Industry and agriculture (Lenin to Stalin)

Question 1

High production levels in heavy industry

Lenin + Stalin

Answer 1

• Coal and textile production doubled under the NEP between 1921 and 1924.
• Lenin argued the NEP would allow communists to ‘build socialism with capitalist hands’
• by 1926 industrial production had recovered to 1913 levels
• Scissor crisis = gap between farmers’ incomes and industrial prices reached crisis point
• During the First Five Year Plan, iron production almost doubled and oil production increased by 9.7 million tonnes.
• Steel production trebled during the Second Five Year Plan.
• Coal production went up from 35.40 million tonnes in 1927 to 165.90 million tonnes in 1940
• Industrial output increased by 80% overall during the Fourth Five Year Plan.

However > Target for 1937 was 152.5 million tonnes of coal but the actual result was 128 million tonnes

Question 2

Increase in the size of the industrial workforce

Lenin + Stalin

Answer 2

The overall urban population grew from 26 million to 38.7 million people between 1926 to 1932.

• Russia’s industrial workforce increased significantly from 3.12 million in 1928 to 6.01 million in 1932, according to the historian Stephen Hansen.
• This stands in stark contrast to the industrial workforce under Lenin, where 80% of the labour force were agricultural workers, with only a negligible number employed in industry.
• In addition, an increasing number of women joined the industrial workforce, with a 22% increase between 1926 and 1953.

Question 3

High rate of economic growth

Lenin + Stalin

Answer 3

Real GDP per capita almost doubled between March 1921 and January 1924.

• During the course of the First Five Year Plan, the Russian economy grew at around 14% per year, which is particularly impressive considering most American and European economies were in a state of depression following the Wall Street Crash.
• The Russian economy grew at an average rate of 7.1% per annum during Stalin’s Five Year Plans.
• Between 1945 and 1950, the Russian economy was the fastest growing in the world.

Question 4

Failure of agricultural policy

Lenin + Stalin

Answer 4

Agricultural production fell under War Communism. By 1920, agricultural production was 40% lower than it had been in 1913.

• Food production fell under Collectivisation. The harvest of 1933 was 9,000,000 tonnes less than that of 1926.
• Due to bad planning, few farms were actually able to acquire new machinery during Collectivisation. Half of Russian farms were not even included in the MTS, the scheme set up to distribute new machines.
• 5 million people died due to famine in the Ukraine alone between 1932 and 1933.

Question 5

Chaos and disorganisation of economic planning

Lenin + Stalin

Answer 5

Lenin changed the economic system three times in four years. He initially introduced State Capitalism in October 1917, then implemented War Communism in June 1918, before abandoning it in favour of the NEP in March 1921.

• Although the First Five Year Plan was launched in 1928, the details were not actually published until April 1929.
• Many of the targets set during the First Five Year Plan by Gosplan were so unrealistic that historian Martin McCauley has said it was ‘as if mathematics had ceased to function’.
• Plans did not specify what materials should be used for and there was little co-ordination between factories

• Targets set during the Five Year Plans often outstripped demand, meaning as many as 40% of the goods produced were left to decay. Plans set targets for quantity not quality

Question 6

High production levels in heavy industry

Stalin

Answer 6

Iron production doubled over the course of the First Five Year Plan, whilst oil production increased by 9.7 million tonnes during the same period.

• Similarly, steel production trebled under the Second Five Year Plan and coal production went up by 128 million tonnes during the Third Five Year Plan.
• Overall, total industrial output increasing by a further 80% in the course of the Fourth Five Year Plan.

Question 7

Increase in the size of the industrial workforce

Stalin

Answer 7

In the years 1926 to 1932, the urban population grew from 26 million to 38.7 million people.

• The historian Stephen Hansen also states that the, ’industrial workforce increased from 3.12 million in 1928 to 6.01 million in 1932.’
• In contrast, under Lenin, 80% of the labour force worked in agriculture, with only a negligible number employed in industry.
• In addition, an increasing number of women joined the industrial workforce under Stalin, with a 22% increase between 1926 and 1953.

