Industrial & Agricultural Change, 1917-85

Question 1

What was Lenin’s initial ideas for a socialist economy? (A) What was its name?

Answer 1

Once a global revolution took place, nations would send aid to support developing nations like Russia - argued that the economy was not yet strong enough to build socialism and provide food + materials needed to defend revolution - called it ‘State Capitalism’

Question 2

What was Lenin’s vision of a socialist economy? (A)

Answer 2

One which workers found their work fulfilling, with better pay + treatment - but lack of leisure time - deemed unnecessary Lenin’s policies reflected faith in expertise, desire for efficiency and discipline, and his disregard for leisure

Question 3

When was state capitalism used, who controlled the industry, what did it do, and was it popular? (A)

Answer 3

March-June 1918 Nationalised (large industry) run by Vesenkha (group of economic experts) Designed to: - ensure factories were properly managed by placing them under control of well-paid specialists - co-ordinate economic production to meet needs of society Little difference from before revolution, radicals (e.g. Bukharin) supported workers’ control - policy not change until war

Question 4

What did Lenin do in his early economic policy to win support and stimulate agriculture? (A)

Answer 4

1917 Decree on Land - large estates of church/aristocracy broken up and peasants able to own land they worked

Question 5

When was War Communism introduced, and what was it designed to ensure? (A)

Answer 5

1918-21 - high levels of industrial production of war goods - efficient allocation of workers - food production to feed soldiers, workers, and the civilian population

Question 6

Give 3 measures of War Communism, including what it did and why. (A) What did these measures do in the eyes of Lenin?

Answer 6

‘Food Dictatorship’ - to feed soldiers + workers = grain requisitioning from peasants without payment by Cheka - rationing, Supply Commissariat giving smallest to members of bourgeoisie Labour Discipline - 1919, work became compulsory for all able-bodied aged 16-50 Abolition of Market - printed more money to cause hyperinflation = abolished money as now worthless - people paid via rations - complete nationalisation of all businesses - conscription of workers into factories or army Destroyed the power of the capitalist class

Question 7

Give the 3 economic consequences of War Communism, giving specific data. (A)

Answer 7

Economic Collapse - grain req = low agricultural production, due to no incentive to work (p) - no pay - Ind. production declined - lack incentive + hunger = left cities, ind. workforce declined from 3m 1917 to 1.2m 1922 Gross output of all industry, down 69 points from 1913 index Growth of black market - 60% food came from market + workers forced to steal govt resources to make goods to barter for food Mass poverty - late 1920, workshops close due to lack of fuel, destruction of wooden homes = ^ homeless, harvest declined, 1921 only 46% 1913 = famine killing 6m

Question 8

What was the political consequences of War Communism? (A)

Answer 8

Mass starvation + economic crisis = 1921 Crisis Tambov Rebellion 1920-21 Kronstadt Uprising March 1921 While responded with extreme force, Lenin realised crisis = end of War Communism

Question 9

When and why did Lenin introduce NEP? (A)

Answer 9

1921-28 Retain power - economic defeat to stop a political one Revive Economy - needed to stimulate grain production to end famine Build socialism - 1921, clear no global revolution, therefore Lenin needed economic policy to allow Russia to build socialism ‘with capitalist hands’ without foreign aid

Question 10

What were the measures of NEP? (A) What did it create?

Answer 10

• Agri production left to free market, p able to buy, sell, and produce freely - grain requisitioning replaced by tax in kind - Small factories/workshop employing fewer than 20 denationalised, able to trade freely - Large factories + major industries remain nationalised - Money reintroduced Mixed economy - compromise, meant that many services now to be paid for e.g. transport, free during civil war

Question 11

What were the successes of NEP? (A) What was Lenin’s response to the success?

Answer 11

POLITICAL + ECONOMIC STABILITY: End of grain req = extremely popular with P + free trade = incentive to grow more food, evidenced by: 1921 - 37.61m tons of grain, 1926 - 76.80m tons = end famine - satisfied 80% pop. INDUSTRIAL GROWTH: NEP = ind. growth, market stimulate production + money gained from taxing P invested into reopening industry closed during war + major electrification campaign helped industry’s revival + by 1926, ind. production (exception of pig iron + steel) recovered to 1913 levels Lenin - NEP = best policy to build socialism, ‘build socialism with capitalist hands’ - another form of State Capitalism

Question 12

What were the consequences of NEP? (A)

