Topic 2 - Industrial and Agricultural Change Under Khrushchev

Question 1

Post WW2 - How many Soviets homeless after WW2?

Answer 1

25 million

Question 2

Post WW2 - Soviet industry levels post WW2 compared to 1940?

Answer 2

Soviet industry only produced 1/3 of what it had produced in 1940

Question 3

Post WW2 - Soviet agricultural levels post WW2 compared to 1940?

Answer 3

Agriculture production ½ of production level in 1940

Question 4

Recovery after the war - What was the focus post war?

Answer 4

• Gosplan – state planning
• 90% of economic investment devoted to heavy industry

Question 5

Recovery after the war - Achievements post war (3)

Answer 5

• By 1950 the USSR produced more coal, oil, and steel than in 1940
• USSR economy became the fastest growing economy in the world
• The development of the Cold War resulted in 25% of gov spending going into the Military Industrial Complex – netter results as by 1949 the Soviets had their own Atomic Bomb

Question 6

Khrushchev and agriculture - What was the overall goal with agriculture for K?

Answer 6

• K recognised that collectivisation has led to an extremely inefficient agricultural sector
• Therefore introduced reforms to tackle this and revive production

Question 7

K and agriculture - What were K’s agricultural reforms (7)

Answer 7

• Incentives
• Investment
• VLS
• Inefficiency
• Slow growth - 1959-64
• On-going issues with the command economy
• Contradictory reforms

Question 8

K and agriculture - Incentives - How much did farmers’ income rise 1952-56?

Answer 8

Farmers paid higher prices for their produce – farmers incomes boosted by 250% between 1952-56

Question 9

K and agriculture - Incentives - How much did production rise by 1954-58?

Answer 9

Production was incentivised – production rose by 35.5% from 1954-58

Question 10

K and agriculture - Investment - How much did artificial fertilisers and tractors boost production by?

Answer 10

K also tried to make farming more efficient by investing in: – Artificial fertilisers - boosted production by 40%
- Tractors - boosted production by 30%

Question 11

K and agriculture - VLS - What did the VLS do and what did this lead to initially?

Answer 11

Turned unfarmed land in places such as Siberia into new farms – more food produced, farmers’ income rose, consolidated K’s power

Question 12

K and agriculture - VLS - What happened long term with VLS?

Answer 12

however poor planning and lack of central knowledge of conditions led to high production costs EG complex irrigation systems - led to plan being a failure

Question 13

K and agriculture - Inefficiency - Comparison between labour in the US and USSR?

Answer 13

• Labour intensive agriculture in the USSR
• 50% of Soviets worked on farms in the 50s and 60s compared to 5% of Americans in the same period
• US still produced double of the Soviets produce
• Led to perception that Soviets were weaker than the US

Question 14

K and agriculture - Slow growth - 1959-64 - What did production rate manage, why, and what target did this fail to meet?

Answer 14

During this period production grew only around 15% due to on-going inefficacies of the command economy – failed to reach K’s target of overtaking the US in food production by 1960

Question 15

K and agriculture - On-going issues with the command economy - What was the issue with the command economy and what did this lead to?

Answer 15

Central planning meant that knowledge of local conditions and methods was neglected EG fertilisers used at the wrong times and wasted, inadequate storage facilities due to poor planning – led to lots of waste

Question 16

K and agriculture - Contradictory reforms

Answer 16

Repeatedly reformed ministries dealing with agriculture – led to administrative confusion

Question 17

K and industry - What was K’s goal with industry?

Answer 17

7th 5YP - Industrial modernisation – K wanted to modernise Soviet industry in order to provide a high standard of living for the Soviet people with widely available food, consumer goods, housing, and transport

Question 18

K and industry - What was the outcome of K’s industrial reform?

Answer 18

Long term decline - on-going problems with the command economy and K’s contradictory reforms led to long-term decline

Question 19

K and industry - Five aspects of K’s industrial policy?

Answer 19

• Arms race
• Command economy
• Inefficiency
• Contradictory reforms
• Targets

Question 20

K and industry - Arms race - How did the arms race affect industrial investment?

Answer 20

High levels of military spending during the Cold War led to a lack of funds available for industrial investment

Question 21

K and industry - What did Stalin’s gigantomania lead to?

Answer 21

Stalin’s gigantomania meant the Soviet economy was designed to produce large quantities of industrial material but not designed to create complex or sophisticated goods such as cars or technology – led to a lack of consumer goods and dissatisfaction within the Communist regime when compared to Western nations

Question 22

K and industry - Inefficiency - Problems in industry and comparison to the West

Answer 22

Focus on chemical production of synthetic fibres and crop chemicals – led to an increase in ownership of common goods and food yet still lagged behind the West – 5/1000 owned a car in the USSR compared to 200/1000 in Britain

Question 23

K and industry - Contradictory reforms - Timeline of contradictory reforms?

Answer 23

• 1957 decentralised economic planning
• 1958-64 K reasserted central control and split gov into industry and agriculture in 1962
• Led to administrative confusion and was unpopular within the party

Question 24

K and industry - Targets - How did targets change?

Answer 24

Changed to more ambitious targets in 1962 judged by the value of goods – production met targets not needs – often too expensive and therefore wasted