R4.2 Industrial Developments

Question 1

What were the 4 aims of Stalin’s economic changes?

Answer 1

1. To move the Soviet Union towards a more ideologically communist economic policy
2. To increase economic output of Soviet Union
3. To have a planned and more heavily controlled economy
4. To increase his own personal control and power within the communist system

Question 2

What was Gosplan?

Answer 2

The State General Planning Commission established in 1921, its role was to help coordinate the Soviets

Question 3

What did the Gosplan do?

Answer 3

Drew up the Five year plans and set the output targets

Question 4

What did the Gosplan fail in?

Answer 4

-Its targets were unrealistically high and based on increasingly unreliable data
-The output figures were doctored by managers to avoid persecution

Question 5

What is heavy industry?

Answer 5

Materials used ot make other products such as: Steel, coal, iron, oil

Question 6

What is light industry?

Answer 6

Goods that usually have a consumer focus such as food

Question 7

What were the output targets in mil tonnes for 1932-33, compared to actual production in 1927-28?

Answer 7

1927-28 production = 1932-33 targets
Coal: 35.4 = 75
Oil: 11.7 = 22
Steel: 4 = 10.4
Pig Iron: 3.3 = 10

Question 8

In which areas were production closest to the targets for 1937?

Answer 8

-Steels target for 1937 was 17, actual production was 17.7
-Machine tools (thousands) target for 1937 was 40, actual production was 45.5
-Pig Iron target for 1937 was 16, actual production was 14.5

Question 9

In which areas were production furthest from targets for 1937?

Answer 9

-Tractors (thousands) targets for 1937 were 116, were actually 66
-Oil target production for 1937 was 46, was actually 28

Question 10

What was life like for industrial managers?

Answer 10

-Their main tasks were to ensure output was high and they had limited control over resources/money
-They received 40% bonus for surpassing target and could be arrested/executed for missing quotas

Question 11

What was the effect of fear like on managers?

Answer 11

-They could be accused of wrecking and as a result they often falsified output statistics, they also had little say in the enforcement of “national work norms” which made most of their workers hate them

Question 12

What happened in the late 1930s for managers?

Answer 12

1936 - work norms changed by between 10-50%, making it even harder for managers
Late 1930s significant material shortages appeared

Question 13

Who were the Stakhanovites?

Answer 13

A group of workers named after Alexei Stakhanovite, they mined 102 tonnes of coal in 5 hours 45 minutes
They were exceptionally hard workers who broke records, though often resented by other workers

Question 14

What were Aims/features of the 1FYP?

Answer 14

Aims:
-Increase production by 300%
-Focus on development of heavy industry
-Boost electricity production by 600%
-Double output from light industry
Features:
-Approved by the 16th Party Congress April 1929, backdated to Octoebr 1928
-Set very ambitious targets
-Enthusiastic response from workers

Question 15

What were successes/failures of 1FYP?

Answer 15

Successes:
-Significant increase in output heavy industry
-Electricity output trebled
-Coal and Iron output doubled
-Achieved growth when west was suffering during Wall St Crash
Failures:
-No targets met despite claims
-Neglected consumer goods
-Too few skilled workers
-Too little coordination
-Small workshops suffered as bigger factories favoured

Question 16

When were the first three FYP’s?

Answer 16

1928-1932, 1FYP
1933-1937, 2FYP
1938-1941, 3FYP

Question 17

What were some aims and features of 2FYP?

Answer 17

Aims:
-Continue to develop heavy industry
-Promote growth of light industry
-Develop communication links between cities and industrial areas
-Foster engineering and tool making
Features:
-Built on infrastructure provided by first plan
-Recognised need to develop consumer goods
-From 1936 focus changed to rearmament (GDP rose to 17% by 1937)

Question 18

What were some successes and failures of the 2FYP?

Answer 18

Successes:
-Consumer goods increased in 3 good years
-Big projects completed
-Steel output trebled
-Coal production doubled
-Self sufficient in tool making
-New metals like Zinc first mined
Failures:
-Oil production fails to meet targets
-Most consumer goods other than food and footwear didn’t grow
-Emphasis remained on quantity over quality

Question 19

When were the three good years?

Answer 19

1934-1936

Question 20

Why was it labelled the three good years?

Answer 20

Production rapidly rised, there were good harvests, de-rationing of consumer markets and rising wages/farm incomes

Question 21

What were aims and features of the 3FYP?