Answer 12

INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY PLATEAUED: caused by lack of sufficient funds to build new large-scale factories, only able to modernise old ones - plateaued 1926-28 SCISSORS CRISIS: Agri ^ quickly, so prices fell - Ind ^ slowly, prices grew steadily (low during famine) - 1923 gap farmer + worker incomes reached crisis, P unable to afford industrial equipment = no incentive = govt subsidise = less funding for industrialising economy INEQUALITY AND CORRUPTION: NEP led to emergence of ‘Nepmen’, sold luxury goods across the country - deemed as parasites by govt as they produced nothing = Cheka would arrest them for profiteering - still Nepmen grew ^ rich compared to w,p

Question 13

What policy did the Left Wing of the party support in relation to industrialisation? (A) Provide names of those involved

Answer 13

DICTATORSHIP OF INDUSTRY: Favoured forced agricultural collectivisation - merging farms, placing them under state control - allow govt to take profits produced to invest in industrializing quickly This scheme would end all private property, end capitalist market = end inequality - but acknowledged discontent caused by such Trotsky - wanted policy like War Communism

Question 14

What policy did the Right Wing of the party support in relation to industrialisation? (A) Provide names of those involved

Answer 14

BUILDING SOCIALISM WITH CAPITALIST HANDS: Argued NEP was best policy - allow economy to grow, industrialisation would happen eventually - the slow pace necessary to ensure harmonious society, with Bukharin arguing that allowing peasants to farm own land kept them happy (80% of pop.) Left argued that this would simply lead to re-emergence of capitalism but Right stated that War Communism showed radical policies can cause chaos + rebellion

Question 15

What policy did the Centre of the party support in relation to industrialisation? (A)

Answer 15

PRAGMATISM: Stalin for example, argued the correct economic policy is one which works - not an ideological issue, issue of practicality Until 1927 Stalin supported NEP as it clearly showed success, but shift focus as growth began to slow

Question 16

When did the first 3 Five-Year Plans take place? (B)

Answer 16

1st - Oct 1928 - Dec 1932 (cut short due to problems with plan) 2nd - Jan 1933 - Dec 1937 3rd - Jan 1938 - June 1941 (cut short by German Invasion)

Question 17

What were the aims of the Five-Year Plans? (B)

Answer 17

Primary objective - to industrialise and catch up to US in 15 years, claimed Stalin - believed govt controlled production + distribution would be more efficient than small-scale, disorganised NEP-style trading Eliminate inefficiencies of NEP, specifically Nepmen who made money via trade not production NEP revived old industry, but did not lead to development of new factories Plans reflect Soviet military concerns, fearing Germany would invade - in order to defend against the Wehrmacht, had to produce modern weaponry with modern industry Assert his own authority - plans more ambitious than Lenin’s schemes, would demonstrate Stalin was initiating a new phase of building socialism

Question 18

What was the nature of the Five-Year Plans? (B) What type of economy did it create?

Answer 18

Gosplan (central economic agency) formulated production targets for each factory, mine, and workshop - workers + managers responsible for reaching targets Also followed with massive propaganda campaign to inspire workers to fulfil targets: - celebrated success of plans - described the modern, industrial future that the plans would create However not strictly plans, more a list of targets backed by propaganda - no attempts made to ensure factories had resources necessary to reach targets, or what they would be used for Stalin’s economy = COMMAND rather than PLANNED

Question 19

Give 3 areas where the Five-Year Plans from 1928-41 achieved success? (B)

Answer 19

HEAVY INDUSTRY: Greatest success of 1st 3 plans, achieved by constructing new factories to exploit Soviet Union’s natural resources, with industrial areas like Magnitogorsk and Lipetsk built 1929-36 contributed to huge increase in amount of iron + steel produced E.g. Steel 1927 - 4.00m tons, 1940 - 18.30m Pig iron 1927 - 3.30m, 1940 - 14.90m LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY: Low productivity due to long hours, low pay, lack of incentives in system etc. Intitiative introduced by Stalin 1935 authorised higher payments + system of rewards for most productive workers - campaign took off 1936, productivity therefore ^ significantly across industry as STAKHANOVITES edcatd other workers in most effective ways to work E.g. Electricity production 1936-40 saw 51% gain in productivity REARMAMENT: As war approached, economic planners prioritised arms production - 1940, 1/3 govt spending devoted to rearmament + = successful construction of 9 military aircraft factories 1939-41 (though shortages of quality materials held up arms production)

Question 20

What were the problems with the Five-Year Plans? (B) (4 Areas - just title)

Answer 20

1) Production problems 2) Shortages of Consumer goods 3) Housing + Living Conditions 4) Black Market

Question 21

Why were there issues with production and how did historian Donald Filtzer describe the Soviet economic growth because of this? (B) (4 issues)

