22. Economic and social developments under Khrushchev (1953-64)

Question 1

How much of the USSR’s industrial capacity was destroyed by WW2?

Answer 1

70%

Question 2

What were Comecon and Cominform?

Answer 2

International agencies set up by Stalin in response to Marshall Aid

• Comecon - coordination of Eastern Bloc economies
• Cominform - propaganda

Question 3

What was done with East Germany after WW2?

Answer 3

They were forced to pay reparations to the USSR.

The Opel factory was moved from East Germany to the USSR

Question 4

How much did production increase in the 4th Five Year Plan (1946-50)?

Answer 4

It doubled

Question 5

What did Khrushchev say about theory?

Answer 5

“You cannot put theory in your soup”

Question 6

Why were heavy goods naturally favoured in the USSR?

Answer 6

Targets were often judged using weight.

Question 7

How did working conditions improve in the seven year plan (1959-65)?

Answer 7

40hr working week
40% wage rise

Question 8

What was Aeroflot?

Answer 8

A state-subsidised airline with offered cheap long-distance travel. It was said that peasants could buy a ticket to Moscow, sell their produce there and still make a profit.

Question 9

When was Sputnik launched? And when did Yuri Gagarin become the first man in space?

Answer 9

Sputnik launched in 1957

Gagarin went into space in 1961

Question 10

By how much did TV sets increase between 1955 and 1965?

Answer 10

495k (1955) to 3.7m (1965)

Question 11

By how much did fridges increase between 1955 and 1965?

Answer 11

They increased tenfold

Question 12

What was the USSR’s annual growth rate before 1958?

Answer 12

10%

Question 13

What proportion of the agricultural labour force had been lost during WW2?

Answer 13

Two thirds

Question 14

How much did the 1945 harvest produce?

Answer 14

Less than 60% of pre-war levels

Question 15

How many horses were there in 1950 compared to in 1929 (before collectivisation)?

Answer 15

Only 15m in 1950, compared with 35m in 1929

Question 16

How did Khrushchev decentralise agriculture?

Answer 16

• He made the Ministry of Agriculture a merely consultative body. Power was devolved to local Party bodies.
• Kolkhozes could set their own production targets.

Question 17

How did peasants’ lives improve under Khrushchev?

Answer 17

• 25% increase in the price which the state paid peasants for their grain
• Quotas and taxes were reduced
• They became eligible for state pensions for the first time

Question 18

What were ‘agrocities’?

And by how much did the number of kolkhozes decrease between 1950-1960?

Answer 18

An idea by which kolkhozes would amalgamate into huge collective farms.

This led to the number of kolkhozes halving between 1950 and 1960, but the idea of agrocities never really got past the conceptual stage.

Question 19

How much new land was cultivated under the Virgin Lands scheme?

Answer 19

36m hectares

Question 20

By how much had wheat output increased by 1960, due to the Virgin Lands scheme?

Answer 20

50%

Question 21

What were the failures of the Virgin Lands scheme?

Answer 21

• Much of Kazakhstan became a dustbowl due to overfarming
• Only 1/6 of maize was harvested ripe (it was an unsuitable crop)

Question 22

Who was Trofim Lysenko?

Answer 22

A biologist who rejected traditional theories and thought planting the same successful grain would result in more success in future.

The lack of crop rotation took all the nutrients out the soil and led to a dustbowl developing in Kazakhstan.

He was relied upon by both Stalin and Khrushchev.

Question 23

How much did meat production increase between 1952 and 1964?

Answer 23

5m tonnes (1952) to 9m tonnes (1964)

Question 24

How much of produce was from the peasants’ private plots during the Khrushchev era?

Answer 24

30%, despite the plots only representing 3% of cultivated land.

Question 25

What were Khrushchev's fertiliser and cornflake campaigns? Were they successful?

Answer 25

- A 1962 campaign increased the use of fertiliser, leading to more efficient farming - Khrushchev tried to introduce cornflakes, but they were seen as an Americanism. Unsuccessful.

Question 26

How much did peasants' incomes increase between Stalin and Khrushchev?

Answer 26

Under Stalin, they were 20% of industrial workers'. Under Khrushchev, they were 60% of industrial workers'.

Question 27

By how much did washing machines increase between 1955 and 1966?

Answer 27

There were 77 times more washing machines in 1966

Question 28

How did Khrushchev improve the living standards of Soviet citizens?

Answer 28

- 40hr week introduced - Wage rises for the poorest (USSR had the lowest wage gaps of any industrialised country) - New housing initiatives combatted overcrowding and homelessness

Question 29

How did Khrushchev improve the lives of women?

Answer 29

He increased maternity leave and pensions (to encourage them to have more children).

Question 30

In what ways did Party elites still live better than ordinary citizens? | Also give one example of high-level corruption.

Answer 30

They had non-monetary privileges like holidays, healthcare, cars and access to scarce commodities. Corruption was rife with party leaders giving jobs to their friends and family. Khrushchev made his son-in-law editor of the newspaper Izvestia.

Question 31

How many people attended the World Festival of Youth in Moscow in 1957?

Answer 31

34,000

Question 32

What were the effects of the thaw on Soviet youths?

Answer 32

- The 'Intourist' programme allowed foreigners to visit the USSR. - Young Soviets were excited by the Westerners' modern dress, music, behaviour and slang. - Some youths boycotted lectures or dining rooms at university. - According to a 1961 Soviet survey, most young people were cynical about communist ideals, and motivated by material goals.

Question 33

What book was written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in 1962?

Answer 33

'One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich', about his experiences in the gulags. Critical of Stalinist times. Sold 1 million copies in 6 months.

Question 34

How much did Orthodox churches decrease between 1959 and 1965?

Answer 34

From 22,000 (1959) to 8,000 (1965)

Question 35

How did Khrushchev revive anti-religious persecution?

Answer 35

- Orthodox churches decreased from 22,000 to 8,000 - Seminaries shut down, pilgrimages banned. - 1961: Children banned from church services. - All higher learning institutions had to teach a course on 'the foundations of scientific atheism'. - Devout citizens could be imprisoned and have their children taken away. - Clergy who criticised atheism could be sent to labour camps. - Some monks were even sent to mental hospitals.

Question 36

In what ways was Khrushchev anti-Semitic?

Answer 36

- He opposed Jewish schools - He complained that Jews preferred intellectual pursuits to 'mass occupations' (ie. manual labour) - He refused to let Jews emigrate to the new State of Israel

Question 37

How were ethnic minorities treated under Khrushchev?

Answer 37

- There was no movement towards self-determination. - The Party aimed for all ethnic distinctions to disappear and a single common language to be adopted by all.

Question 38

What effect did the abolition of MTSs have?

Answer 38

More freedom for kolkhozes, less oversight from Party and secret police. However, it meant many mechanics sought work in the towers and the peasants were left with machines they couldn't fix.

Question 39

What happened in the 1963 harvest?

Answer 39

A drought meant the USSR had to import grain from the US. Very embarrassing.

Question 40

When were university fees abolished?

Answer 40

1956

Question 41

How many people moved into new apartments from 1956-65?

Answer 41

108 million

Question 42

How many of the Soviet gulags were closed by Khrushchev?

Answer 42

11,000 of 20,000

Question 43

When was the leaving age increased to 15?

Answer 43

1958

Question 44

What proportion of Soviet citizens were under-30s during the Khrushchev era?

Answer 44

55%