The second Five Year Plan (1933-1937)

Question 1

When was the plan for the second Five Year Plan improved

Answer 1

There were some improvements made to the second plan, which were adopted by the 17th Party Congress in February 1934

Question 2

Why was the second Five Year plan more realistic and thus better prepared than the first

Answer 2

The USSR was suffering from a terrible famine and therefore there was more realism in the second plan

Question 3

What were the 4 main aims of the second Five Year Plan

Answer 3

• Continue the development of heavy industry (coal,iron, steel, oil and machinery)
• Promote the growth of light industries, such as chemicals, electrical and consumer goods.
• Develop communications to provide links between cities and other industrial areas.
• Foster engineering and tool-making.

Question 4

Describe the 5 main successes of the second Five Year Plan

Answer 4

• The ‘three good years’ 1934 to 1937. Moscow metro opened in 1935, the Volga canal opened in 1937.
• Electricity production and the chemical industries grew rapidly.
• Steel output trebled from 5.9 million tonnes in 1932 to 17.7 million tonnes in 1937
• Coal production doubles from 64.4 million tonnes in 1932 to 128 million tonnes in 1937
• By 1937 the Soviet Union was virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools.
• New metals, eg copper, zinc and tin, mined for the 1st time

Question 5

Describe the 4 main failures of the second Five Year Plan

Answer 5

• Oil production failed to meet its targets (46.8 million tonnes was target, yet they only secured 28.5 million tonnes)
• No appreciable increase in consumer goods.
• Still (like in first plan) and emphasis on quantity rather than quality
• Tractors production massively missed target (166.7 thousand was the target, 66.5 thousand tractors being produced was the realisation)

Question 6

Which metals were mined for the first time during the second Five Year Plan

Answer 6

Copper and tin

Question 7

What was the Stakhanovite movement and when did it take off.

Answer 7

Alexei Stakhanov was a coal miner in the Don basin. On 30 Aug 1935 he did a five-hour shift, cutting 102 tonnes of coal with his pick (16x the average for a shift). He was hailed as a soviet hero and give a large bonus and many other material benefits and honorary awards. Propaganda magnified his status and the idea of forming ‘Stakhanov groups’ in an attempt to achieve similar feats or to set new records caught on. Ideal propaganda for a society trying to create new civilisation based on teamwork and selfless sacrifice. Just a propaganda stunt. The movement was unpopular with some workers. There are records of them being victimised and even attacked by colleagues who were less enthusiastic and resented campaigns to persuade them to work even harder.

Question 8

When was the Moscow metro constructed

Answer 8

Between the years of 1932 and 1937

Question 9

Why was the Moscow Metro so significant

Answer 9

It was the first underground railway system in the USSR, designed to help Moscow to deal with rapid industrialisation as peasants moved from the county to the city.

Question 10

What did the Moscow Metro aim to portray about socialism

Answer 10

Aimed to showcase the achievements of a socialist state, with chandeliers, marble walls and intricate mosaics.
Part of second Five Year Plan focused on urbanisation, the metro was designed to prove that a socialist metro could surpass capitalist designs.

Question 11

What type of workers were employed/recruited in order to build the Moscow Metro

Answer 11

Unskilled labourers employed to construct the metro, using massive recruitment campaigns.

Question 12

What was the Moscow Metro

Answer 12

Opened with one 11 kilometre line and 13 stations. First underground railway station in USSR. Extended in a second stage in 1938.

Question 13

When was the Volga Canal constricted

Answer 13

1932-1937

Question 14

What was the Moscow-Volga Canal

Answer 14

128km canal connecting the Moskva river to the Volga river.

Question 15

Why was the Volga Canal so significant

Answer 15

Made the small Moskva River navigable by ships, connected Moscow to five seas and improved links to the industrial centre of Gorky.

Question 16

Who was used to build the Moscow-Volga Canal and how many of these died

Answer 16

Built by around 200,000 prisoners from the enormous Dmitlag labour camp, of whom around 22,000 died.

Question 17

How was the Dnieprostroi Dam developed during the second Five Year Plan, and how did this help the Soviet

Answer 17

During the second Five Year Plan (1933-37), five extra generators were installed. The dam increased Soviet electric power by 5x

Question 18

What was the Komsomolsk and who was used to construct it

Answer 18

Komsomolsk was a heavy plant and several shipyards in East Russia (on the River Amur), built to open up this area to development.
It was built using volunteer labourers from the Communist youth group-Komsomol.
It also used labour from nearby prison camps.

Question 19

Why were foreign companies vital in the developing of industry during the Five Year Plans

Answer 19

-Foreign companies recruited to provide the expertise needed to develop new industries, and to plan and construct new industrial centres and showpiece projects
For example:
-Moscow Metro was designed by British specialists recruited from the London Underground.
-Henry Ford advised USSR on its car industry, trained Soviet engineers in the USA, and helped to design the car-plant at Gorky.
-The Dnieprostroi Dam project used experience from Canada and US engineers. 6 American engineers were awarded the ‘Order of the Red Banner of Labour’ in recognition of their ‘outstanding work’ in the construction of the dam.

Question 20

What was the importance of foreign companies on the Moscow Metro

Answer 20

Designed by British specialists recruited from the London Underground.

Question 21

Why were Westerns attracted to the mega industrial projects (eg Moscow Metro and Dnieprostroi Dam) in the USSR. On the other hand, what dangers/risks were there.

Answer 21

-Relatively high wages and the prestige of working on these projects were attractive to Westerners (especially during the Great Depression 1929-39) bringing them to USSR.
Were also risks/dangers
-The secret police arrested several British engineers working on the Moscow Metro because of suspicions of spying; the OGPU was concerned about their detailed knowledge of Moscow’s geography.
-Engineers for the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company were given a show trail and deported in 1933, ending the role of British business in the USSR.