The Five Year Plans Flashcards
What was Gosplan?
Gosplan was the state planning agency and was given responsibility for drawing up the plans and establishing output targets for every economic enterprise in accordance with party directives.
What were 5 weaknesses of Gosplan?
- Working from deliberately falsified statistics.
- Corruption and faulty reporting as failure to achieve the high targets was a criminal offense.
- Had to plan for many variable and changing statistics.
- Lack of reliable information on imports and exports.
- Once plans got underway, thousands of state employees were dismissed, including members of Gosplan’s own offices, on the grounds that they were not sufficiently class conscious, enthusiastic or free from corruption.
When was the first five year plan?
1928 - 1933
What were the aims of the first five year plan?
- Increase production by 300%
-Focus on the development of coal, iron, steel, oil and machinery.
-Boost electricity production by 600%.
-Double the output from light industry such as chemicals.
What was the context of the first five year plan?
Publicity surrounding it’s launch provoked an enthusiastic response. The plan was an experiment and there was no obvious example to learn from- particularly at a time of economic collapse in the west following the wall street crash.
What were the successes and weaknesses of the first five year plan?
Successes: Investment brought some impressive growth. Electricity output trebled. Steel production increased by a third. New railways, engineering plants and industrial complexes.
Failures: None of the major targets were actually met. E.g, the chemical industry, house building and food processing.
When was the second five year plan?
1933 - 1937
What was the context of the second five year plan?
This built on the infrastructure provided by the first five year plan. It gave more attention to consumer goods than the first plan, however heavy industry remained the overall priority.
What were the successes and weaknesses of the second five year plan?
Successes: The Moscow metro was opened in 1933, and the Volga canal in 1937. The Dnieprostroi Dam, which had been completed since 1932, was extended with far more generators to make it the largest Dam in Europe.
Failures: Oil production failed to meet it’s targets. Despite some expansion in footwear and food-processing , there was still no appreciable increase in consumer goods.
When was the third five year plan?
1938 - 1942
What were the aims of the second five year plan?
- Continue the development of heavy industry.
- Promote the growth of light industries.
- Develop communications to provide links between cities and other industrial areas.
What were the aims of the third five year plan?
- Place a renewed emphasis on the development of heavy industry.
- Promote rapid rearmament.
- Complete the transition to communism.
What was the context of the third five year plan?
The plan had a particular focus on the needs of the defense sector, in light of the growing threat that Nazi Germany posed to the USSR. The plan was disrupted by the war in 1941.
What were the successes and weaknesses of the third five year plan?
Successes: strong growth in machinery and engineering, although the picture varied across the country.
Failures: There was the death of good managers, specialists and technicians following Stalin’s purges.
What was the Dnieprostro Dam?
The largest hydroelectric power station on the Dneper River, placed in Zaporizhia Ukraine. Generating 500MW, it became the largest soviet power plant at the time.
