Chapter 16 - The social and economic condition of the Soviet Union by 1941 Flashcards
Economic strengths: Industry
By 1941, the 5YPs had transformed the USSR into a highly industrialised nation
By 1940, the USSR had overtaken Britain in iron and steel production and wasn’t far behind Germany
Economic strengths: Urbanisation
Collectivisation and the 5YPs had increased urbanisation, leading to a much larger potential workforce for industries to draw on
1926, 17% of the population lived in urban areas
1930, 33% of the population lived in urban areas
Economic strengths: Collectivisation
By 1941, all farms had been collectivised and brought into the Soviet centrally planned economic system
1929, less than 5% of farms collectivised
1940, 100% of farms collectivised
Economic strengths: Military spending
Military spending increased quickly over the 1930s, and Stalin’s push for heavy industry meant the USSR could rapidly develop its military strength
3% of total budget in 1933
34% of total budget in 1940
Economic weaknesses: Uneven economic development
Heavy industry grew rapidly during the 5YPs while consumer production was cut back, leaving to severe shortages of consumer products
1928, 4 million tonnes of steel
1940, 18 million tonnes of steel
Lengthy waits and queues for basic consumer goods
Economic weaknesses: Quality of products
Quality of proucts often poor, 5YP targets emphasised quantity over quality
Meat targets set by weight –> fatty meat is heavier than lean meat –> farmers produced fatty meat, even though consumers didn’t like it
Economic weaknesses: Poor central planning
The central planning system struggled to deal with an increasingly complex economy, and organisation at a local level was often poor
Early 1930s, 300 planning targets for Gosplan to set and monitor
1940, 2500 planning targets for Gosplan to set and monitor
Social strengths: state ownership
State ownership of industry and agriculture achieved by 1941
The Soviet regime claimed that state ownership was essentially the same as ownership by the Soviet people, and therefore socialist
Social strengths: State control
Stalin had achieved much greater state control over society, notably in the countryside
From 1929, peasants supervised by Party officials attached to each kolkhoz and secret police units were stationed at each Motor Tractor Station
Social strengths: End of food rationing
Ended in 1934
Kolkhozniks were allowed to have their own private plots to farm from 1934, which helped food production to recover
The private plots were producing nearly 2/3 of the USSR’s food by the late 1930s
Social strengths: Benefits to reward workers
Significant benefits available to workers who consistently beat their targets
State provision of childcare allowed more women to enter the workplace and training programmes allowed some women to acquire well-paid, skilled positions
Social weaknesses: Deaths
Approx 6-8 million people died in famine of 1932-34
10 million peasants died from the effects of dekulakisation and deportation
Conditions on collective farms were miserable
Social weaknesses: Living conditions
Rapid urbanisation took place without sufficient expansion of housing
Shanty towns developed on the outskirts of big cities, with no facilities for washing or sanitation
Social weaknesses: Social inequalities
Benefits available to Party bureaucrats began to produce social inequalities
~50,000 senior Party officials were rewarded with far better living conditions, food and clothes than ordinary workers
Industrial workers had access to better pay, opportunities and leisure activities than kolkhozniks
What helped the USSR organise its war effort in 1941?
Central control of the ‘command economy’
