Khruschevs Economy Flashcards
Main aims/features of Khrushchev economy
- increase production of light industry and consumer goods
- 5YPs and 7YPs
- raise the status of agriculture in economy
- Virgin lands scheme
Why did an increase in living standards need to happen?
Terror had been removed in destalinisation, people could express more freedom of thought.
To subdue the population.
what did the goth 5yp focus on?
56-60
- implementing the Virgin lands Scheme
When was the 7 YP and what was its main?
59-65
- promotion of light industry
- plans after this one also focused on light industry
What challenges did Stalins command economy present to Khrushchev?
- beauracratic system of administrators stifled initiative - local innovations were rare (terror discouraged adaptation)
- wasteful system - the system was planned ahead, inflexible when targets were exceeded or hugely under met
How did Khrushchev try to reform the command economy to make it more suitable?
- 1957 - 105 Regional Economic Councils to supervise (SOVNARKHOZY) - local people knew what was best for local areas - blame for failure placed on locals
- harsh labour laws removed - fines for absenteeism removed
- incentives introduced, working hours reduced from 48 to 41 by 1960
- managers in industry given influence, kept 40% of profits for reinvestment
- specialist technical schools establised and vocational education emphasised
What did Khrushchev refer to industrial managers under Stalin as?
‘Robots of Moscow’
Who did Khrushchev take inspiration for economic reform from?
- Evesi Lieberman (soviet economist)
- Lieberman plan of 1962
- promotes grater local autonomy
- for the market demand to call for prices
Seven year plan:
1959-65
- new mineral resources discovered in Volga-Ural fields
- transform fuel and chemical industries - natural gas
- target for natural fibres to increase by 500,000 tonnes by 1965
- to support targets for footwear, fabrics and housing
- Volga-ural fields received 40% of income
Industries that exceeded targets for 7YP:
Industry - 1958 - Actual 1965 - Target
oil 113 249.2 240 million tonnes
Gas 235 507 500 Millard kWHs
What was a significant failure in terms of targets in the 7 YP
- Housing, only increased by 8 million square meters
- Target was to increase by almost 600 million square meters!
Successes of Khruschvevs economy
- helped with Cold War sucesses (Sputnik 1957, Lycha, Yuri Gagarin 1961) - source of pride for Soviets
- consumer goods abundant = higher standards of living
- 7.1% economic growth average in 1950s vs only 2.9 in USA
Failures of the 7YP under Khrushchev
- poor quality consumer goods - eg shoes with heels nailed to the ties
- even though greater growth than USA, the starting point was so low to begin with
- sovnarkhozy - inefficient and wasteful, local requirements hard to foresee
- gosplan overwhelmed
- division of party into industrial and agricultural branches in 1962 = confusing, more slow
Effects of Khruschves industry by 1964
- growth had slowed
- consumer goods spending lower
- housing programme cut back
- reforms resisted by party bureaucrats, aligned with Stalin and the military industrial complex, ignore him
Khrushchev and the peasants:
- thought slow growth in food production was holding up industry
- Khrushchev from a peasant background
- thought he was agricultural expert
- met with peasants to discuss ideas
Agricultural reforms under Khrushchev to win over the peasantry:
- 1955 collectives can make own decisions
- MTS abolished - peasants liked this, but collectives had to but their own machinery (didnt work)
- collective size increased to agro-industrial villages = agrogoroda (food production linked to processing) - more mechanisation, fertiliser and irrigation, but peasants still didnt like it
- higher prices for state procurements, state purchases planned ahead
- allowed private plots and more autonomy - most eggs were from private plots!
Virgin land scheme summary:
- 1953
- volunteers (Komsomol)
- farmed new land in Siberia and Kazakhstan
- 6 million acres
- 120,000 tractors
Suceses of Khrushchev agricultural reform:
- raised status of agriculture, back in central planning eye (even while MIC remained strong
- farmer income doubled between 52-58 (still below industrial workers)
- 51% increase in food production from 53-58
Failures of agricultural reforms under Khrushchev:
- productivity still low
- grain production for Kazakhstan failed to meet
- land in VLS dry and unsuitable for crops, plants like maize dies without irrigation systems
- plants like cotton removed for food crops - died in VLS
- increase in investment could not undo years of underinvestment
- poor roads, inadequate storage facilities
- 1963 poor harvest
- millions of animals slaughtered, couldn’t be fed!
- shortages meant grain imports from America and Australia
Why was agricultural failure personally detrimental to Khrushchev?
- built his reputation on agriculture
- failures = yet another hare brained scheme
- lead to his dismissal
