USSR: Industrial and Agricultural Change Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and Andropov.

Question 1

What were the main challenges Khrushchev faced post-Stalin?

Answer 1

• Lack of initiative: A vast bureaucratic system of administrators in Moscow stifled initiative, it was difficult for local innovations to take place for fear of upsetting the plan, and the atmosphere of terror under Stalin had done little to encourage initiative.
• The workforce was subject to harsh labour laws, including fines for absenteeism.
• The system was clumsy and wasteful: it was particularly difficult to deal with new trends and unforeseen events such as the need for thicker coats after a harsh winter.

Question 2

What did Khrushchev set up in 1957?

Answer 2

105 Regional Economic Councils (Sovnarkhozy) to supervise enterprises. It was an attempt to move some decision-making from the center to regional bases, which, it as hoped, would be able to take more account of local circumstances.

Question 3

What else was removed under Khrushchev?

Answer 3

The harsh labour laws of the Stalin years were removed and the working week reduced from 48 hours to 41 by 1960. Incentives replaced Stalin’s policy of coercion.

Question 4

What happened to managers of industrial enterprises under Khrushchev?

Answer 4

Managers of industrial enterprises were given more influence in their factories. Khrushchev disliked the fact that they were merely “robots of Moscow”. To encourage initiative they were allowed to keep 40% of the profits made by their factory to invest as they wished in their enterprise.

Question 5

What had greater emphasis under Khrushchev?

Answer 5

There was a greater emphasis on vocational education to support industrial developments. Specialist technical schools were set up and vocational education expanded.

Question 6

When was the Seven-Year Plan introduced?

Answer 6

1959-65

Question 7

The focus on chemical industry under the Seven-Year plan was linked to what?

Answer 7

The focus on the chemical industry was linked to the increased targets for consumer goods. The production of synthetic fibres was to increase from 166,000 tons in 1958 to a target of 666,000 tons by 1965. Substantial increases were also targeted in footwear, natural fabrics and housing.

Question 8

What achievements were a source of Soviet pride under Khrushchev?

Answer 8

The launching of Sputnik, the first space satellite in 1957. The fact that the USSR sent the first dog into space, and in 1961, the USSR made Yuri Gagarin the first man in space.

Question 9

Was the Seven-Year Plan a success?

Answer 9

Slightly. Although there was more choice for consumers and consumer goods were more abundant, the quality of goods as often poor. Incidents of targets met, despite producing useless products, were common: for example, the shoe factory that produced its target of shoes, but all had the heel nailed to the toe.
60% increase in consumer goods, 5% off target.

Question 10

What was the annual growth rate of the Soviet economy in the 1950s and how did this compare to the US?

Answer 10

The annual growth rate of the Soviet economy in the 1950s was 7.1 percent, but the Soviet economy still lagged behind because its economic base was smaller.

Question 11

How did the Sovnarkhozy make national planning more difficult?

Answer 11

The Sovnarkhozy experiment made national planning more difficult because the requirements of local enterprises were harder to foresee.

Question 12

What happened at the center the planning organisation under Khrushchev?

Answer 12

Gosplan became overwhelmed with work, yet with less influence to direct decisions. The division of the Party apparatus into industrial and agricultural branches in 1962 merely added to the confusion.

Question 13

What happened to economic growth by 1964?

Answer 13

It had slowed. Spending on consumer goods was reduced and the housing programme was cut back.

Question 14

Why were Khrushchev’s economic reforms resisted?

Answer 14

Khrushchev’s reforms had come up against stiff resistance from Party bureaucrats who had become strongly attached to Stalin’s approach to focusing on heavy industry. The influence of the military-industrial complex proved too strong for Khrushchev and his reforms were watered down or simply ignored.

Question 15

What is a military-industrial complex?

Answer 15

The term given to the powerful bloc created by links between the armed forces and those sectors of the economy involved in the manufacture of military products.

Question 16

What happened to MTS under Khrushchev?

Answer 16

They were abolished. The peasants hated them as instruments of central and political interference. Unfortunately, they were replaced with a system that expected each collective to buy its own machinery, a rather naive view.

Question 17

What happened to individual collectives in 1955?

Answer 17

They were given greater power to make decisions at local level. Flexibility as to how directions from the Ministry of Agriculture were implemented was allowed.

Question 18

What happened to the size of collectives under Khrushchev? What was the result of this and how did the peasants feel?