Answer 21

Aims:
-Renewed emphasis on heavy industry
-Promote rapid rearmament
-Complete transition to communism
Features:
-Mainly focused on needs of defence from Nazi threat
-Disrupted by war outbreak in 1941 (abrupt end)

Question 22

What were successes and failures of the 3FYP?

Answer 22

Successes:
-Some growth in engineering and machine production
-Rearmament was relatively successful
-Spending on weaponry doubled between 1938-1940
Failures:
-Steel production stagnated
-Oil not meet targets = fuel crisis
-Shortages of raw materials and consumer good production
-Shortages of managers and specialists due to purges

Question 23

When were the two industrial cities built?

Answer 23

1929 - Magnitogorsk was built, for 150k people as a steel producing city
1931 - Komsomolsk, made for shipyards and oil refining

Question 24

What were three large projects that happened in this time period?

Answer 24

-Dnieprostroi dam
-Moscow Metro
-Moscow Volga Canal

Question 25

When was Dnieprostroi dam built and what was it?

Answer 25

Construction began in 1927 and finished/opened in October 1932:
-It was largest hydro-electric power station on Dnieper River, placed in Ukraine
-Generated 560mw making it the largest soviet power plant at that time, and one of the largest in the world

Question 26

What were some additional qualities of the Dnieprostroi dam?

Answer 26

-It was built on deserted land in the countryside and was planned to provide electricity for several aluminimum production plants and steel production plants in the area
-Began generating electricity during 1FYP and four further generators installed during 2FYp, increased soviet electricity fivefold in 1932

Question 27

When was Moscow Metro made and what was it?

Answer 27

It was opened in 1935, it had one-11km line and 13 stations. It as the first underground railway system in the USSR which was extended in a second stage 1938, but its third stage was interrupted by the GPW

Question 28

What are some further details of the Moscow Metro?

Answer 28

-Part of 2FYP which focused on urbanisation and need to cope with influx of peasants joining the city in the 30s
-It was ambitious architecturally designed to prove that socialist metros could beat capitalist ones
-Project drew resources and specialist workers from the entire USSR, massive campaigns for recruitment and use of foreigners

Question 29

When was Moscow Volga Canal made and what was it?

Answer 29

Constructed between 1932 and 1937, it connected the Muskva and Volga rivers. In 1937, one of the tallest statues of Lenin was built at the confluence of the Volga river and canal

Question 30

What were some extra details of the Moscow volga canal?

Answer 30

-Built by prisoners from labour camps, during the construction almost 200k prisoners employer of which 22,000 died
-Those who fulfilled work quota were given 600g of bread a day, those that didn’t received 400g, those who were being punished received 300g

Question 31

How were foreigners used in construction and industry?

Answer 31

They provided expertise for projects ,such as Henry Ford advising on the car industry at Gorky
-Six american engineers awarded the “Order of the Red Banner of Labour” for outstanding work in construction of DniproHES
-Walter Rukeyser helped develop asbestos industry at “Asbest” in Urals
-Moscow Metro relied on construction engineers from Britain
-Some ordinary labourers travelled to USSR from West to work on plants

Question 32

What was life like for workers during this time period?

Answer 32

-Seven day working week with long hours and poor living conditions
-Lateness and absenteeism could result in dismissal, loss of housing and benefits
-Leaving a job without permission is a crime and strikes illegal

Question 33

What happened in 1938 for workers?

Answer 33

Labour books and internal passports were implemented to monitor workers

Question 34

What happened in 1931 for workers?

Answer 34

Wage differentials were introduced to award hard work

Question 35

What was forced labour?

Answer 35

A style of work that Stalin frequently used, for example the 300,000 used to build Belomor

Question 35

How did workers somewhat benefit from Stalins rule in the 1930s?

Answer 35

Wages increased during 2FYP, though lower than 1937
Purges of the 1930s introduced new opportunities for progression for workers

Question 36

What was the industrial life like for women?

Answer 36

1929 - were largely in low paid and skilled jobs, often were paid less than men and many harassed
The Zhenotdel (dep.t of women’s affairs) was closed Jan 1930

Question 37

What percentage of industrial workers were female in 1935 and 1940?

Answer 37

1935 - 42%
1940 - 43%

Question 38

Why did Managers like to employ women?

Answer 38

Because by employing the wives of workers they would be more reliable than migrants

Question 39

What change happened for women in 1936?

Answer 39

There was a focus on enrolling women on technical courses and promotions