Industrial and agricultural change: Brezhnev/Andropov

Question 1

Kosygin reforms

Answer 1

• Prime minister Alexei Kosygin created reforms after Krushchev however many officials were uneager to change from their comfortable and easily achievable ways
• Brazhnev sympathised with the conservatives of the party so blocked these reforms from making any impact

Question 2

Reforms under Brezhnev

Answer 2

• New innovations either failed or didn’t work

- The command economy that set prices was not accepting of these newer ways that presented risks

Question 3

9th 5 year plan

Answer 3

1971-75

• Greater investment into consumer goods
• By 1980 85% of families had televisions and 70% had wahsing machines

Question 4

Agriculture and Brezhnev

Answer 4

• Peasants still allowed plots of land and this quickly became the reliable but more expensive way of recieving food, taking up 25% of all produce while government collectivisation was of poorer quality, cheaper and inneficient
• Brigade system was experimented with after fears of a return to family farming and private ownership

Question 5

Attempted reforms of Andropov

Answer 5

• Focused on removing corruption from areas that were abusing the system such as factory managers
• Aimed to fix widespread absenteeism and alcoholism by aurveillance in factories of workers

Question 6

Evidence of economic decline

Answer 6

growth had decreased from 7% in the 50s to 3% in the 80s

• Products were often of poor quality, a common grumble amongst the people being that condoms had more rubber than car tires
• Waste and environmental damage notoriously bad