However, by 1933 only 17% of the workforce in Moscow was skilled + White Sea canal project where 180,000 prisoners employed and 10,000 died 1931-32

Question 8

High rate of economic growth

Stalin

Answer 8

During the First Five Year Plan, the Russian economy grew at an impressive rate of 14% per annum, with an average growth rate of 7.1% between 1928 and 1953.

• As a consequence, the USSR had the fastest growing economy in the world throughout much of the period, surpassing that of countries like Britain, the USA, France, Japan and Germany.

Question 9

Continual shortages of consumer goods

Stalin

Answer 9

In 1939, queues of up to 6,000 people were observed waiting to purchase shoes in Leningrad.

• A similar example was seen in Moscow, where up to 1,000 people were forced to wait for shoes.
• The historian Sheila Fitzpatrick called shopping at the time ‘a survival skill’, and a worker’s diary from 1934 says, ‘the most anyone can dream of is to own two or three sets of clothes…’
• Five Year Plans also failed to end free market which came about due to the inefficiencies of the plan.

Question 10

Chaos and disorganisation of industrial planning

Stalin

Answer 10

Stalin’s First Five Year Plan was launched in 1928, but the details of the plan were not even published until April 1929.

• Once the plan was released, production targets were so unrealistic and frequently revised that the historian Martin McCauley has said, ‘It was as if mathematics had ceased to function.’
• Production also far outstripped demand, with up to 40% of goods being wasted.

Question 11

What was War Communism?

Answer 11

• was an economic policy introduced by Lenin in June 1918 to replace state capitalism
• It was characterised by the nationalisation of businesses, central government control of industry, hard discipline and grain requisitioning
• Contributed to Bol victory in CW, but result in decreased production levels and human suffering

Question 12

What was the NEP?

Answer 12

• economic policy introduced by Lenin in March 1921 to replace War Communism
• it was characterised by a relaxation of government control of agriculture and industry, as well as the partial return to an open market
• The NEP was an ideological retreat, but helped to provide valuable breathing space for the struggling Russian economy

Question 13

What was Collectivisation?

Answer 13

• was an agricultural policy introduced by Stalin in 1927 to replace certain aspects of the NEP
• It was characterised by the forced merging of many small farms into larger collective farms under direct central government control. Each farm was given strict production targets and the crops produced became the property of the government
• Collectivisation was an ideological and economic success for Stalin, but led to severe food shortages and human suffering for the Russian people.

Question 14

(Success of collectivisation)

Speed of implementation?

Answer 14

• Considering the enormity of the task, Collectivisation was implemented extremely quickly.
• By 1930, 25% of peasant households were collectivised.
• By 1941, all of the farms in the USSR were collective. This showed that the Communist government had the ability to bring about drastic change.

Question 15

(Success of collectivisation)

Closer to communist ideology?

Answer 15

• Collectivisation gave the central government control over nearly all of the farms in the USSR and made the majority of agricultural workers employees of the government.
• In theory, this allowed the government to distribute food equally and ensure that everyone had similar living and working conditions.
• Stalin also gain support of United Opposition and get more power than Bukharin

Question 16

(Success of collectivisation)

Increased grain exports?

Answer 16

• One of the goals of Collectivisation was to produce more grain for the government to export.
• Although the total amount of grain produced decreased due to Collectivisation, the amount available to the government went up.
• Consequently, the amount of grain exported increased. In 1928, the state exported 11,000,000 tonnes of grain. By 1933, this figure was 23,000,000.

Question 17

(Success of collectivisation)

Laid the foundation for industrialisation?

Answer 17

• Collectivisation contributed to industrial development.

- In 1928, only 18% of Russians were industrial workers. By 1939, this figure was 50%.

