Lesson 6-How successful was the economic recovery of the Soviet Union after the Second World War? Flashcards
What factors helped Russia win the war?
Centralisation of the economy
Re-location of factories
Increase in industrial output
Imports from other countries under Lend-lease
Conscription of men
Requisitioning of animals
What are the 4 things through which Stalin reconstructed Russia?
Fourth FYP
Fifth FYP
Prestige projects
Agriculture
Define ‘The Cold War’.
Term given to the deterioration in relations between the USSR and the West, led by the USA and Britain.
Between what years did the USA’s and Britain’s war-time alliance break down?
1945-1949
Until what year did the Cold War continue?
1991
What are some of Stalin’s prestige projects?
Dnieper Dam
White Sea Canal
Volga-Don Canal
When was the German invasion of the Soviet Union?
22nd June 1941
What did the Stalinist system prove to be effective in doing for the war?
Mobilising
How did the Stalinist system prove to be effective in mobilising for the war?
Factories turned to producing war materials and were evacuated to safer areas away from German invasions.
Despite initial collapse in industrial output, production rose impressively after 1941.
True or false?
True
Between 1943 and 1945, how many tanks and aircrafts were produced?
73,000 tanks
94,000 aircraft
During the war, what product was imported from Britain with inferred payment (will pay later)?
Spam
During the war, the production of consumer goods increased greatly.
True or false?
False-It became virtually non-existent.
By the end of the war, what had damage in Nazi-occupied areas reduced?
Overall production e.g., in steel, oil and wool
What had steel production fallen to in 1945 compared to 1940?
1940 = 18 million tonnes produced
1945 = 12 million tonnes produced
What percentage of wool was being produced after the war in comparison to in 1940?
Less than half of the wool produced in 1940 was being produced after the war
How much oil was being produced after the war?
Less than 2/3 of the amount in 1940
Why was agricultural production reduced during the war?
Most able bodied farmers were being conscripted into the army.
Farm machinery and draft animals were requisitioned by the Red Army.
What did grain production fall to in 1942 compared to in 1940?
1940 = 95 million tonnes
1942 = 30 million tonnes
What happened to the number of cattle during the war?
It halved
During the war, what did the government do as a result of the decrease in agricultural production?
Lifted restrictions on the cultivation (farming) of private plots to provide incentives to peasants to keep up production.
By the end of the war, what happened to the Western part of the USSR?
It was devastated-people were homeless & towns and villages were classified as ‘destroyed’.
By the end of the war, how many people in the Western part of the USSR were homeless?
25 million
By the end of the war, how many of the villages and towns in the Western part of the USSR were classified as ‘destroyed’?
1700 towns
70,000 villages
Between what years was the Fourth FYP?
1946-50
What was the focus of the Fourth FYP?
Economic reconstruction-restore economy to pre-war levels
(massive undertaking in so short a time)
During the Fourth FYP, what happened to the factories that had been converted for war material production?
Converted back to civilian production
During the Fourth FYP, what needed to happen to large industrial plants?
Needed to be rebuilt
What was the shattered economy made difficult because of?
The end of Lend-Lease
During the Fourth FYP who did the USSR exploit control over?
Eastern Europe e.g., Poland, Latvia, Czechoslovakia
What was taken from Eastern Germany as reparations to the USSR, during the Fourth FYP?
Large amounts of machinery
What happened to the large amounts of machinery taken from eastern Germany as reparations?
Was unusable once transported to the USSR
Key facts about trade agreements signed with new Soviet-dominated governments of Eastern Europe during the Fourth FYP.
Were so one sided to the advantage of the USSR that they amounted to little more than economic exploitation
What was economic reconstruction to be based largely on?
The efforts of the Soviet people using Soviet resources
How was industrial production able to recover quickly during the Fourth FYP?
Done using over 2 million slave labourers from the Gulag
What was an important part of the progress of the Fourth FYP?
Strong central planning by the government
What were retraining programmes effective at ensuring?
Workers had the basic skills needed for the jobs now in demand.
During the Fourth FYP, penalties for slackers were softened.
True or false.
False-They remained harsh.
What was there focus on during the economic reconstruction of the Fourth FYP?
