Gosplan and the organisation, aims and results of the three, 5 year plans Flashcards
What was the Gosplan?
the State Planning Agency
What was the Gosplan (State Planning Agency) responsible for?
for drawing up the plans and establishing output targets for every economic enterprise in accordance with Party directives
What was the job of the Gosplan?
to ensure that overall economic objectives of the Five Year Plans were met by matching input by output
Why was the Gosplan’s job not easy?
as the Communist government made the overall decision as to what should be produced
How did regional party leaders make the job of the Gosplan difficult?
they would put forward their own ambitious targets and argue as to why their region should have first call on resources
Why were targets very ambitious?
to force managers and workers to devote their maximum effort to the programme
Why did all those involved in the administering and carrying out of plans go to great lengths to ensure that the reported statistics showed huge improvements?
as failure to achieve a target was deemed a criminal offence
Corruption and _____ ________ were built into the system from the outset
faulty reporting
Why was Gosplan in an unenviable position?
as they had to work from deliberately falsified statistics and if things went wrong its officials could be held responsible
Why were many employers and members of the Gosplan’s own offices dismissed once the plan got underway?
as they were thought of as not sufficiently class conscious, enthusiastic or free from corruption
Which Part Congress in April 1929 approved of the first Five Year Plan although it was backdated to October 1928?
Sixteenth Party Congress
What were 2 key problems with the first Five Year Plan?
not based on very secure data and was very over ambitious
What was the actual production of coal in 1928?
35.4 million tonnes
The coal production in 1928 was 35.4 million tonnes, what did the Five Year Plan set the target for by 1933?
75 million tonnes
What was the actual production of oil in 1928?
11 million tonnes
What did Stalin want the first Five Year Plan to do to oil production by 1933?
double it to 22 million tonnes
What was the actual production of pig iron in 1928?
3.3 million tonnes
The pig iron production in 1928 was 3.3 million tonnes, what did the Five Year Plan set the target for by 1933?
10 million tonnes
Why were people afraid to question the first Five Year Plan?
as Stalin’s regime became more authoritarian and criticism might easily be labelled as disloyalty, sabotage or treason
What did the first Five Year Plan plan focus on?
heavy industry (oil, steel, iron, coal)
What were the aims of the first Five Year Plan? (4)
- increase production by 300%
- focus on development of coal, iron, steel, oil
- boost electricity production by 600%
- double the output from light industry such as chemicals
How many years did Stalin claim the plan was achieved?
in 4 years
What is the most likely reason that Stalin claimed his plan was achieved in 4 years?
as a result form over enthusiastic reporting by local officials keen to show loyalty and effort
While no major targets were actually met, what brought some impressive growth?
investment
Under the first Five Year Plan how much did electricity increase?
it trebled
Under the first Five Year Plan how much did coal and iron output increase?
it doubled
Under the first Five Year Plan how much did steel output increase?
by a third
Under the first Five Year Plan, what sprung up? (4)
- New railways
- engineering plants
- HEP schemes
- industrial complexes
What target was not met by Stalin?
chemical targets
What was the impact of chemical targets not being met?
house building, food processing and consumer industries were woefully neglected
What was there too few of for efficient development?(2)
skilled workers and effective central coordination
What years were the Five Year Plans between?
1928-1932
What years was the Second Five Year Plan between?
1933-1937
What did the Second Five Year Plan build on?
the infrastructure of the first plan
What did the Second Five Year Plan give more attention to?
to consumer goods (although heavy industry still remained as the overall priority
What were the aims of the Second Five Year Plan? (4)
- continue the development of heavy industry
- promote growth of light industries such as chemicals and electrical and consumer goods
- develop communications
- foster engineering and tool making
what were the 3 good years in the Second Five Year Plan?
1934-1936
When was the Moscow Metro opened?Second Five Year Plan
1935
When was the Volga canal opened?Second Five Year Plan
1937
What year was the Dnieprostoroi Dam completed which produced hydro electric power?Second Five Year Plan
1932
How was the Dnieprostroi Dam made to be the largest in Europe? Second Five Year Plan
as it was extended with 4 more generators
which new metals were mined for the first time under the Second Five Year Plan?
zinc, copper and tin
Under the Second Five Year Plan how much did steel output increase?
it trebled
Under the Second Five Year Plan how much did coal production increase by?
it doubled
by what year was the Soviet Union virtually self sufficient in metal goods and machine tools
1937
Why did the plan slightly change in 1936?
as there was a greater emphasis placed on rearmament
by what % of GDP did rearmament rise from in 1933 to 1937?
from 4% to 17%
What production failed to meet its targets?
oil
Although there was no appreciable increase in consumer goods, what was there some expansion in?
footwear and food processing
What was a provision which was not published in the military budget said to have developed?
a secret workshop devoted to weapons production in each industrial complex
Under a provision which was not published in the military budget and had developed a secret workshop producing weapons in each industrial complex, what are they thought to have provided almost half of?
half of Soviet military production
Why was armaments outputs able to rise by almost 300% between 1933 and 1938?
as this was at the expense of advertised consumer targets
What was the target for steel in the First Five Year plan and what was the actual production?
target was 10 million tonnes
actual was 6 million tonnes
What was the target for electricity in m.kWh in the First Five Year Plan and what was the actual production?
22,000 m.kWh
13,500 m.kWh
What was the oil target in the first Five Year Plan and what was the actual production?
- 7 million tonnes
21. 4 million tonnes
What was the tractors (in thousands) targets in the Second Five Year Plan and what was the actual production?
166,000
66,000
What was the oil target in the Second Five Year Plan and what was the actual production?
46 million tonnes
28 million tonnes
What was the steel target in the Second Five Year Plan and what was the actual production?
17 million tonnes
17 million tonnes
What years was the Third Five Year Plan between?
1938-1942
What was the focus of the Third Five Year Plan?
the needs of the defence sector
Why was there a focus on the need of the defence sector in the Third Five Year Plan?
due to the growing threat Nazi Germany posed in the USSR
What were the aims of the Third Five Year Plan?
- renewed emphasis on development of heavy industry
- rapid rearmament
- complete transition to communism
What happened to the spending on rearmament between 1938–1940?
spending doubled
Under the Third Five Year Plan what happened to steal production?
it stagnated
Under the Third Five Year Plan what happened to oil production?
it failed to meet targets
What happened when oil production failed to meet targets under the Third Five Year Plan?
this caused a fuel crisis and many industries found themselves sort of raw materials
What was relegated to the lowest priority under the Third Five Year Plan?
consumer goods
What was the biggest problem of the Third Five Year Plan?
dearth (lack) of good managers, specialists and technicians following Stalin’s purges
What year was an exceptionally hard winter?
1938
Why was the Third Five Year Plan disrupted and come to an early finish?
because of the German invasion of 1941
Why was Nazi Germany a threat to Russia?
as Hitler made no secret that he sought Lebensraum living space for German people to the East, which threatened Soviet territory