Question 18

(Failures of collectivisation)

Lower levels of food production?

Answer 18

• there is no doubt that food production fell dramatically as a result of Collectivisation.
• e.g. the harvest of 1933 was 9,000,000 tonnes less than that of 1926. Furthermore, the number of horses halved between 1928 and 1932, whilst the number of pigs decreased by 65% during the same period.
• Collectivisation was completely unable to meet the needs of Russian citizens and the army during the Second World War.
• Bread rations fell by 40% during the conflict and potato rations by 80%. Almost one fifth of the calories consumed by soldiers in the Red Army were supplied by American imports.

Question 19

(Failures of collectivisation)

Immense human suffering

Answer 19

• devastating effect on peasants. Between 9,500,000 and 10,000,000 were exiled (sent away) as part of the policy of dekulakisation. In some cases, 10% of the peasants in a single village were exiled.
• Stalin refused to believe there was a famine in the Ukraine resulting from Collectivisation, instead being convinced that it was part of a nationalist plot. As a result, he would not reduce the amount of crops taken from the region by the government. Stalin sealed the borders of Ukraine in January 1933, preventing peasants from escaping to find food elsewhere, and Ukrainian peasants were denied internal passports.
• This took away any chance of escaping the hunger. Between 5 and 7 million people died, although Stalin himself admitted to Winston Churchill that it could have been as many as 10 million.
• The peasants that worked on collectivised farms endured enormous hardship. They were set unrealistic food production targets, were punished harshly when these were not met and received very little pay.
• The decrease in food production that occurred as a result of Collectivisation led to a worse standard of living for industrial workers in the cities. e.g. the amount of meat consumed by urban workers went down by two thirds between 1928 and 1932.

Question 20

(Failures of collectivisation)

Inefficient implementation of the policy?

Answer 20

• initially caused so much chaos in agriculture that the policy had to be temporarily suspended in 1930.
• never entirely implemented. Approximately 7% of all farms remained independent of the collective system.
• supposed to lead to more machines being used in farming. This is known as the mechanisation of agriculture and was supposed to lead to increased efficiency. However, due to bad planning, few farms were actually able to acquire new machinery. For example, half of Russian farms were not even included in the MTS, the scheme set up to distribute new machines.
• Exiling the wealthiest peasants was totally counter-productive because these were often the most intelligent, hardest working and well equipped farmers. Without their talents and energy, food production inevitably fell.
• Collectivisation led to the destruction of a great deal of agricultural resources as many peasants resented the government taking ownership of their property to such an extent that they would rather it was destroyed altogether.
• Between 1928 and 1934 17 million horses, 26 million cattle, 11 million pigs and 60 million sheep and goats were destroyed.

Question 21

What was the First Five Year Plan?

Answer 21

• was an industrial policy introduced by Stalin in October 1928 and coming to an end in December 1932.
• characterised by central government control of industry under the authority of Gosplan, the setting of ambitious production targets and the prioritisation of high levels of production in heavy industry as the foundation of further industrial growth
• was an economic, political and ideological success for Stalin, but this progress was achieved at a terrible human cost and the policy still suffered from some economic shortcomings.

Question 22

Excessive military spending?

Answer 22

Defence spending rose from 4% to 17% of total government expenditure between 1933 and 1937.

• Military spending increased significantly during the Third Five Year Plan, so that 33% of total government expenditure went to the armed forces by 1940.

• Led to successful construction of nine military aircraft factories between 1939 and 1941

• Military spending remained high during the Fourth Five Year Plan, as the USSR began an arms race with the USA. By 1952, total military expenditure was a quarter of overall government spending.

Question 23

Five Year plans generally?

Answer 23

• changed according to needs
• Huge black spots filled as results
• Statistics forged > control
• Stalin used to build ‘iron cities’ e.g. magnitogorsk
• Wanted proletariat to be top class (industrial workers)
• There Is a complexity