Heavy industry, especially w/production of armaments (weaponry)
What areas were especially successfully due to the Fourth FYP?
Metal industry and heavy engineering
What remained neglected during the Fourth FYP?
Consumer goods
What did the Fourth FYP fail to develop?
New technology e.g., plastics and chemicals
Between what years was the Fifth FYP?
1951-55
What did the Fifth FYP set out to achieve?
Continued growth
During the Fifth FYP, what did the Cold War result in?
An increase in arms (weaponry) expenditure, as the military budget increased year on year (at the cost of human goods).
During the Fifth FYP, growth in industries, apart from the military, were less impressive.
True or false?
True
During the Fifth FYP, where were large amount of resources diverted?
The building of grandiose (grand) projects which had limited economic value.
What did the Volga-Don Canal project result in?
A canal that carried very little traffic and one which had statues of Stalin.
What were the resources which could have been used to rebuild homes used for instead?
The building of large government buildings in Moscow
From what year, after the war, did living standards in towns begin to recover?
1948
During the Fifth FYP, price reductions did what?
Eased conditions
During the Fifth FYP, in 1952, what year did real wages for urban workers reach the level of?
1928
During the Fifth FYP, what area recovered a lot slower after the war?
Countryside
What did the ‘Link system’ give peasants responsibility for during the war?
Areas within the collective farm
As a result of the ‘Link system’, what could peasants do as long as the target for the state was met?
Could keep the remainder of profit
After the war, what happened to the ‘Link system’?
Was abolished
Agricultural production remain low after the war and labour problems continued.
True or false?
True
Why did the imbalance of sexes become more pronounced?
More able males moved into towns
Due to the imbalance of sexes, what was it common to see in villages even as late as 1950?
Villages of women and children
What thing made agriculture worse after the war?
1946 drought
When was there a famine in parts of Ukraine?
1947
When was the grain production figure below that of 1940?
1952
After the war, productivity was lower than it had been in what year?
1913
After the war, what did Stalin appoint Khrushchev as?
Party Secretary for the Moscow province
After appointing Khrushchev as Party Secretary of the Moscow province, what did Stalin want to do to collectives?
Make them larger.
Why did Stalin want to make collectives larger?
To make large scale machinery easier
Although unpopular, how many larger collectives were there in 1952?
100,000
Plan of utilising large areas of semi-desert regions by planting them with trees was successful.
True or false?
False-plan came to nothing when the trees died.
When did the construction of the Dnieper Dam begin?
1927
When did the Dnieper Dam begin producing electricity?
1932
At the time of the Dnieper Dam’s completion, it was the biggest dam in Europe.
True or false?
True
What did the Dnieper Dam provide power for?
Steel and aluminium industries in the surrounding area.
Through what, was the Dnieper Dam project publicised?
Propaganda posters
Despite requiring large amounts of valuable resources for its construction, the Dnieper Dam was of no economic benefit.
True or false?
False-It was of considerable benefit, despite the large amounts of resources needed.
Between what years was the White Sea Canal constructed?
1931-33
How many miles long was the White Sea Canal?
141 miles
What 2 things did the White Sea Canal link?
Leningrad to the White Sea
How many slave labourers from the Gulag were estimated to be used for the construction of the White Sea Canal?
180,000
How much of the 180,000 slave labourers used for the White Sea Canal died in the process of its construction?
About 10,000
Despite the huge human loss, what did Stalin praise the White Sea Canal for?
Being a huge success
Being completed under budget
Being completed in less than 2 years
In the rush to cut costs, what happened to the White Sea Canal?
It was not dug deep enough to prevent it icing over during the winter months.
What was the Volga-Don Canal a key project of?
Fifth FYP
What encouraged the slave labourers of the Volga-Don Canal to work hard on the scheme?
They were told that 1 day working on the project would reduce their prison sentence by 3 days.
What did the Volga-Don Canal illustrate?
Growing obsession of Stalin with gigantism at the expense of the practical use.
Why did the Volga-Don Canal carry little traffic?
It was located where, of personality (characteristics), it reached absurd heights after the Second World War.
What would have had a much greater economic benefit over the Volga-Don Canal?
Investment in rail transport
Between what dates was WW2?
1 Sept 1939 – 2 Sept 1945
