Stalinist economy Flashcards
what was Stalin’s great turn?
-in dec 1927 at the 5th party congress Stalin announced the end of the NEP and the beginning of the 1st 5 year plan
-after a war scare in the 20s, there was a need to improve USSR’s military strength
-wanted russia to be self sufficient - necessary for a communist economy
-for true socialism it would be essential to develop and modernise industry
what were the general key aspects of the five year plans?
-the plans suited Stalin’s personal style of strong central control of industry
-set targets for chosen industries
-targets were intentionally ambitious to force maximum effort
-each launch of a plan was accompanied by propaganda
-failure to achieve a target was a criminal offence
-there was huge corruption as factory bosses would lie about meeting their targets, they would also focus on quantity rather than quality
describe the 1st 5 year plan:
-1928-1932
-aims were to increase production by 300%, develop heavy industry, boost electricity production by 600%, double the output from light industries e.g. chemicals
-Stalin claimed that the targets were met in 4 years rather than 5, but that was only due to false reports by local officials
-successes = electricity output trebled, coal and iron production doubled. steel production increased by a third, new railways, new industrial complexes e.g. Magnitogorsk
-failures = targets fro chemical industries weren’t met, consumer industries e.g. house building were neglected, not enough skilled workers, not enough effective central coordination for efficient development
describe the 2nd 5 year plan:
-1932-1937
-aims = continue development of heavy industry, put new emphasis on light industries, develop communications, boost engineering and tool making
-successes = especially in the ‘three good years’ (1934-36). Moscow metro opened in 1935, Dnieprostroi dam producing hydroelectric power became the largest in Europe, rapid growth in electricity production and the chemical industries
-by 1937 the USSR was virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools
-failures = failed to meet targets in oil production, no appreciable increase in consumer goods, still an emphasis on quantity over quality
describe the 3rd 5 year plan:
-aims = focus on the development of heavy industry, promote rapid rearmament and complete the transition to communism
-strong growth in machinery and engineering
-not evenly spread across the country
-resources were increasingly diverted to rearmament which led to steel production stagnating and oil failing to meet its targets, thus causing an oil crisis
-many industries were short of raw materials
-consumer goods neglected once more
-biggest issues were lack of good managers, specialists and technicians (following Stalin’s purges), and diversion of funds into defence/rearmament
describe the wartime economy:
-by the end of 1941 germany occupied a large % of soviet industry areas
-30th of june 1941 = establishment of the official wartime economy
-‘scorched earth policy’ where farmland was burnt so that it was useless for the german army
-over 1,500 factories moved from the west to east, factories were hidden behind the Ural mountains
-production geared towards the military
-industrial bases were linked to the frontline which solved the issue of the earlier 5YPs where things across the empire weren’t well connected
-wartime economy was easier for the USSR than their allies, because they were used to pre-war economic controls
-whole population was harnessed for labour and there was extreme worker control
-by 1942, 57% of budget was spent on military
-3,500 new industrial towns built in the Urals
-by mid 1943 the USSR was producing more than Germany
BUT
-major food problems e.g. grain harvest in 1942 was half that of 1940
-major contributions from allies were not made public knowledge - Stalin made the people believe that they had been abandoned by the west
describe the 4th 5 year plan:
-aims = catch up with the US, rebuild heavy industry + transport, and revive Ukraine
-use of extensive reparations from East Germany
-maintenance of wartime controls of labour force e.g. long hours
-‘grand projects’ used in propaganda e.g. canals, HEP plants
-USSR became 2nd largest industrial capacity
-most targets in heavy industry were met
-production doubled
-industrial workforce increased
-industrially stronger than pre-war
describe the 5th 5 year plan:
-aims = continuation of development of heavy industry and transport, stronger investment for consumer goods, housing and services
-continuation of 4th 5YP but diversion of resources during Korean war
-Malenkov (economic minister) reduced expenditure of the military and heavy industry
-most growth targets were met
-national income increased by 71%
-Malenkov became leader after Stalin but his changes met opposition which meant he lost his position in 1955
why did Stalin adopt the policy of collectivisation?
-surplus grain was needed for export and to feed the growing industrial workforce
-ideological beliefs favoured a more socialist system in the countryside
-hopes that collective farming would provide more efficient farming, give more opportunities for mechanisation and make grain collection easier
-in 1927 there was a grain procurement crisis - it was clear that current agricultural methods weren’t working
describe collectivisation stage 1:
-december 1929 = stalin announces the ‘ANIHILATION’ of the kulaks as a class
-red army and cheka used to do this e.g. 15% of peasant households were destroyed
-january 1930 = stalin says 25% of grain farming areas would be collectivised that year, using cheka etc to force peasants to accept new arrangements
-kulaks had to join ‘kolkhoz’ collectives
-march 1930 = 58% of peasants households had been collectivised
why was collectivisation stage 1 a failure?
1929-1930
-kulaks would burn crops and kill livestock to avoid being labelled kulaks and deported, therefore some of the most productive farmers were now less productive which harmed the agriculture industry
-there was such hostility to collectivisation that in 1930 after the harvest there was a brief return to voluntary collectivisation, which led to only 20% of houses being collectivised by october that year
describe collectivisation stage 2:
1930-1941
-new drive began in 1931, proceeding at a slower pace
-mechanisation became important at this stage e.g. 2500 machine tractor stations were placed around the USSR to provide seed etc, but in reality these were put there to ensure quotas were collected and to deal with troublemakers
-on the surface the drive looked successful but there were many problems (next card)
what were the failures of collectivisation stage 2?
-dekulakisation was inhumane and removed around 10mil of the best farmers
-livestock numbers didn’t exceed pre collectivisation until 1953, 25-30% of livestock were slaughtered
-quotas were unrealistic meaning some peasants had to hand over all their grain
-kolkhozes were poorly organised
-in october 1931 there was a drought which caused a severe drop in food production and 3.5mil died of starvation
-in august 1932 a law was introduced that said anyone who stole from a collective could be jailed for 10 years, later made a capital punishment
-internal passports to stop peasants leaving collectives
-profits for peasants were non-existent, so their only interest was their private plots - 70% of meat and dairy was produced this way
overall - was collectivisation a success or a failure?
grain exports did increase and the industrial workforce was fed, but this was done at a huge expense to the peasants themselves
