The Stalin era: Recovery From War After 1945 Flashcards
What were the economic consequences of WWII?
Devastated soviet economy,, set it back significantly:
— 25m homeless
— industry: around a third of way it had produced in 1940
— Agriculture: half the grain it had in 1940
How did economic planners set about:
- rebuilding soviet industry
- reviving soviet agriculture ?
They used the techniques developed in the 1930s
At what speed did the two sectors recover after WWII?
Industry: grew rapidly
Agriculture: grew more slowly
Consumer goods and housing= in short supply ^^ government prioritised: • Industrial reconstruction • re-amrament Over: • consumption • house building
Talk to me about industrial recovery after WWII
Post-War plans FOCUSED on heavy industry & re-armament:
Almost 90% of economic investment—> developing heavy industry.
By 1950– soviet economy producing more Coal, Oil, Electricity, Iron, Steel than it was in 1940
Their economy was the FASTEST GROWING IN THE WORLD
What happened to military spending after WWII?
COLD WAR development —>
Military spending continued to be a priority.
By 1952— the Soviet military budget was around 25% of government spending— this led to:
REAL ACHIEVEMENTS: by 1949– soviet scientists successfully tested their first atomic bomb
What were the economic problems that plagued soviet economy between 1945 and 1953?
- INEFFICIENT: command economy 👍👎
- UNPRODUCTIVE workers compared to other nations 👳🏻♂️
- LIGHT INDUSTRY failed to grow: <12% of Industrial investment in his last years went to light industry 👘
- CONSUMER GOODS: scarce (lack of investment in light industry)⏰
- HIGH-TEC PRODUCTIONS lagged behind other modern economies— relies on quality of material & precision engineering. Soviet economy? Designed to create Vast Quantities of material 🎛
- tractors, trucks and other HIGH-TECH goods were poorly made 🚞
- FARMING remained Labour-intensive & lack of Incentives—> low productivity 🌾
Talk to me about Stalin’s economy
It INDUSTRIALISED the Soviet Union
BUT
Economic growth did not lead to a better standard of living for most
Some argue his economic policy reflected his gigantomania:
Build giant • factories • airplanes • quantities of steel
BUT
Not interested in • efficiency • consumer goods
Economy industrialised in a way that served his gigantomania, not the needs of the population.
The ‘achievement’ of Lenin and Stalin
Communists who joined party during the 1930s, believed Stalin’s economy was a HUGE ACHIEVEMENT
From the 1930s, Soviet communists credited:
• LENIN with laying the POLITICAL foundation for communism
• STALIN with establishing the world’s first socialist ECONOMY
Later leaders would reform aspects of the system BUT the essentials of
Lenin’s one-party state and
Stalin’s command economy
remained at the heart of the soviet system till the late 1980s
