Khrushchev

Question 1

How did Khrushchev’s view on agriculture differ from Stalin’s?

Answer 1

Khrushchev recognised the agricultural system was inefficient. He wanted to increase productivity and ensure a better standard of living for agricultural workers.

Question 2

What did Khrushchev do to improve agriculture?

Answer 2

Put investment into resources, introduced the virgin lands scheme and corn campaign while improving incentives.

Question 3

How did Khrushchev improve investment in resources for agriculture?

Answer 3

• Put more investment into fertilisers - 40% rise in production.
• Built factories to produce tractors - 30% rise in accessibility of tractors.

Question 4

How did Khrushchev improve incentives?

Answer 4

• Raised prices of farm goods so collective farms were able to earn more from their produce.
• Lowered farming targets, anything above targets came as a profit for farm.
• Anything over the quota was given a higher price - 250% rise in farm incomes.

Question 5

What was the Corn Campaign?

Answer 5

Khrushchev encouraged farmers to focus on growing maize to feed the animals, it would boost both crop growth and the production of meat.

Question 6

What was the Virgin Land Scheme?

Answer 6

Khrushchev encouraged the farming of new land.
To farm new land, the number of farmers had to increase - by 1964 the number had risen from 2.9 million workers to 8.9 million.
Volunteers from Komsomol were sent to work on previously unfarmed lands.

Question 7

What were the successes of agriculture under Khrushchev?

Answer 7

• Greater availability of food in Soviet shops
• Better standard of living for Soviet citizens
• Greater production: 400% rise in farmers income.
• Allowed Khrushchev to consolidate his power in 1956, introduced new commitments.
• Increased farmed land, 18.2 million hectares i 1953 to 97.4 million in 1964.
• Agricultural production increased by 35.3%

Question 8

What were the failures of agriculture under Khrushchev?

Answer 8

• The Virgin Land Scheme was expensive as Kazakhstan was naturally dry and needed expensive irrigation system which were labour intensive.
• Only 5% of the American population worked on farms while 44-54% op the Soviet population worked of farms and America still produced twice as much food.
• The production rates were nothing compared to Khrushchev’s high targets which made the initial success look bad.

Question 9

When was the Seven Year Plan? What were it’s aims?

Answer 9

1959-65
- To reduce military spending:
Freeing up money would improve living standards.
- Focus on Light Industry (consumer goods):
Wanted to catch up with the West and improve standard of living.
- Move away from heavy industry:
Development was complete - the focus was no longer necessary.
- Increase chemical production:
Would improve agriculture.

Question 10

What were the failures of the Seven Year Plan?

Answer 10

• Poor leadership:
  Continual economic re-organisation was counter-productive and caused lots of confusion.
  ‘three plans a year’
• Economy set up by Stalin:
  Poor quality, aims to meet quantities and not effective in creating consumer goods.
• The Cold War:
  Khrushchev was forced to increases the military spending to keep up with the US as tensions rose again.
• Setting targets too high:
  Fertiliser production was 3.5 million tons short of the target.

Question 11

What were the successes of the Seven Year Plan?

Answer 11

• Synthetic production increased by 241,000 tons.
• In Jan 1959, 60% increase in consumer goods
• Fertiliser/chemical production grew by 19 million tons.