Answer 18

Collectives were increased in size, many becoming large agro-industrial villages (Agrogoroda) that linked food production with food processing.
These units made sense in terms of creating greater economies of scale.
They also enabled greater investment in agriculture to take place. There was a rapid increase in mechanisation, fertilizers, and irrigation.
Nonetheless, these much larger farming units proved deeply unpopular with the peasants, who felt more divorced from the land they worked.

Question 19

How did Khrushchev attempt to encourage agricultural productivity?

Answer 19

• Prices given for state procurements were increased and the system of compulsory seizure of food was replaced by planned state purchases.
• Greater concessions were given to peasants as to how they could use their produce from private plots. They were now allowed to sell such produce at private markets. This concession to individualism encouraged peasants to grow more food and it played an important role in ensuring more regular food supplies for the population as productivity was often much higher on private plots than collective plots; almost all eggs produced came from private plots.

Question 20

What was the corn campaign and why did it fail?

Answer 20

The Corn Campaign, launched in 1958 was an attempt to establish American-style crops in the Ukraine. It failed due to the climate and a lack of suitable skill and technology.
It is also notable that the increased focus on corn meant that there was less hay and animal food supply dropped by 30%

Question 21

From 1950-58 the Soviet economy is what?

Answer 21

The fastest growing economy in the world but unfortunately, it cannot sustain the competition with the West.

Question 22

What was the percentage of budget spent on agriculture in 1954 in comparison to 1959?

Answer 22

3% in 1954, 12.8% in 1959

Question 23

What was the Virgin Lands Scheme?

Answer 23

Announced in 1953, the Scheme focused on a massive expansion of farming land into places that had previously been untouched, e.g., Siberia and Kazakhstan. These were outside the usual farming areas of the Soviet Union such as Ukraine.

Question 24

What were the benefits of the Virgin Land Scheme?

Answer 24

It works for the first 4-5 years and the Soviet Union sees a 35% increase in the output of crops by 1959.

Question 25

Why is the Virgin Lands Scheme a failure?

Answer 25

• It is expensive and inefficient
• Lots of these areas have not been farmed before, and for good reason; they are mostly unsuitable.
• Irrigation was very expensive.
• By the 50s and 60s, 50% of the workers in the Soviet Union are employed in the agricultural sector and yet they are still being outproduced by the US, where only 5% of workers are employed in agriculture. This demonstrates low productivity and a lack of modernity. This is important as outproducing the West was one of Khrushchev’s aims.

Question 26

Why is agricultural funding cut after 1958?

Answer 26

Due to heightened Cold War tensions. Spending reduces from 12.8% to 2%. Another example of the military-industrial complex.

Question 27

How much land was cultivated under the Virgin Lands Scheme? How many tractors were provided?

Answer 27

Six million acres of land were brought under cultivation with considerable investment. Over 120,000 tractors were provided for the scheme.

Question 28

What was a key problem that caused havoc among experts?

Answer 28

For lots of experts Khrushchev’s continuous reforms were confusing and often they didn’t understand what the structure was supposed to be or what their objectives were.

Question 29

What happened to the income of farmers between 1952 and 1958?

Answer 29

It doubled but still remained far below those of industrial workers.

Question 30

Did food production increase between 1953 and 1958?

Answer 30

Yes, by 51%.

Question 31

What was the first sign that the Virgin Lands Scheme was failing?

Answer 31

In 1959, the target for grain production in Kazakhstan failed to be met.

Question 32

What was the ultimate sign of agricultural failure for the USSR?

Answer 32

They had to import grain from North America and Australia.

Question 33

Why did investment remain a problem?

Answer 33

Despite increased investment, it was not enough to remedy years of underinvestment. For example, poor roads and inadequate storage facilities did not help many areas cope with the poor harvest of 1963.

Question 34

Why was agricultural failure so detrimental for Khrushchev?

Answer 34

Because he had been so radial and had based his political reputation on its success. When it started to fail so did his reputation among the Party and the population.

Question 35

What did the new leadership do in 1965?

Answer 35

Abolished the Regional Economic Councils set up by Khrushchev and placed more power back into the centre of the planning apparatus. Gosplan was given greater powers of co-ordination. This echoed the system laid out by Stalin and demonstrated that conservatives like Brezhnev had the greatest influence.

Question 36

What did Alexei Kosygin aim to do?

Answer 36

In 1965, the Prime Minister, aimed to unleash the creativity within the decision-making process and improve productivity. He also attempted to make central planning take more notice of cost and profit rather than the Stalinist approach of using quantity produced as the main indicator of economic success.

