteract this?

Answer 5

50,000
-inadequate housing provision and inexperienced workers without training in machinery. In rushed production, working conditions were hazardous and quality of work could be poor.

workers, unhappy, would move onto new sites in search of better conditions.
-greater labour discipline and restrictions on movement

Question 6

Success of first 5 year plan:

Answer 6

national income doubled

output of capital goods nearly tripled

Question 7

Failures of first 5 year plan
what didnt production targets take into account?
-what did unreliable supply lead to?
-As before, in the early years of the civil war….

plans unr…

consumer. ..
skilled. ..

Answer 7

• production target setters never took into account the railway’s maximum capacity to transport materials.
• unreliable supply led to competition between enterprises.

..the all out effort, focused on industrialisation in this case, resulted in the uncontrolled printing of money and soaring inflation

• plans hopelessly unrealistic and officials often fabricated results
• little growth in consumer industries and neglect of consumer goods
• severe lack of skilled workers

Question 8

showpiece projects begun by the 5 year plans

by what date whas magnitogorsk a significant mining city with a popullation of over ________

Answer 8

dnieper dam
hydroelectric power station
Magnitogorsk in the urals- by 1932- significant mining and industrial city with a population of over 250,000