industrial + social developments in towns + cities

Question 1

what was the gosplan?

Answer 1

the state planning agency, organised the process by which industry was transformed under the five year plans

Question 2

what did the gosplan do?

Answer 2

drew up plans + set output targets for every economic enterprise according to party directives -> gosplan set very ambitious targets, if too ambitious party leaders would revise them

Question 3

why was the process of setting targets difficult?

Answer 3

gosplan did not have reliable stats about the economy to base targets on, esp about imports + possible exports

Question 4

what did enterprises do if they did not meet targets?

Answer 4

falsified their production figures as there were severe punishments

Question 5

aims of the first five year plans (1928-32)

Answer 5

• develop heavy industry
• boost electricity production
• double the output from the light industry eg chemicals

Question 6

successes of the first five year plans (1928-32)

Answer 6

• electricity production trippled
• coal + iron output double
• steel production increased by 1/3

Question 7

limitations of the first five year plans (1928-32)

Answer 7

• no extremely ambitious targets met
• improvements in chemical industry lagged
• consumer industries badly neglected

Question 8

aims of second five year plan (1933-37)

Answer 8

• continue growth of heavy industry
• boost light industry; chemicals, electricals, consumer goods
• develop communications

Question 9

successes of second five year plan (1933-37)

Answer 9

• some large scale communication projects
• rapid growth in electricity production + chemicals
• new metals eg copper + tin
• steel output trebled
• coal production double
• USSR self sufficient in metal goods + machine tools by 1937

Question 10

limitations of second five year plan (1933-37)

Answer 10

• oil production failed to meet its targets
• consumers were still short of some products
• while overall quantity increased, quality till tended to be very low

Question 11

aims of third five year plans (1938-42)

Answer 11

• rented emphasis on heavy industry
• promote rapid rearmament
• complete the transition to communism

Question 12

successes of third five year plans (1938-42)

Answer 12

• some strong growth in machine engineering
• defence industries developed exceptional models eg T-34 tank
• spending on rearmament doubled between 1938-40

Question 13

limitations of third five year plans (1938-42)

Answer 13

• other areas stagnated after defence was prioritised
• oil production failed to meet its targets causing a fuel crisis
• lack of specialists due to Stalins purges
• German invasion of 1941 disrupted the plan, causing it to end early

Question 14

what factors made the five year plans hard to achieve?

Answer 14

• never been tried before
• initial success happened in the context of Wall Street crash 1929 + Great Depression
• effectiveness of 3rd yr plans reduced bc of growing threat of nazi Germany which diverted finds into defence + rearmament
• stalins increasingly authoritarian + repressive regime, where any criticism of the system was likely to viewed as treason

Question 15

what projects were created by the 5 yr plans?

Answer 15

• dnieprostroi dam
• Moscow metro
• Moscow voiga canal

Question 16

details about dnieprostroi dam

Answer 16

• constructed between 1927-32
• a dam generating hydro-electric power
• one of largest power stations in the world at the time
• dam increased soviet electric by power by 5 times

Question 17

details about Moscow metro

Answer 17

• constructed between 1932-1937
• first underground railway system in ussr
• peasants moved from countryside to city
• massive recruitment campaigns to find unskilled labourers to construct the metro

Question 18

details about Moscow-Volga canal

Answer 18

• constructed between 1932-1937
• 128 km canal
• connected Moscow to five seas + improved links to industrial centre of Gorky

Question 19

what were the new industrial cities built?

Answer 19

Magnitogorsk: gigantic steel plant + town of 150,000 people, built in Urals away from USSR’s western borders

Komsomotsk: several shipyards in east Russia built to open up this area to development

Question 20

how were foreign companies involved in the five year plans?

Answer 20

• recruited to provide expertise to develop new industries
• Moscow metro designed by Br specialist from London Underground
• Henry Ford advised USSR on its car industry, trained soviet engineers in USA + helped design car plant at Gorky

Question 21

what were the dangers of working with foreign companies?

Answer 21

• secret police arrested several br engineers working on Moscow metro as suspicious of spying
• OGPU concerned about detailed knowledge of Moscow geography

Question 22

who were Stakhanovites?

Answer 22

workers who exceeded their targets + held as an example for others - named after Aleksei Stakhanov, a coal miner who exceeded mining target by high amount, declared soviet hero + rewarded with bonus and awards

Question 23

how did stakhanov turn into propaganda movement

Answer 23

• people competed to beat his record + it sped up targets
• it was for the good of USSR not personal gain
• introduced stakhanvoties competitions in different industries

Question 24

why were stakhanovites a problem?

Answer 24

• not popular with managers as meant their efforts increased production targets
• not popular w other workers as made them look bad

Question 25

working + living conditions of managers

Answer 25

- had to find ways of meeting targets while avoiding problems with workers -> received bonuses for exceeding targets but could be put on trial or imprisoned for failing to meet targets - from 1936, factories had to pay for their own raw materials, labour + fuel out of their salaries which meant careful accounting. - managers responsible for applying state regulations in the work place, these not popular with workers + led to protests - any attempts by managers to reduce pressure on workers could lead to accusations of wrecking (sabotage)

Question 26

working + living conditions of workers

Answer 26

- long working hours over six days a week to achieve first five year plan - from 1938, labour books recorded workers employment, skills + any disciplinary issues - absenteeism or lateness could result in dismissal, eviction from house + loss of benefits, 1940 absenteeism became a crime - most city workers lived in crowed communal apartments with few amenities + little privacy

Question 27

how did workers benefit?

Answer 27

- far more opportunities to progress than under tsarist - training programmes widely available to improve skills - wage increases in second five year plans - stalins purged removed white collar workers + intellectuals, opportunities for workers

Question 28

working + living conditions of women

Answer 28

- by 1940, 43 % of workforce was women, state provisions of nurseries, child clinics allowed mothers to work - as prices increased, women entered the workforce to help earn income to sustain their families - managers who were under pressure to achieve targets would employ workers wives + daughters - although by 1940 women earned around 40% less than men, advances had been made

Question 29

success of the five year plans

Answer 29

- soviet economy probably grew at 5-6% per year between 1928-40 - ussr became major industrial power - impressive results in heavy industry growth, light industry also started to deliver more consumer goods - created opportunities for ordinary workers to develop new skills + progress in their careers - sense of pride in the communist system

Question 30

weaknesses of five year plans

Answer 30

- social downsides inc deteriorating living conditions + working conditions that were dominated by strict labour discipline - fear of missing targets created an environment of bribery + corruption, focus on quantity rather than quality - success was built on prison camp labour + very low prices paid to collective farms for very high quota of grain even during famine