Stalin: Industrial and agricultural change Flashcards
1
Q
The five year plans: overview
A
- They were more a series of targets set by Gosplan backed by a propaganda campaign than actual plans
- There was no attempt to ensure that factories had the equipment and material that they needed to produce their goods or what the goods would be used for once they were produced
- Command economy
2
Q
When was the first five year plan and what was its priorities
A
1928-32
- industrialisation
- urbanisation
- heavy industry
3
Q
What were the successes of the first five year plan
A
- Economic production increased by 14%
- Stalin consolidated his power and reputation
- Unskilled workers could easily migrate to cities to work in factories
- 5 million tonnes of steel was produced in one factory in Magnitogorsk
- Ideologically socialist values succeed
4
Q
What were the failures of the first five year plan?
A
- Housing and rationing deteriorate- living standards
- Working conditions deteriorate- discipline- lateness and absents criminalised, dangerous long hours
- Black market remains- evidence of capitalist values embedded in society
- Unrealistic targets
5
Q
When was the second five year plan and what was its priorities?
A
1933-1938
- Communications
- Transport
- Heavy industry
- Living conditions
- Consumer goods
6
Q
What were the successes of the second five year plan?
A
- Output of steel trebled
- Travel improved- Moscow metro established 1935
- Bread rationing ends in 1934 along with meat and butter soon after
- Stakhavonite propaganda starts
- More realistic targets set
7
Q
What were the failures of the second five year plan?
A
- Consumer goods shortage- shoes, low quality
- Housing conditions decline, unsanitary, overcrowding
- Inequality between workers and party members become more prominent
- Stalin feared criticism and therefore continued the plan
8
Q
When was the third five year plan and what was its priorities?
A
1938-41
- Re-arment
- Creation of a war economy - Heavy industry
9
Q
What were the successes of the third five year plan?
A
- nin aircraft factories built between 39-41
- Coal production increased from 128 million in 1927 to 166 million by 1940
- 1/3 of production focused on military production
- marginal increases in production of crude oil
- Internal passports made the Soviet economy more stable
- Oil production increased from 11 million tons in 1929 to 30 million by 1940
10
Q
What were the failures of the third five year plan?
A
- poor quality of raw materials led to problems with production
- purges of those unable to meet their targets ridded Russia of skilled workers
- Shortages of steel
11
Q
Stakhavonites
A
- ALexei Stakhanov was the symbol of a new movement
- According to Russian media he mined 102 tonnes of coal in 6 hours, this was 14 times the average, as a result he was awarded a month free wages, a telephone, a new apartment and holiday tickets
- Stakhanov was a symbol of the superhuman effort that all workers should aspire to acheive
- Natably his efforts were assisted by the newest technology and assistants
12
Q
Magnitogorsk
A
- Model city of the soviet union
- Houses were built along the factory so workers did not have to commute to work
- A small village was built to house the foreign specialists supervising the construction of the factories
- Once the specialists had returned, Magnitogorsk managers moved into these houses
- Majority of workers in Magnitogorsk lived in wooden shacks, tents and mud huts
- Magnitogorsk closed in 1937 it was contaminating Soviet veiw of communism, working and housing conditions were increasingly bad
13
Q
Causes of collectivisation: Communist ideology
A
- Private property was a sign of capitalism
- They beleived that by combining resources and expertise agricultural production would be more efficient
14
Q
Causes of collectivisation: failure of the NEP
A
- The NEO had improved the economy up until 1927 when there was too much supply with too little demand
- this led to farmers to stop producing too much leading to food shortages in the cities
- The communists described this as the Kulak grain strike, and painted Kulaks as capitalists trying to slow the rate of socialism
15
Q
Causes of collectivisation: leadership struggle
A
- Bukharin and Stalin had managed to defeat Zinoviev and Kamenev, however some their supporters were still in the government
- By moving to the Left stalin was able to gain new supporters while maintaining his giving him a majority over Bukharin in the central committee
16
Q
processes of collectivisation: emergency measures
A
- July 1928- Stalin offcially ended the NEP
- He reintroduced grain requisitioning, to feed the workers in the cities and sell overseas to aid industrialisation
- Introduced rationing in the cities
17
Q
processes of collectivisation: dekulakisation
A
- Peasants reacted with violence to grain requisitioning, they hoarded their grain and even destroyed it
- Led to Stalin initiating the liquidation of the Kulak class
- 1.5 million Kulaks who had resisted grain requisitioning in anyway were sent to labour camps
- The 25 thousanders were Soviet citizens who aided in the liquidation of the kulak class
18
Q
processes of collectivisation: collectivisation
A
- Introduced in 1929
- Forcibly merged peasants farms, peasants were only given a minimum of their produce to live on the rest was requisitioned
- By 1930 Stalin claimed collectivisation was 100% successful
19
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: destruction of soviet farming
A
- In protest to requisitioning Kulaks had destroyed their produce, cattle and equipment:
17 million horses
26 million cattle
60 million goats and sheep - In 1930 the grain harvest was over 80 million tons by 1934 it was under 70
- skilled Kulaks were being purged and therefore weren’t working on farms
- Peasants had no incentives to work
20
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: famine
A
- Ukraine had resisted collectivisation
- As a a Stalin initiated the holodamor which starved 10 million Ukranians, its main aim was to destroy Ukranian nationalism
- During the famine Stalin refused foreign aid claiming there wasn’t a famine
- He also continued selling overseas
- The ukranians had internal passports, they were unable to leave
21
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: mechanisation
A
- The government allowed peasant to hire 75,000 tractors from Machine Tractor Stations, this had little impact as peasants were unskilled in using them
22
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: grain procurement
A
- Grain exports rose from less than 1 million in 1929 to 5 million in 1930
23
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: Agriculture during WW2
A
- The USSR relied on the USA to import a fifth of the calories intaken by the red army
- Bread ration fell by 40%
- Potato rations fell by 80%
- Agricultural production fell from 95.5 million tons to less than 50 million by 1945
24
Q
Consequences of collectivisation: agriculture 1934-41
A
- A small number of private farms continued until 1941, they were much more productive
- They produced 410 kilos of grain per hecatre, compared with collective farms who produced 320
- They produced double the amount of meat and milk than collective farms
