Theme 2 Flashcards
What were Lenin’s four pragmatically economic policies ?
Land decree / workers control
State capitalism
War communism
NEP
What was the land decree and the decree on worker’s control?
1917
Gave the peasants land
Placed control of factories into the hands of workers so they face themselves huge pay rises which led to inflation
Why did Lenin Introduce state capitalism?
Because peasants (because of decree on worker’s control) gave themselves huge pay rises which led to inflation
Additional -
Lenin wanted to boost the economy again
Lenin said a stage between capitalism and socialism was needed
What was “state capitalism”
1917
Bourgeoisie experts are brought back to boost the economy.
To modernises the economy, large industries were nationalised
Why was war communism introduced? (3)
To stop hyperinflation
Ideological reasons (Bukharin was anti “state capitalism” as it was ‘anti marxist’)
To win the war
1921
What were the features of war communism?
Abolished private trade Large scale nationalisation Increased state control of economy Re establishment of hierarchies in red army and factories Forcible requisitioning of food Rationing Military style work discipline
What was Vesenkka?
Introduced 1917 during state capitalism
Large industries were nationalised
Bourgeoisie experts helped
How did war communism control food?
Forcible requisitioning of food to feed industrial workers and soldiers.
People needed to fight were fed
Rationing
Bourgeoise would receive the smallest rations. This was an attempt to remove the class
How did war communism attempt to stop hyperinflation?
Abolished private trading
How did war communism increase national efficiency?
5
Military style worker discipline
Working day extended to 11 hours
Work was made compulsory for all able bodied men 15-50 (1919)
Large scale nationalisation
of industries of 10+ employees
Reestablishment of hierarchies in the army improved efficiency as the chain of command meant decisions were made quicker
Forcible requisitioning of food
Rationing
What were the 6 effects of war communism?
Winning the war
Decline of agricultural production
Decline of industrial production
Political crisis
Mass poverty
Growth of the black market
How did war communism help the Bolsheviks win the civil war?
Large scale nationalisation controlled businesses
Red army hierarchies
Food requisitioning
Rationing
What was war communism’s effect on agricultural production? (3)
Lack of incentive because of grain requisitioning
Agricultural production 60% of 1913 level
War destroyed farms
What was war communism’s effect on industrial production ? (2)
Industrial workforce declined 3 million 1917 to 1.2 million 1922
Large of scale industry = 21% of 1913 level in 1920
Heavy industry 20% of 1913 level
Example of 2 political crises caused by war communism
Kronstadt rebellion
TAmbov rebellion
1921
When was the land decree and decree on worker’s councils?
1917
When was state capitalism introduced
1917
When was war communism introduced ?
1918-1921
When was NEP introduced ?
1921
How did war communism control food?
Forcible requisitioning of food to feed industrial workers and soldiers.
People needed to fight were fed
Rationing
Bourgeoise would receive the smallest rations. This was an attempt to remove the class
How did war communism attempt to stop hyperinflation?
Abolished private trading
How did war communism increase national efficiency?
5
Military style worker discipline
Working day extended to 11 hours
Work was made compulsory for all able bodied men 15-50 (1919)
Large scale nationalisation
of industries of 10+ employees
Reestablishment of hierarchies in the army improved efficiency as the chain of command meant decisions were made quicker
Forcible requisitioning of food
Rationing
What were the 6 effects of war communism?
Winning the war
Decline of agricultural production
Decline of industrial production
Political crisis
Mass poverty
Growth of the black market
How did war communism help the Bolsheviks win the civil war?
Large scale nationalisation controlled businesses
Red army hierarchies
Food requisitioning
Rationing
Example of 2 political crises caused by war communism
Kronstadt rebellion
TAmbov rebellion
1921
When was the land decree and decree on worker’s councils?
1917
When was state capitalism introduced
1917
When was war communism introduced ?
1918-1921
When was NEP introduced ?
1921
How many people died because of war communism?
6 million people
What happened to the black market in war communism ?
60% of food was brought on the black market
When was NEP introduced?
1921
Why was NEP introduced. (3)
Economic collapse
-effects of war communism
Like- 60% food came from black market
Industrial workforce declined 3 million (1917) to 1.2 million 1922
Social collapse
20 million died in 1920s
6 million killed in famine
Political crisis
Tambov + Kronstadt 1921
What did Lenin say about NEP ?
“One step backwards, two steps forward”
It was to be a short term measure but he didn’t specify how long it would last for
What did NEP mean for industry ?
Unlike war communism, where businesses with over 10 people were nationalise , small scale industry (less than 20 people employed) returned to private ownership
In state owned factories, you would get paid for what you produced (PURE CAPITALISM)
What did NEP do about grain?