Answer 21

1) Quantity over quality, targets for production = low quality - measured via weight 2) Lack of co-ordination different factories as unknown what materials were to be used for = wasted material, decaying e.g. 40% of what some factories produced = wasted 3) Stalin’s policies of terror = purged industrial managers + economic strategists, those necessary for plans - Gosplan officials targeted = 3rd 5YP unable to be completed 4) Gosplan set unrealistic targets e.g. 1st 5YP set 330% expansion in heavy industry alone = managers falsifying data = economic planning made difficult due to relying on accurate data Soviet economic growth was ‘self-consuming’

Question 22

Why were there severe shortages of consumer goods between 1928 and 1941? Give an example of the severity. (B) (3 points)

Answer 22

1) Stalin prioritised defence + heavy industry 2) Planners underestimated consumer needs 3) Economy excellent at producing large quantities of raw material e.g. iron and steel - not more complex goods, economy lacked sophisticated techniques Early 1930s, line for shoes in Moscow exceeded 1000 people

Question 23

What were the issues faced in relation to Housing and Living conditions between 1928 and 1941 (5YP)? Give examples. (3 points) (B)

Answer 23

1) Plans required huge ^ ind. workforce, but lacked housing, e.g. Magnitogorsk - workers shared wooden shacks, tents, mud huts - without running water, electricity, etc. - 650,000 shared 1 bathhouse, Liubertsy district Moscow 2) Due to not being a key objective to improve conditions = failure - worst than NEP 3) Hard working conditions - 7d/w, long hours, criminalised lateness + absenteeism, internal passports to prevent workers moving

Question 24

How did the Five-Year Plans fail to end the black market? (B)

Answer 24

Workers utilised the inefficiences of the plan - stole goods and material, sold them, falsified the data

Question 25

What were the causes of collectivisation of small farms into larger state owned farms of 20-150 families between 1928 and 1941? (3 points)

Answer 25

1) COMMUNIST IDEOLOGY: Believed that collectivisation would be more efficient as large farms could share expertise + equipment, whilst also winning over the peasants to socialism who traditionally support owning their own land - aimed to abolish private property 2) FAILURES OF THE NEP: By 1927-28, agri. prod was less than 1926, due to peasants growing less grain in order to push up prices = ‘Kulak grain strike’ - Left claimed it was a re-emergence of class war - rich, capitalist peasants holding back the construction of socialism - Led to threat of grain shortage + govt being held to ransom by Kulaks - persuaded party that NEP had ran its course 3) LEADERSHIP STRUGGLE: After ousting the united opposition of Z,K,T - Left of party who supported radical policy of collectivization had no leader = Stalin moved to left, gaining further support (more than Bukharin) - enabled him to gain majority of support in Central Committee = undisputed leader of the Communist Party

Question 26

When did Stalin order full-scale collectivisation, why did he, and when did he claim 100% success? (B)

Answer 26

1929 His new policies won support within Party = became bolder 1930 he claimed 100% success - 1941, most were collectivised

Question 27

Give 3 short term consequences of Collectivisation 1929-34

(2 negative, 1 positive)

Answer 27

FAMINE - govt created famine 1932-33 = 5m, used to destroy Ukrainian farmer resistance

DESTRUCTION OF SOVIET FARMING - p rather destroy, = destruction of 26m cattle, 11m pigs, 17m horses + decreased grain prod. due to execution/deportation of experienced + absence of incentives (no longer make a profit) 1928 - 73.3 m tons, 1934 - 67.6

GRAIN PROCUREMENT - govt procure more than NEP, 1928 - 10.8m tons of grain, 1933 - 22.6m

Question 28

What were the long-term consequences of consequences between 1934-41, and during WW2?

Answer 28

1934-41 - Grain prod. declined 1938-40, Collective farms produce less than private farms under NEP (410 kilos of grain/hectare to 320) - 7% of farmers who remained independent = prod. double meat + milk prod. by state farms

WW2 - Collectivisation = shown to be a failure

• relied on US imports for 1/5 calories consumed by Red Army
• harvests declined from 95.5m tonnes (pre) to 46.8 in 1945
• bread rations fell by 40%

Question 29

When was the 4th Five-Year Plan, what did it achieve, what did it lack?

Answer 29

1945-50

Due to 88% investment in heavy ind. = ind. output ^ 80%, e.g. Steel 12.3m tons 1945 - 27.3m 1950 + consumer good prod. doubled

ISSUES - ^ military spending, due to Cold War with West, 1952 = 1/4 of govt expenditure = deprive funding

Only 12% investment into food + consumer (so while more, still scarce)

Reconstruction focus factories + historical cities, not homes - so Kiev rebuilt, Dnieper neglected until late 1950s

Wages kept low = women began to work + more money to reconstruct

Question 30

What issues did post-war agriculture still face, how did it improve?

