USSR Industry and Agriculture Flashcards
1
Q
For Communism to prosper, what needs to be abolished?
A
Capitalism
2
Q
What problems did Russia face before Lenin?
A
Backwards economy / Shattered by WW1
3
Q
What did Lenin believe would happen as the communist revolution spread across Europe in regards to economic aid?
A
Advanced communist countries would aid less advanced ones
4
Q
What did ‘State Capitalism’ propose?
A
Nationalisation of Industry
5
Q
What was Vesenka?
A
A government body that ran all nationalised industries
6
Q
What was Vesenka designed to do?
A
Coordinate economic production / Place factories under the control of well paid specialists
7
Q
What industries were NOT nationalised?
A
Those with 20 workers or less
8
Q
Was Nationalisation popular?
A
No, there was very little difference between pre revolution
9
Q
What year was ‘State Capitalism’ introduced?
A
1918
10
Q
What Land Reform did Lenin Propose?
A
Decree on Land 1917
11
Q
What did the Decree on Land 1917 do?
A
Took land away from the land owners and redistributed it to the workers / Ended Private Ownership
12
Q
What was the Decree on Worker’s Control 1918?
A
Allowed workers to elect committees to run fsctories
13
Q
What was the Worker’s decree 1917?
A
Established an 8 hour working day / Established minimum wage
14
Q
Why was War Communism created?
A
To ensure military success for the communists
15
Q
What did ‘Food Dictatorship’ do?
A
Made sure food was readily available for the workers and soldiers by Requisitioning Grain from peasants by the Cheka / Rationing
16
Q
What did the Labour discipline of 1918 do?
A
Extended the working day to 11 hours
17
Q
In 1919 what was made compulsory for all able bodied people aged 16-50?
A
Work
18
Q
Who was punished under War Communism?
A
Late comers or slackers
19
Q
What did the abolition of the market under War Communism lead to?
A
Complete nationalisation
20
Q
What happened to money under war communism?
A
abolished
21
Q
What did grain requisitioning under war communism result in?
A
Decreased agricultural production as the peasants didn’t wan their grain to be taken away
22
Q
What happened to the Industrial workforce under war communism?
A
The workforce declined from 3 million people in 1917 to 1.2 million people in 1922
23
Q
What percentage of food consumed during the civil war came from the black market?
A
60%
24
Q
In the late 1920’s what closed due to lack of fuel?
A
Some factories
25
How did harvests in 1921 fair in comparison to those in 1913?
They were 46% of that in 1913
26
Under war communism what did the famine in rural areas lead to?
The deaths of 6 million people
27
what ended grain requisitioning?
Tambov Rebellion 1921
28
What ended War Communism?
Krondstadt Rebellion 1921
29
When did the NEP run from and to?
1921-1928
30
Why was the NEP introduced?
To:
- Retain political power
- Revive the economy
- Build socialism
31
What type of economy did the NEP create?
a mixed economy
32
How was the soviet economy mixed under the NEP?
Agriculture was left to the free markets and all factories (apart from those with 20 workers or less) were nationalised
33
What was reintroduced under the NEP that had been abolished during War Communism?
Money
34
What were citizens expected to pay for that had been free under War Communism?
Travel
35
What corruption did the NEP lead to?
NEPmen / Gambling / Prostitution / Drug Dealing
36
Did the NEP lead to political and economical stability?
Yes
37
Did industry grow under the NEP?
No
38
What did ending grain requisitioning achieve?
Ended the famine / popular with the peasants / encouraged peasants to grow more food
39
What was the grain output (million tonnes) in 1921 and 1923?
1921 - 37.61 million tons
| 1923 - 56.6 million tons
40
In what years did the industrial economy plateau under the NEP?
1926-28
41
What was the scissors crisis?
Due to the free market, farm wages were low and nationalisation of industry made industrial goods more expensive. Therefore, agricultural workers couldn't afford to buy industrial goods. As farmers couldn't afford to buy these goods there was a lack of incentive to grow grain so as industrial goods increased, food production decreased.
42
What were the 3 views on the control of industry and agriculture post 1928?
1. Left - Wanted to adopt a radical socialist policy and nationalise all industry.
2. Right - Wanted to keep the NEP and felt a mixed economy was the best economy
3. Centre - Wanted the most pragmatic idea.
43
What year was the 1st 5 year plan?
1928-1932
44
What were the aims of the 5 year plans?
To eliminate NEPmen/ to industrialise Russia by combining centralised planning with large scale investment / Modernise the military
45
What year was the 2nd 5 year plan?
1933-37
46
What year was the 3rd 5 year plan?
1938-41 (ended prematurely due to German invasion)
47
Who was in charge of formulating targets for the plans?
Gosplan
48
What did Gosplan claimed the 5y/ps had caused?
The destruction of capitalism
49
What were the plans?
Targets that were backed up with propaganda campaigns
50
Did the government attempt to see if factories had the right resources to reach these plans?
No
51
How did the production of coal do 1927-1940?
Increased from 35.4 mill tones to 165.9 tons
52
How did the production of steel increase from 1927-1940?
Increased from 4 mill tons to 18 mill tons
53
How did the production of Iron increase 1927-1940?