Question 37

How were the Kosygin reforms similar to those of Khrushchev?

Answer 37

His reforms, like those of Khrushchev, gave incentives to managers of enterprises to use their resources more productively.

Question 38

Were the Kosygin reforms successful?

Answer 38

Not really.

• Reforms were implemented by conservatives who were hostile to any form of change.
• Central planners disliked reforms which made them more accountable for policies they had less control over
• Brezhnev himself sympathized with the conservatives and sabotaged the reforms; they were watered down to the point they became ineffective.

Question 39

The focus on bonuses for profit encouraged what?

Answer 39

The focus on bonuses for profit encouraged some enterprises to produce less, more expensively-priced items rather than mass produce cheaper, and often much needed, items.
It is also worth noting that bonuses for output were higher than bonuses for “innovation” and so many managers stuck with the safe and tried methods.

Question 40

What reforms DID take place under Brezhnev?

Answer 40

• In 1973, major industrial complexes were joined with scientific research institutions in an attempt to ensure all the latest technology was applied to production. Brezhnev spoke of “an alliance of the working class with science”.
• The system of targets was further centralized in 1974. New targets attempted to move away from using merely output figures to focus more on cost and profit.

BUT these were nothing more than tinkering with the system. Attempts to adopt new technology were limited by the rigid nature of the command economy.

Question 41

By 1980 how many families had washing machines and TVs? How many had a car?

Answer 41

By 1980, 85% of families had televisions and 70% had washing machines. Only 9% had cars but investment in public transport was high.

Question 42

What happened to Khrushchev’s push for greater consumer goods?

Answer 42

It was continued by Brezhnev, and the Ninth FYP put emphasis on this. The rate of growth in the production of consumer goods was higher than that of heavy industry.

Question 43

What was Brezhnev’s agricultural policy? (3)

Answer 43

• Power was returned to the Ministry of Agriculture and there was a deliberate move away from Khrushchev’s approach of trying to find quick solutions using pet schemes.
• The Virgin Lands Scheme was dropped.
• Brezhnev was also prepared to allow a bigger role for production on peasants’ private plots.

Question 44

Did the Politburo accept agriculture needed investment?

Answer 44

Yes, this feature of previous policy continued.

By 1976, 26% of all investment was in agriculture. Fertilizers received particular investment.

Question 45

What was the result of Brezhnev’s agricultural policy?

Answer 45

An overall rise in production accompanied by a steady decline in worker’s productivity.

Question 46

What were the problems that occurred in agriculture under Brezhnev? (2 arguments, 2 stats)

Answer 46

• The agricultural workforce was large and unskilled, equipment and machinery was prone to breaking down, roads were often impassable and much of the food produced rotted before it reached the market.
• Failure of food production to meet rising demand; the result was not famine but shortages. The gap was made up by private production, as peasants sold their garden produce at private markets for considerably higher prices. In 1978, the price of food at the markets was double that of the food in the state shops. Private plots made up 1% of the cultivated area but were producing 25% of all produce.

Question 47

How did the government experiment with ways to increase agricultural productivity in the Brezhnev era?

Answer 47

• A brigade system was introduced whereby peasants on collective farms could form brigades that could decide how profit was used and distributed.
• The theory was that this system would act as an incentive by bringing in an element of payment by results for the brigade and individuals within the brigade.
• Signs that this method was successful worried Party officials, who feared a return to family farming; and so, the brigades were abolished.

Question 48

How did Andropov believe he could make the system work?

Answer 48

Through harsh, stricter discipline rather than reforming the system.

Question 49

What did Andropov’s economic policy focus on?

Answer 49

The removal of corruption from within the system, whereby production figures were falsified in order to give the impression of targets being fulfilled. Large amounts of materials were literally stolen from state enterprises and diverted into private production for the black market. For example, making shorter dresses would save material for the black market and targets would still be met.

Question 50

What else did Andropov wish to improve?

Answer 50

• Labour discipline: government officials conduced spot checks looking for slackers; it was not an approach that made Andropov popular and if anything it added to the resentment many felt towards the government.
• The Soviet workforce suffered from widespread absenteeism and alcoholism.

Question 51

What did Andropov encourage?

Answer 51

He encouraged people to come forward with new ideas for improving production, but many were reluctant to talk to the former head of the KGB who still exercised considerable power.