Ended grain requisitioning
Peasants paid tax in grain and could sell what was left to make profit
No forced collectivisation
What did private trading, the end of grain requisitioning and end of collectivisation in NEP lead to?
Growth of “NEPmen” and kulaks who became richer under NEP
Led to the grain requisitioning crisis of 1927
What were the consequences of NEP with grain production?
ENDED FAMINE
1921 38 million tons of grain
1926 77 million tons
Why did NEP lead to a industrial growth followed by plateau in 1926-1928?
Tax from peasants meant more money could be put into reopening factoiries. Market nearly reached pre-1913 levels
Taxing peasants didn’t provide sufficient funds to build large scale factories
How did NEP effect political debates?
Bukharin - pro NEP
Zinoviev and Kamonev and Trotsky - anti NEP
Lenin didn’t specify how long NEP would go on for so it caused debate in the power struggle after he died
Stalin - pragmatically pro NEP until 1927 when industrial growth plateaued. He then turned against it to eliminate Bukharin
What three reasons did Stalin launch his 3 five year plans ?
Economic reasons
Political reasons
Ideological reasons
When and where was NEP ended ?
1927
15th party congress
What were the economical reasons for launching Stalin’s 3 five year plans ? (2)
He flat that organised production would eliminate the NEP men
Stalin claimed the USSR were 100 years behind the west
What were the political reasons for the 3 five year plans? (3)
To make Russia prepared for war with Germany. There was a war scare in 1927
He wanted to get Bukharin out of the way by criticising NEP
He wanted to launch the industrial revolution as Lenin launched the political revolution
What were the ideological reasons behind Stalin launching the 3 five year plans?
People were angry about NEPmen caused by the capitalist elements of NEP which was only supposed to be a short term measure
How did Stalin show that NEPmen would not be tolerated as he first started his five year plans ?
Shakhty show trial 1928
NEPmen and bourgeoisie experts were put on trial
How did Stalin create a ‘command economy’ rather than a ‘planned economy’ ?
It didn’t react to demand
The government decide what people need rather than the free market which reacts to the demands of what the people want
What was gosplan?
Feature of Stalin’s five year plans
It would set overall targets for industry.
Quotas would be passed down to factories
What were the targets of the five year plans? (4)
Rapid industrialisation
State control of the economy
Rapid rearmament
Secure political power
When and what was stalin’s first five year plan?
1928-32 Rapid industrialisation Magnitogorsk -city built for industrial output 200 people -1920s Hundreds of thousands -1930s
Harsh methods were counterproductive and targets unrealistic
When and what was Stalin’s second five year plan?
1933-1937
Focus on transport
Labour productivity increased - Stakhanovite propaganda campaign
E.g. Electricity production increased 50%
When and what was stalin’s third five year plan?
38-41
Focused on rearmament
1940, one third of government spending was dedicated to rearmament
What were the positive outcomes of the first 3 five year plans
50% productivity increase in electricity
Rapid indistrialisation I.e. Magnitogorsk 100,000 people by 1930s. City built for industrial output
Steel increase-1927- 4 million tonnes
1940 - 18.3 million tonnes
What happened with the first 3 five year plans with disorganisation?
40% of what was produced in some industries was wasted
-COMMAND ECONOMY IS BAD
What happened with steel in the first 3 five year plans?
1927 - 4 million tonnes
1940 - 18.3 million
Despite this
Useless pig iron was produced
1927- 3.3 million
1940 -14.9 million
What happened with quality of living in the first three five year plans ?
Lack of consumer goods
1938 6000 people queue for clothes shop
COMMAND ECONOMY
black market continues
Housing is poor
In one district in Moscow, there was no running water 659,000 people!
When was collectivisation launched ?
1928
What were stalin’s main economic reasons for launching collectivisation?
Economic
- rapid industrialisation meant more food was needed for the cities (grain requisitioning crisis)
Grain surpluses were required to sell abroad
- new was failing
-economies of scale was good in theory
What were stalin’s main ideological reasons for launching collectivisation?
- eliminate the kulakfs
- private property = capitalism
- kulaks blamed from grain requisitioning crisis
What was the political reason for collectivisation?
Adopting the policy of collectivisation helped eliminate Bukharin
What was the grain requisitioning crisis?
1927
Not enough grain was getting to the cities that were supposed to be rapidly industrialised
There was not enough to sell abroad
Kulaks were blamed for hiring grain
Outline what happened in collectivisation before the opposition?
