Industrial and Social Developments in Towns and Cities Flashcards

1
Q

What was Gosplan?

A

The State Planning Agency, it was given the task of drawing up and establishing output targets for the Five Year Plans and other economic activities.

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2
Q

Which difficulties did Gosplan face?

A

Communist Party Leaders had overall say.
Regional Party Leaders argued over which region needed resources first and the Gosplan often received a lack of reliable information.

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3
Q

Why did Stalin make the targets so ambitious?

A

To force managers and workers to push themselves to the very limits, so that output could grow as quickly as humanly possible.

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4
Q

Was failure to meet a target a criminal offence?

A

Yup

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5
Q

How did managers avoid being punished for not meeting targets? Why did Gosplan suffer as a result of this?

A

Statistics were deliberately falsified, which put the Gosplan leaders responsible for taking in faulty statistics and failing to ensure that targets were met.

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6
Q

What was the Coal target production for the first Five Year Plan?

A

75 million tonnes by 1933.

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7
Q

What did the First Five Year Plan particularly focus on the development of?

A

Heavy Industry.

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8
Q

What was the percentage goal for the increase of production in the First Five Year Plan? To increase it by ___% ?

A

300%

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9
Q

Electricity production was to be increase by ___% in the First Five Year Plan.

A

600%.

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10
Q

What was the targeted production for Light Industry in the First Five Year Plan?

A

It should double its output.

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11
Q

After just four years, what did Stalin claim about the First Five Year Plan? Was his claim true?

A

That they’d met the targets already. But this was not true, it was simply due to over-enthusiastic reporting and falsified statistics.

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12
Q

What was the actual increase in Steel and Oil production for the First Five Year Plan? (Both the same).

A

They doubled.

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13
Q

What was the actual increase in Electricity production for the First Five Year Plan?

A

It trebled.

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14
Q

What was massively neglected in the First Five Year Plan?

A

Light Industry.

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15
Q

When was the Second Five Year Plan?

A

1933-1937

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16
Q

What did the Second Five Year Plan focus on? But, despite this new focus, what was still the main priority?

A

Consumer goods. Heavy Industry was still the priority though.

17
Q

Which two huge projects were completed during the three good years of the Second Five Year Plan?

A

The Moscow Metro in 1935 and the Volga Canal in 1937

18
Q

What happened to the Dineprotstroi Dam in 1937?

A

It was extended and ended up being the largest generator of hydro-electric power in Europe.

19
Q

By how much did Steel Production grow in the Second Five Year Plan?

A

It trebled.

20
Q

By how much did Coal Production grow in the Second Five Year Plan?

A

It doubled.

21
Q

Why did the focus of the Second Five Year plan change slightly in 1936?

A

Focused a bit more on rearmament.

22
Q

What was the overall quantity and quality problem of the Five Year Plans?

A

Managers were often so desperate to meet quotas that they did not produce high-quality goods.

23
Q

How much coal was been produced in 1937?

A

128 million tonnes.

24
Q

When was the third Five-Year Plan?

A

1938-1942

25
Q

What was the focus of the Third Five-Year Plan? And why?

A

The needs of the defence sector because Nazi Germany posed a threat to the USSR.

26
Q

What were the three main aims of the Third Five-Year Plan?

A

To continue developing heavy industry
To focus on rapid rearmament
To complete the transition from socialism to communism

27
Q

How did the spending on rearmament increase in 1938 to 1940?

A

It doubled.

28
Q

Why was the Third Five-Year Plan cut short?

A

Because the USSR were invaded by Germany

29
Q

How did Stalin’s purges affect the Third Five-Year Plan?

A

Many managers, specialists and technicians were killed.

30
Q

What was the purpose of the Moscow Metro 1935?

A

To prove to capitalist countries the socialist transportation system was superior.

31
Q

What was significant about the Dnieprostroi Dam 1932?

A

It became the largest hydroelectric dam in Europe.

32
Q

How many prisoners were employed to build the Volga Canal and how many of them died?

A

200,000 employed and 22,000 died.

33
Q

Why did Stalin consult foreign companies when completing vast projects for production?

A

He required their expertise.

34
Q

Which American car company did Stalin seek help from?How did they help the USSR?

A

Ford. They trained Russian engineers in the USA.

35
Q

Why was the USSR attractive to some capitalist countries?

A

Because of the great depression in 1929, people saw communism as a new opportunity.