Theme 2c

Question 1

what Khrushchev did with agriculture (4)

Answer 1

argued it was inefficient and needed reform:
VLS
Corn Campaign
Incentives
Increased resources

Question 2

What was the VLS

Answer 2

scheme to turn unfarmed land into farms (e.g. in Kazakhstan)
launched 1953
was a significant investment (from 1954-59 agricultural investment went from 3% to13%)

Question 3

how did Khrushchev increase incentives for farmers

Answer 3

1954 - he reduced collective farm quotas and increased the price that the govt. would buy produce for (250% increase in farmer income form 1952-56)

Question 4

how did Khrushchev increase the resources that farmers had access to

Answer 4

1954 - new fertiliser factories and increase in tractor production announced

Question 5

how much of an increase was there in amount of fertiliser and access to tractors was there by 1955

Answer 5

30% increase in tractors available
40% increase in amount of fertiliser

Question 6

what was the corn campaign

Answer 6

1958
encouraged Ukrainian farmers to grow corn, and shifted wheat production to the Virgin Lands
corn was to be used to feed animals and increase meat availability

Question 7

what was the outcome of the corn campaign

Answer 7

failed
based on US farms that produced 2x produce of Soviet farms
less wheat from Virgin Lands meant less hay and so a 30% decrease in animal feed from 1958-64

Question 8

Khrushchev’s agricultural successes

Answer 8

VLS initially - increased production by 40% from 1953-58
more food in shops
increased investment and price govt. bought produce at meant a 400% income increase for farmers

Question 9

Khrushchev’s agricultural failures

Answer 9

policies were inefficient
VLS was expensive, as virgin land was dry and so expensive irrigation systems were needed
soviet farming is labour intensive as it isn’t mechanised (50s and 60s around 50% soviet pop. worked on farms, 5% Americans did yet America produced 2x amount of food)
VLS then failed and from 1958-64 there were slow growth rates. - 1959 and 60 harvests were lower than that in 1958 and only a 15% increase from 1958-64
failed to meet targets

Question 10

why Khrushchev’s agricultural policy failed

Answer 10

Tractor stations were abolished - so farmers less able to get machines
centrally directed campaigns were inefficient (didn’t relate to local needs or take local expert knowledge)
incorrect or no fertiliser delivered to farms often
inadequate storage (waste)
agricultural investment cut in 1960

Question 11

stat of workers and production of US and Soviet farms

Answer 11

50s and 60s around 50% soviet pop. worked on farms, 5% Americans did yet America produced 2x amount of food

Question 12

how much did soviet farming grow by from 1958-64 and how did this compare to targets

Answer 12

15% - well below 300% increase needed to reach target of producing more than US by 1960

Question 13

how much was agricultural investment cut in 1960

Answer 13

1954-59 - 13% of GDP
1960 - 2%

Question 14

What was Khrushchev’s military spending like and compare to Stalin

Answer 14

Stalin had low living standards to increase military spending
Khrushchev wanted higher living standards and so decreased military spending initially but nuclear standoffs caused him to increase it again

Question 15

Khrushchev’s military spending - Stats

Answer 15

1955 - military spending 12%
1958 - military spending 9%
1946 - military spending 11% after nuclear standoffs causing a fall in economic growth

Question 16

what was Khrushchev’s 7 year plan

Answer 16

1959
focus on light industry and agriculture
he wanted to overtake the US by 1970 and build communism by 1980

Question 17

what were Khrushchev’s optimistic targets for his 7 year plan based on

Answer 17

initial success with VLS until 1958
high economic growth in 50s
USSR’s success in space race - 1957 - first satellite, 1959 - fist satellite to moon

Question 18

successes of Khrushchev’s 7 year plan

Answer 18

increase in consumer goods by 60% between 1959-65
fertiliser production increased by 19 million tons between 1959-65

Question 19

failures of Khrushchev’s 7 year plan

Answer 19

didn’t meet ambitious targets
continual reforming ( economic reorganisation that was counterproductive or short lived )
soviet economy wasn’t designed for consumer goods

Question 20

Khrushchev’s continual economic reforms under the 7 year plan

Answer 20

1957 - power decentralised from Gosplan to 105 sovnarkhoz (regional planning authorities) so no central co-ordination
1958-64 - increased centralisation to solve problems caused by sovnarkhoz (confusion as no bodies knew what their jobs were amidst constant changes)
1962 - Party divided in two (agriculture and industry), changed plans targets (more ambitious)

Question 21

how was the Soviet economy not designed for consumer goods

Answer 21

designed for targets (factories produced thick steel sheets for weight targets not thinner sheets needed for light industry) - e.g. light fittings too heavy for walls.
consumer industries had targets in value of items made - so factories made a few expensive items that no one could afford rather than lots of cheap items

Question 22

Brezhnev’s goals and policies with the economy

Answer 22

don’t talk of reform after Khrushchev’s fails with reform
reunited the party
7 year plan abandoned - 1966 5 year plans picked up again
Kosygin reforms

Question 23

what were Kosygin reforms, when were they used and why did they end

Answer 23

proposal to divert money from inefficient collective farms to light industry, and give factory managers more control and judge their success on profit made
Jan - Aug 1968
abandoned because similar reforms in Czechoslovakia led to the Prague spring/rebellion

Question 24

Brezhnev’s military spending

Answer 24

increased military investment to achieve nuclear parity with the US
1964 - 11% GDP military spending
1970 - 13% GDP military spending (and nuclear parity achieved)

Question 25

what happened with the Black market under Brezhnev

Answer 25

he allowed it as it increased consumer goods access

Question 26

Brezhnev and Khrushchev’s commitment to communism in 1980

Answer 26

Khrushchev had goal of achieving communism by 1980
Brezhnev saw this was impossible becausue of slow growth in 60s and 70s along with military spending - he committed to “developed socialism” by 1980

Question 27

what was developed socialism

Answer 27

an economy where there was job security and low prices - low prices achieved by importing alot of grain from West rather than reforming agriculture

Question 28

what was Andropov’s economic goals

Answer 28

improve productivity but also not talk of reform

Question 29

what were Andropov’s 3 campaigns

Answer 29

anti - corruption
anti - alcohol
operation Trawl

Question 30

what was Andropov’s anti-corruption campaign + example

Answer 30

1982 - investigation of senior officials and managers who were making themselves rich.
Examples - Nikolai Shchelokov, minister of the interior was put on trial for corruption and killed himself before trial

Question 31

what was Andropov’s anti alcohol campaign and did it work

Answer 31

workers were sacked for drunkenness.
resulted in a reduction of vodka consumption, but an increase in “Andropovka” consumption

Question 32

what was Operation Trawl and result

Answer 32

anti-drunkenness and anti-absentee campaign where KGB went around arresting those who were drunk or not at work
result - poorly enforced so drunkenness and discipline were still problems

Question 33

economic growth stats and what they showed

Answer 33

1945 - economy fastest growing in the world
1950-58 - economy growing 7% a year (America at 3%)
70’s - economy growing at 2%
showed how soviet economy could grow by building new factories but how they weren’t good at growing by improving efficiency (as they needed accurate info for this)

Question 34

how did oil in the 70s affect the USSR

Answer 34

international oil prices rose in the 70s
Soviets increased oil production to make more money, which masked economic problems
1965 - 240 mil tons
1980 - 600 mil tons
allowed USSR to keep importing western grain and borrow money based on oil income (allowed an increasing living standard)