Fifteenth party congress 1927- voluntary collectivisation
Emergency grain requisitioning 1928
Liquidise kulaks
Collective farms introduced (kolkhoz) people were encouraged to sign up
Machine and tractor stations created (MTS) provided new machinery and equipment
When was collectivisation introduced under Stalin?
1927 fifteenth party congress
Then again 1931
Who did Stalin blame for the grain requisitioning crisis?
Kulaks
What were MTS?
Machine and tractor stations that provided machinery and lectures
Once enough people had signed up, they could seize animals and buildings
When was emergency grain requisitioning introduced ?
1928
When were collective farms announced?
1929
What did Stalin do when collectivisation led to violent opposition?
25,000ers sent in to organise. Refusal to comply would result in being sent to gulags or other parts of the USSR
OGPU and red army crushed opposition
Bombed by Air Force and barns are set on fire
Who did Stalin blame for the killings in collectivisation ? Then what does he do?
25,000ers
He stops collectivisation for 6 months then restarts it again in 1931
What was a success of collectivisation with urbanisation ?
1926-17% Russians in cities
1939-34%
What was the human cost of collectivisation?
Dekulakisation -6 million deaths
Famine
Ukraine -6 million starved
Kazakh - 1 1/2 million starved
How did Stalin deal with the famines of collectivisation?
Stalin refused international aid and government refused to recognise the famine
What happenEd with grain in collectivisation?
Grain exports went up but grain production went down. The government also procured more grain!
This resulted in famines
Grain production
1930-1933 84 million tonnes to 68 million tonnes
Grain exports
Rose from less than 1 million in 1938 to 5 million in 1931
Grain requisitioning - fed towns and army
1928-10.8 million tonnes
1933 - 22.6 million tonnes
How far did collectivisation control agriculture
By 1942, 99% of soviet farms were collectivised
Which plans helped Stalin rebuild the post war economy
The fourth and fifth five year plans
How did the fourth and fifth year plans enable Stalin to rebuild the post war economy with agriculture ?
1952- agriculture reaches pre war levels
Investment under 3%
How did the fourth and fifth five year plans help Stalin rebuild the post war economy with industry?
Heavy industry output increased by 80%
But it took up 88% of investment
What did the fourth and fifth five year plans focus on?
Military spending and heavy industry
How much of the government budget did military spending take up in stalin’s fourth and fifth five year plans ?
Nearly a quarter
What was the effect of Stalin’s investment on heavy industry and military spending in his fourth and fifth five year plans on standard of living
Only 12% investment in food production meant there was a lack of food
Reconstructed Kiev quickly but little was done to help 25 million people made homeless by the war. He focused on rebuilding the big cities
What were the 3 things Khrushchev did with agriculture?
Virgin lands scheme 1953
Corn campaign 1958
Reintroduced incentives for farmers
What happened with Khrushchev’s investment in agriculture ?
Changed it from 3% to 12.8%
In 1960 after failed schemes , he reduced it to 2%
What was the virgin lands scheme ?
1953
Mass irrigation
18 million hectares -> 97 million hectares
However produced 1/6 of the output of USA
1958 - decline in agricultural production!
1960/64 slight rise (15%)
What was the corn campaign?
1958
Growing Maize
Based on American model
Climates in certain parts of the ussr were unsuitable
Consequently , ussr produce half (50%) of what USA produce
Animal feed drops 30%
What did Khrushchev do with incentives? Agriculture
Lowered quotas and paid more for produce
Income rose 250%
How did Khrushchev create administrative confusion in agriculture
Continuous reform of ministries
How did Khrushchev create administrative confusion with industry?
Changed targets of the plan in 1962
What did Khrushchev do to industry?
60% increase in consumer goods
But command economy meant goods were too expensive or not what the public wanted as the command economy does not react to demand
Over ambitious targets
Fertiliser increased 19 million but was 3.3 million behind target
What was Brezhnev’s approach to reform ?
Hostile!
Didn’t want to upset cadres as that was one of the reasons Khrushchev was removed in 1964
‘Trust in cadres’
Accepted black market
“Revolution is over”
What did Brezhnev do to the black market?
Accepted it
What did Brezhnev actively do to stop reform ? (2)
Kosygin reforms
1965
Reforms launched to increase productivity with incentives to factory managers and to ensure cost/profit focus rather than quantity were watered down by Brezhnev
Kosygin was sidelined by 1968
He reversed industry and agriculture split
What happened with inefficiency under Brezhnev
12% of machines were never used
What was the military industrial complex ?
Soaked up 18% of resources
Powerful military personnel could direct money to the military without consulting the politburo
