Stalin's economy - 1928 - 1953. Flashcards
What were some of the problems in the Russian economy? Can you think of anything that might’ve impacted it?
The industrial economy was badly hit by the impact of WW1 and the Civil War.
There was a little bit of industrial recovery after the Civil War. When was this, and what happened?
It was in 1921, but this was slow, despite the elaborate central planning organisations of the Veshenka and Gosplan.
Problems of industrialisation were closely linked to what?
Agriculture and Collectivisation. This will be true for all of the course. One impacts the others.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? To increase military strength.
1) to fight a modern war, a country had to have a well-developed industrial base to manufacture the huge quantities of weapons and munitions needed.
2) there was a war scare in 1927 and during the 1930s, Stalin became increasingly convinced that the USSR would be attacked.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? To achieve self-sufficiency.
1) Stalin wanted to be less reliant on Western manufactured goods, especially heavy industrial plants that were needed for industrial production.
2) it was important that the USSR had a strong industrial base to produce the goods its people needed - this would make it self-sufficient and more independent in the world.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? To increase grain supplies.
1) Wanted to end the dependance of the economy on a backward agricultural system.
2) did not want the new Soviet state to be at the mercy of the peasantry.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? Ideological.
Stalin needed to prove to himself to others that he was a successor, equal to Lenin. His economic policies were central to this.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? To move towards a socialist society.
1) According to Marxist theory, socialist could only be created in highly industrial states where the overwhelming majority of the population were workers.
2) In 1928, only 20% of the USSR population were workers.
Why did Stalin want to industrialise the USSR so quickly? Improving standards of living.
1) He also wanted to catch up with living standards that those in the West enjoyed.
2) Industrialisation = wealth for society.
3) Communist life should be good, and people in other parts of the world should appreciate what it had to offer to working people.
What economic problems were presented by the NEP by the later 1920s?
- High levels of working class unemployment.
- Wages for those in work didn’t keep up with price rises for consumer goods.
- Food shortages were reappearing.
- Peasants were holding onto grain and there was not much to buy.
- by 1927, the NEP was failing to produce growth that many leading communists had expected.
How was the economy going to be run once NEP had been dropped?
Once they’ve dropped NEP, the economy was going to be run by the Soviet state.
Why was agriculture so essential to industrialisation?
1) Agriculture produced grain. Some of this grain could then be exported abroad, so they could gain the money to finance industrialisation.
2) A modern industry was needed to produce modern machinery (like tractors) that would help agriculture beome more efficient - more would be produced, with less peasants.
3) Workers needed food! Agriculture needed to feed the workforce in the cities and towns.
What was the significance of the ‘revolution from above’?
1) It was ideologically Marxist, thus making Stalin even more popular.
2) Stalin also got to push aside the right wing of the party: Bukharin, Tomsky, Rykov.
3) Stalin had a geuine desire to for economic reform.
Industrialisation: The Five Year Plan:
Stalin wanted to establish a ‘war economy’ and wanted to make war on backwardness, class enmies (kulaks) and to prepare for war against Capitalist enemies. But the pace that Stalin wanted this to be achieved was unrealistic.
What was collectivisation?
- This was a more communist way of conducting the agricultural industry.
- Under collectivisation, peasants were forced to work to government targets and share resources.
- Any profits after state demands were met, were shared equally among members of the Kolkhoz.
In 1929, how many officials/workers were sent to the countryside in order to force peasants into collective farms?
25, 000!
In December 1929, what did Stalin say about the Kulaks?
That he wanted to smash them.
The Great Turn - Stalin’s belief?
Stalin believed that the USSR had to go through mass industrialisation.
What was Stalin’s reasoning for wanting industrialisation?
1) He knew the USSR was weak and underdeveloped.
2) He wanted to be less reliant on Western, Capitalist states.
3) He had the belief that a socialist state would only be achievable through industrialisation.
4) Stalin wanted to prove himself as a capable leader, and Lenin’s successor.
