Russia 3 - Economic Policies 1917-53 Flashcards
When were the economic decrees?
1917
When was State Capitalism?
1918
When was War Communism?
Summer 1918
When was the NEP?
1921
When was the scissor crisis?
1923
When was the 1st 5 year plan?
1928-32
When was voluntary collectivisation?
1928
When was forced collectivisation?
1929
When was the 2nd 5 year plan?
1933-37
When was ‘Dizzy with Success’?
1930
When was the 3rd 5 year plan?
1938-41
When was the 4th 5 year plan?
1946-50
When was the 5th 5 year plan?
1951-55
Who was Commissar for Heavy Industry until 1937?
Ordzhonikidze
Who advocated for rapid industrialisation?
Preobrazhensky
What were the activists called in Stalin’s ‘Dizzy with Success’ and what did he blame them for?
The Twenty Five Thousanders and Stalin blamed them for excesses of collectivisation
When was the Law of 7/8ths?
7 August 1932
What was the Law of 7/8ths?
10 year sentence for stealing socialised property (e.g. food)
What was Holodomor?
The famine in Ukraine
What did Robert Conquest argue about Holodomor?
That the liquidation of Kulaks and the famine was a genocide against the Ukrainian people
What was Alexei Stakhanov believed to have done?
Mined 102 tons of coal in 6 hours
What was state capitalism?
The nationalisation of large industries and land reform
When was Vesenkha created?
1917
What was War Communism?
Full nationalisation, rationing, forced grain requisitioning, end of private trading and free access to all services (e.g. trams) was given
What were the consequences of War Communism?
6 million died from famine, spread of disease (typhus and smallpox), political crises (Tambov Peasants and Krondtsadt sailors), production fell and growth of the black market
Why was the NEP implemented?
To rebuild the economy, build socialism and retain political power
What were the measures of the NEP?
Small factories were returned to private control (large ones remained nationalised), agriculture returned to free market forces and money was reintroduced
What were the positive consequences of the NEP?
Political stability, was popular with peasants (80% of population), ended famine and initial industrial growth
What were the negative consequences of the NEP?
Scissors crisis, plateau of industrial growth, inequality and corruption with NEPmen
What were Stalin’s aims with the 1st-3rd 5 year plans?
Industrialise (catch up with USA and GB), solidify political power, remove the inefficiencies of the NEP and prepare for war
How much did the population of Magnitogorsk increase?
Grew from 25 to 250,000 in three years
What shows the shortage of consumer goods during the 1st 5 year plan?
Queue for shoes in Moscow of over 1000
What was the outcome of the 1st 5 year plan?
Creation of new cities (Magnitogorsk), inefficiency/waste (40%), shortage of consumer goods, target mania from Gosplan and heavy industry
How were communications improved during the 2nd 5 year plan?
1935 - Moscow Metro
1937 - Moscow-Volga Canal
What were the positive consequences of the 2nd 5 year plan?
Dnieprostroi Dam (increased electrical production by x5) and consumer goods (1934-36 = three good years)
What were the measures of the 3rd 5 year plan?
Preparation for war, absenteeism and internal passports
How many people were sent to labour camps for de-Kulakisation?
1.5 million
How did the peasants form resistance to collectivisation?
Slaughtering livestock (did not recover to pre-war levels until 1953)
How many Soviet farms were collectivised by 1941?
100% (but still reliant on private plots for food)
How did collectivisation impact grain production?
It decreased
How was the USSR reliant on the US during WWII?
Relied on US imports for 1/5 calories needed by the Red Army
How was agriculture impacted after WWII?
Harvests declined, production was only 2/3 of 1940 level and 25 million people were homeless
When was the USSR the fastest growing economy in the world?
1945
What were the consequences of the 4th 5 year plan?
Output increased by 80%, slow to rebuild homes and only 12% budget on food and consumer goods
What was the focus on military spending in 1952?
1/4 budget
What was the focus of the 5th 5 year plan?
Cold War military spending
When did grain production return to pre-war levels?
1952
