Krushchev, 1954-1964 Flashcards
When did the soviet economy start to slow?
1959
What were Krushchev’s 3 main agricultural reforms?
- Incentives
- Virgin Lands Scheme
- Investment
What were Krushchev’s views on collectivisation?
- inefficient
Agricultural Reform - Incentives
What were incentives?
- paid farmers higher prices for their produce
Agricultural Reform - Incentives
Give evidence of incentives boosting rural income?
farm incomes increased by 250% between 1952 and 1956
Agricultural Reform - VLS
What were the virgin lands schemes?
- Khrushchev wanted to increase the amount of land farmed
- therefore he launched the VLS, creating new farms in the northern Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Western Siberia.
Agricultural Reform - Investment
How did Khrushchev try to make farming more efficient through investment?
- artificial fertilisers - boosted production by 40%
2. tractors - boosting production by 30%
Agricultural Reform - Investment
Evidence of Khrushchev increasing investment in agriculture
Agriculture = 3% of budget in 1954 –> 12.8% of budget in 1959
How successful were Khrushchev’s agricultural reforms?
- initially successful
- still fundamental problems with soviet agriculture that he struggled to solve
Give evidence of Khrushchev’s agricultural policy being initially successful.
Overall, agricultural production increased by around 35.3% from 1954-1958
What were Khrushchev’s aims for agriculture?
- increase production
2. in 1956, he set the target of taking over US farm production by 1960
Name three agricultural problems that emerged from 1954-64.
- Inefficiency
- Slow growth
- Bureaucratic failings
How was Khrushchev’s agricultural policy inefficient?
- Location of Virgin Lands made them infertile. This meant they needed complex irrigation systems that made the cost of production high.
- Agriculture = labour intensive
Give evidence of Khrushchev’s farms being labour intensive.
In the 50s and 60s, 50% of the Soviet population worked in agriculture, compared to 5% in the US.
Describe agricultural growth between 1959 and 1964.
- growth slowed
- still grew by around 15%
How did bureaucratic failings reduce the success of Khrushchev’s agricultural policy?
- Fertilisers - Central planning meant that farmers did not always get the right fertiliser at the right time, so it often went to waste.
- Contradictory reforms led to administrative confusion.
- Inadequate storage facilities = waste
What were Khrushchev’s overall aims?
- modernise industry
2. increased production of consumer goods through light industry
Summarise Khrushchev’s impact the economy.
- some modernisation
- long-term, the soviet economy went into decline
Which 3 factors strongly restricted economic growth?
- military spending (arms race)
- the command economy
- inefficiency
When did Khrushchev launch his 7 year plan?
1959
What were the aims of Khrushchev’s 7 year plan?
- increase production of consumer goods
2. increased production of fertilisers to aid agricultural production
How successful was Khrushchev’s 7 year plan?
- plan delivered growth
- plan was under target
- soviet union still lagged behind other nations
Give an example of the 7 year plans producing below target.
Production of consumer goods was 5% below target.
Give 2 reasons why the 7 year plan underperformed.
- Contradictory reform.
2. Overambitious goals
Give an example of Khrushchev’s contradictory economic reform.
In 1957, he decentralised economic planning.
BUT from 1958-64 his reforms re-asserted central control.
Describe Khrushchev’s military spending
initially decreased and then rose again
