Industrial and social developments in towns and cities Flashcards
What was the gosplan organisation?
state planning agency and was given role for establishing output targets for economic enterprise.
what was a key problem for gosplan?
they suffered from a lack of reliable information e.g the price that exports might demand.
What were the aims of the first 5 year plan?
- increase production by 300%
- focus on development of coal, iron, steel, oil and machinery
- boost electricity production by 600%.
- double the output from light industry such as chemicals
What were the results of the first five year plan?
- received an enthusiastic response
- Stalin claimed targets had been met but in reality they weren’t.
- investment brought some impressive growth such as electricity trebled and coal and iron doubled
- new railways and engineering plants set up
- too few skilled workers and little effective central co-ordination for efficient development
when was the second fiver year plan?
1933-37
what were the aims of the second five year plan?
- continue the development of heavy industry
- promote the growth of light industries such as chemicals, electrical and consumer goods.
- develop communications to provide links between cities and other industrial areas.
- foster engineering and tool making.
what were the results of the 2nd 5 year plan?
- the moscow metro opened in 1935 and the volga canal in 1937.
- the dnieprostoi dam producing hydro electric power.
- electricity production and chemical industries grew rapidly and new metals such as copper and tin mined for the first time.
- steel output trebled.
what were the failures of the 2nd 5 year plan?
- oil production failed to meet its targets.
- still no appreciable increase in consumer goods.
- furthermore and emphasis on quantity rather than quality continued
when was the the third 5 year plan?
1938-1942
what were the aims of the third 5 year plan?
- place a renewed emphasis on the development of heavy industry
- promote rapid rearmament
- complete the transition to communism
what were the results of the third 5 year plan?
- heavy industry main beneficiary
- resources diverted to reanament on which spending double from 1938 to 40
- therefor steel production stagnated and oil failed to meet their targets casuing fuel crisis
- biggest problem was the death of good managers, specialists, technicians following stalins purges.
what the three main ‘showpiece projects designed to show the modernity of the Stalin state?
- the Moscow metro
- dnieprostroi dam
- the Volga canal
what was the dnieprostroi dam?
largest hydro-electric power station on the dnieper river.
what was the volga canal?
connected the muskva and the volga rivers. statue of Lenin built at the confluence of the river Volga and the canal.
what was the moscow metro?
opened with one 11km line and 13 stations. first underground railway system of the USSR
why did the USSR turn to foreign companies?
they provided the necessary expertise for the projects undergoing and they had very good managerial and technical skills.
what was the moscow metro based on and what expertise they use?
based on london underground, british expertise
what were the negatives of foreign workers helping the USSR
- often scapegoated when things when wrong
- secret police arrested numerous British engineers working in Moscow because they had gained and in depth knowledge of the cities geographical layout.
what were the conditions for the workers ?
- drive for industrialization brought tougher workers measures e.g 7 day week, longer hours.
- wage differential introduced to reward workers who stayed in jobs. meant proletariat became more diverse
- ## stalins advancements reduced numbers of competing for jobs
what was the stankoviet movement?
- emerged from a coal miner aleksi stankhov who was hailed as example of how hard work and determination may increase productivity.
- specifically he cut 102 tons of coal with pneumatic pic in 5 hrs 45 compared to a usual 14.
- became a way of forcing managers to support their workers to increase productivity.
- ideal propaganda to try and create new proletariat culture based on team work and hard work
what were the main successes of the 5 year plan
- helped tranform USSR into modern industrial economy
- increased economic growth and output
- huge growth in tanks aircraft’s and guns that were far superior to what anyone else was producing
- helped foster an opinion that communist system far superior to western capatalism.
what were the main strengths of the economy by 1941?
- stalin helped lay the foundations for winning the 2nd world war by emphasizing heavy industry and rearmament.
- soviet industry was producing 230 tanks, 700 military tanks and more than 100,000 rifles per month.
- coal and oil production majorly stepped up in 3rd FYP.
what were the main weaknesses of the economy by 1941
- economic development was uneven
- heavy industry had grown massively however consumer production had been cut back and consumer goods were scarcer then they had been under the NEP.
- qaulity of all goods were poor even though labour productivity had been increased.
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what were the main strengths of society by 1941?
- stalin could claim to have made progress to true socialism.
- he had acquired much greater control over the people e.g secret police and the solkhov.