Increased from 3 mill tons to 14 mill tons
54
From 1929-1936 what 'cities' were built?
Big industrial/factory cities such as Magnetogorsk
55
What transport links opened under the plans?
1935- Moscow metro railway / 1932-1937 the creation of the Volga canal
56
To increase labour productivity, what did Stalin do?
Increased incentives by using Stakhanotives as inspirations / Gave higher payments to more productive workers
57
How successful was rearmament and how much government spending devoted to it in 1940?
Was very successful and 1/3rd of govt. spending was focused on it
58
What were the problems that the plans faced?
Inefficient and wasteful / unorganised
59
How much material was wasted in some industries?
As much as 40%
60
Why was there a decrease in experts to run Gosplan?
As Stalin's terror attacked them greatly
61
How accurate were Gosplan targets?
Very inaccurate - had to falsify some paperwork which made planning more inaccurate
62
Why was there continual shortage of consumer goods during the 5 year plans?
Stalin focused on heavy industry
63
Give examples showing that there was a demand for consumer goods in 1928-41
In Moscow lines reached 1000 people long and in 1938 -Leningrad lines reached 6000 people long (for consumer goods)
64
Why did Stalin create internal passports?
To prevent workers from moving to higher paid jobs
65
During the plans what were living conditions like?
Bad - Magnetogorsk = many workers lived in shacks/ tents / In some towns there were 650,000 people living without a single bath house
66
In what year was collectivisation introduced?
1929
67
In what year did they claim there was an 100% success rate with collectivisation?
1930
68
Why did collectivisation include grain requisitioning and of who?
It included grain requisitioning to enable them to sell more grain. The requisitioning was on all farms but was highly resisted due to the affect it had under war communism
69
Who did Stalin 'liquidate' due to their resistance to grain requisitioning and what was this called?
1.5 million Kulaks (rich peasants) / Dekulaklisation
70
By what year were almost all farms collectivised?
1941
71
How did peasants respond to grain requisitioning?
Destroyed crops and livestock
72
How many pigs were killed from 1928-34?
11 million
73
How many sheep were killed from 1928-34?
60 million
74
How many horses were killed from 1928-34?
17 million
75
How many cattle were killed from 1928-34?
26 million
76
What happened to grain production from 1928-1934?
It decreased from 73 million tons to 67 million tons
77
In what years was the Ukraine famine?
1933-1934
78
How many people died as a result of the famine in the Ukraine?
5 million
79
How many tractors were produced as a result of mechanisation?
25,000
80
What happened to grain procurement from 1928 to 1933?
Increased from 10.6 mill tons to 22.6 mill tons
81
What happened to grain exports in 1928 to 1931?
Increased from 1 million tons to 5 million tons
82
Post WW2 what were there severe shortages of?
Goods and workers
83
By what year had production met pre-war levels?
1952
84
What were the grain harvests in 1946 to 1952?
They were 39.6 mill tons to 92.2 mill tons
85
In 1942 how many people were homeless?
25 million
86
In comparison to pre-war levels how much less was the industry producing?
2/3rds less
87
What levels of industrial growth did the 4th 5 year plan lead to?
Very high levels
88
What % of investment was placed on heavy industry during the 4th year plan?
88%
89
From 1945-1950 by how much % did industrial output increase by?
80%
90
By 1952 how much of the government budget was on military expenditure?
1/4
91
What happened to consumer goods?
Increased but only 12% of the plan focused on them
92
What improved incentives did Khrushchev give workers?
1954 - Increased wages for farmers
93
From 1952-56 what % did productivity increase by?
250%
94
In 1955, what increased in production by 30% and what increased by 40%?
```
30 = tractors
40 = fertilisers
```
95
In what year was the Virgin Land Scheme?
1953
96
From 1954 - 59 what was the growth in investment due to the VLS?
3% to 13%
97
In what year was the corn campaign?
1958
98
Was the Corn Campaign a success?
No it was a failure and as a result animal feed decreased by 30%
99
From 1954-58 what did agricultural incomes rise by?
400%
100
What was the problems with the Virgin Land Scheme?
Kazakhstan soil was infertile / Kazakhstan is very hot = expensive irrigation systems / Didn't lead to further agricultural growth
101
In 1955 what did Khrushchev cut military spending from and to?
From 12% to 9% in 1958
102
Due to the cold war, what did Khrushchev increase military spending to in 1964?
11%
103
In what year was the 7 year plan started?
1959
104
What did the 7 year plan focus on?
Light industry
105
What were the successes of the plan?
60% increase in consumer goods and an increase in synthetic fibre targets
106
Although these were successes, why were they bad?
They didn't meet the targets - consumer goods was 5% short of target and synthetic fibres was 2000,000 off its target
107
When was the first satellite launched into space?
1957
108
Why did Brezhnev allow the Black market to run?
Said it was a necessary evil
109
What did Brezhnev increase military spending to?
13%
110
In 1970, what had happened to economic growth rates?
They had declined to 2% growth
111
What year were the Kosygin reforms?
1968
112
What were the Kosygin reforms designed to do?
Cut investment in the most insufficient collective farms and divert that money into consumer goods production
113
How did Brezhnev manage to lower food prices?
By importing grain from abroad