Answer 30

Stalin prioritised industry = agri suffer severe material + labour shortages 1946-49 + end to private farming permitted during war = prod dropped

Prod soon grey, by 1952 reached pre-war levels 1940 - 95.6m tons, 1946 - 39.6m, 1952 - 92.2m

Question 31

Give 2 ways in which Khrushchev invested in agriculture, 1953-64 (C)

Answer 31

IMPROVED INCENTIVES:

Offer farmers higher prices for produce - instead of Stalinist quota bought cheaply, Khr reduce quota + ^ price for what was produced in addition to quota = 250% rise in farm incomes 1952-56

INVESTMENT IN RESOURCES:

Farm equipment + fertilisers via construct fertiliser factories + construct tractors = 1955 - 30% ^ tractors, 40% ^ fertiliser prod.

Question 32

What were Khrushchev’s 2 main projects in terms of agricultural investment and reform? (C)

Answer 32

VIRGIN LANDS SCHEME:

Aim - ^ amount of land that could be farmed to ^ output in northern Caucasus, Kazakhstan, western Siberia

Launch Sept 1953, requiring significant investment = agri inv. ^ 3% to 12.8% (1954-59) = ^ in areas sown to 18.2 million hectares + by 1964, 8.6m workers employed (and 97.4m hect)

THE CORN CAMPAIGN: Sept 1958

Aim - shift wheat prod. to Virgin Lands, encourage Ukraine to grow maize to feed animals = ^ meat available to consumers

Fail - based on US farms, but produced only 50% of corn due to climate diff., lower productivity + inferiority of Soviet tractors and fertiliser

Also = less hay produced due to corn focus, = less animal feed, dropped by 30% 1958-64

Question 33

In what ways did Khrushchev’s agricultural policies succeed? (C)

1954-58

What did such success lead Khrushchev to promise?

Answer 33

Initial Virgin success, grain harvest ^ 1953-58 82.5m tons - 134.7, meat 5.8 - 7.7

(Overall agri prod ^ 35.3%)

Scheme = ^ food availability = ^ living standard

Farm worker’s incomes ^ 400%

Allow Khr to consolidate position + push for more ambitious projects

1956 - intro commitment to produce more food than US by 1960, needed 300% ^ in prod. in 4yrs

Question 34

What problems did agriculture face under Khrushchev? 1954-64 (C)

• Virgin Lands Scheme
• Policy Issues (4 points)

Answer 34

VIRGIN LANDS:

Despite the success, inefficient - e.g. expensive to maintain sophisticated irrigation systems in dry Kazakhstan

• 50s-60s, 44-54% pop. work on farms, US 5% but produced twice = showed inefficiency

Harvests slowed, 1960-64, prod. slowly ^, agri prod. 1964 only 15% higher than 1958 - while high, paled in comparison with target

POLICY:

• Machine and Tractor Stations (MTS) abolished = difficult to obtain modern farming equipment
• Centrally orchestrated campaigns = ineffective, not reflect local conditions e.g. maize prod. advocated by Khr = unsuitable for Soviet farms = labour, fertiliser, farmland = wasted
• Khr repeatedly reform ministries dealing with agri = contradictory reforms = administrative confusion
• Khr cut agri investment 12.8% annually 1954-59, to 2% 1960 (Reflecting a loss of faith)

Question 35

What were the key issues affecting agriculture throughout Soviet history up until its collapse? (C)

Answer 35

Central planning = prevent truly effective farming

Reorganisation of agriculture

Question 36

After Stalin’s death in 1953, what issues with the Soviet economy did successive leaders realise, and how did they try to change the economy? (C) (Basic points)

Answer 36

Economy dominated and focused on heavy industry, meaning effective plans were less suited to modernising the economy via light industry

Attempted to modernise via moving towards light industry - produce more high tech goods/consumer = more consumer-orientated economy

Question 37

How and why did Khrushchev (1953-64) change military spending, and when and why did he raise it? (C)

Answer 37

Committed to raising living standards (kept basic by Stalin) - cuts in 1955, military spending fell 12.1% of GDP - 9.1% 1958

Years of Maximum Danger e.g. Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 (1958-62) = 1962 raised to 11%, coincided with fall in economic growth = indicated ^ military spending = reduction of economic growth

Question 38

When was the Seven Years Plan introduced, what was its aim, why was it so ambitious?

Answer 38

Jan 1959

Invest in light ind. = boost agri + consumer goods, invest in chemical production to either make better fertiliser of use as synthetic fibres in clothes - raise standard

Aimed to overtake US by 1970 + build Communism 1980

Optimistic - Success in space race e.g. 1st satellite 1957, 1st satellite to moon 1959, initial success of 1958 Virgin Lands scheme

Question 39

How did the Seven Years Plan succeed? (C) (What were some drawbacks? (not failures))

(1959-65)

Answer 39

Production of consumer + chemicals ^

Not reach targets however e.g. 60% ^ prod. of consumer goods, 5% below target

Fertiliser production was 3.5 million tons below target

Question 40

With the Seven Years Plan, what were the 2 issues with the plan, including examples? (C)

Answer 40

1) Khr continually re-organised economy = counterproductive/short-lived
e. g. Feb 1957, decentralise power from Gosplan to 105 sovnarkhoz - regional planning agencies, however simply destroyed central coordination + still not solve issue of lack of info on factories + farms they ran

Feb 1962, Khr / party in 2, 1/2 responsible agri, 1/2 ind. = deeply unpopular reforms mid-way through the plan

2) Economy not designed to produce consumer - good at meeting targets (usually by weight), not sophisticated, e.g. thin sheet steel needed to be shaped into lamps/watches = too heavy

Consumer industries set targets based on value of product = make sense to produce little amounts - meant goods like sofas, made too expensive for consumer due to meeting plan target

Issue of command economy - focused on production rather than consumption (planners forced to guess consumer needs) - most produced = useless, undesirable + unaffordable

Question 41

Give 4 ways in which economic policy changed in the USSR after 1964?

• Military
• Restoration
• Kosygin
• Commitment to Communism

Answer 41

RESTORATION:

Party reunited, 7-Y-P abandoned (5-Y-P from 1966 onward) - Br far less ambitious in quantity + quality of goods (but still, like Khr, supported ^)

‘KOSYGIN’ REFORMS:

Jan 1968 - Aug (Prague) - discredited reforms

Aimed to cut investment in inefficient collective farms, divert money to light ind + proposed giving power to factory managers + judge success via profit made not production levels = force factories to produce goods desired be consumers

INCREASED MILITARY INVESTMENT:

Aimed to achieve parity so USSR could not be forced to back down by US, 1964 = 11% GDP - 1970 = 13%, maintaining nuclear parity = strain on economy = problems

‘DEVELOPED SOCIALISM’:

Due to slower economic growth 1960s, 70s, abandoned Khr’s commitment to building Communism 1980, instead replacing it with DS - provide majority with rising standard of living - via job security + low prices, low prices via importing large amounts of grain from West instead of expanding Virgin or initiating reform

+ accepted ‘Second Economy’ as it permitted growth in living standards via consumer goods

Question 42

When were the Andropov reforms, what were its aims, what were the results? (C)

Give 3 examples of the campaigns used

Answer 42

1982-84

Unlike Br, admit to economic issues - not change fundamentals, focus on labour discipline to improve productivity via 3 campaigns:

• Anti-corruption campaign: Nov 1982, investigated senior party officials + ind. managers using Soviet resources to benefit themselves e.g. Br’s Minister of the Interior, Nikolai Schelokov (sacked)
• Anti-alcohol campaign: workers sacked for drunkenness + fined for damaging machinery/products if drunk
• Operation Trawl: anti-drunkenness + anti-absenteeism, KGB offices visit parks, restaurants + train stations to arrest those drunk or absent from work

RESULT: simply led to ^ consumption of cheap ‘Andropovka’ + poorly enforced campaigns = minor impact on drunkenness + absenteeism - neither improved nor stop decline

Question 43

What evidence was thereafter 1964 of economic decline, why was this the case? (C)

(Excluding oil price impact)

Answer 43

1958 - economy grew average rate of 7.1% annually to US 2.9%

Between 1958-64 - 5.3%, 1970s = 2%

Issue of Command Economy - ‘extensive growth’ (constructing factories etc.) over ‘intensive growth’ (improving efficiency of existing factories, workshops, mines, etc.)

• due to it necessity of good information about how indv. factory works, central planners such as Gosplan, or regional, not have such information to help improve

Meant inefficiencies in economy = unable to be conquered due to central planning

Question 44

How were living standards able to be improved, despite economic growth, due to oil prices? (C)

Answer 44

Problems with economy masked by rising oil prices in 1970s, meant can make more via selling oil.

Oil prod. ^ 243m in 1965 to 603m tons by 1980 to supply international demand - to allow continued Western grain imports + able to borrow money from Western govts based on income from oil

As a result:

Standards improved continuously in spite of lower growth rates