Economic Policies

Question 1

Why State capitalism 1917-18?

Answer 1

Russia was in civil war, there was a lack of industry, people were starving… 50g bread ration p.d in Petrograd
Political instability, ppl were cold, hungry, sober
Lenin wanted to remove capitalism from R econ… acted as a ‘halfway house’
Whilst early decrees placed power in workers hands… carefully worded so ultimate power w/ state

Question 2

Effects of state capitalism

Answer 2

Set up Veshenka… council of national economy to centrally control the econ
Worker management led to industry to fall apart bc of lack of org
Shortage of goods led to inflation
Some workers gave themselves unrealistic pay rises, some stole stock to sell on the black market
Shortage of raw mats bc civil war- diff to prod munitions + other supplies
Peasants wld not supply food to cities bc lack of consumer goods… Ukraine out of Bolsh control led to food shortages and rioting
Nobility + bourgeoisie not given ration cards
Small factories not nationalised

Question 3

Why war communism 1918-21?

Answer 3

State cap = not suitable for civil war… fighting for their very existence
Needed enough food to feed army + needed to produce enough weapons
Rus econ had to be rearranged to benefit all Rus, this will be dictated in a centralised fashion by the regime and not by market forces/ needs of the consumer

Question 4

Key features of war communism

Answer 4

-Grain requisitioning led to the Red Guard units forcibly requisitioning grain for cities… if peasants refused they wld be shot
-Banning of priv trade + manufacturing led to the black market
-nationalisation of industry, under Veshenka control, worker committees brought under bourgeois managers/ specialists. Prod planned by gov
-Labour discipline reintroduced + internal passports
-Rationing - labour forces + RA more, MC got least
-money= worthless, wages in food

Question 5

Effects of war communism

Answer 5

-less than 1/3 of urban diet was state provided- rest black market (bag men)
-the Cheka raided trains to stop bagmen travelling but it fed the starving. Prices of food rocketed + fuel was short + sanitary conditions worsened
-MC worse effected- many turned to prostitution
-workers benefitted but didn’t like corruption of the party
-War com caused hardship. Peasants refused to cooperate in prod more food as it was taken away. Food shortages + bad weather = famine. Harvest of 1921 produced 48% of 1913’s harvest
Some est 7 mil Rus ppl died. Reports of cannibalism population in 1913= 170.9 mil, in 1921 =130.9 mil
-The Red Terror, Tambov revolt, the Kronstadt rising

Question 6

The NEP features

Answer 6

-Stopped the practice of requisitioning food
-Peasants now had to supply amount of what they grew to gov
-Any extra they were allowed to keep, or sell for profit
-Small factories privatised
-All imp industries, such as coal and steel, nationalised
New rouble was into to end inflation
Programme of electrification cont and extended to rural areas.

Question 7

Effects of the NEP

Answer 7

-‘ban on factions’ intro 1921. Cold be discussions about pol, once cent com had made a decision, every party member had to agree
-Mensheviks + SR’s parties banned in 1921 + thousands of Mensheviks + SRs arrested
-The Cheka given more power to root- out poss counter-revolutionaries + crackdown on NEPmen- suppress NEP moving towards full com
-censorship incr- church under more pressure. Thousands of priests arrested
-the nomenklatura system intro in 1923- only those completely loyal considered for promotion
Scissor crisis- ag dear, Ind incr

Question 8

The Great Turn Aims

Answer 8

-come to rapid industrialisation and mass mobilisation of workers. To facilitate this need rapid agricultural revolution.
-planned to increase grain production by 50% over the course of the 5 year plan.
-Aimed to eradicate the kulaks, make farming socialist rather than capitalist.
-Replace the NEP

Question 9

Process of collectivisation

Answer 9

1929- 5% farms collectivised, 15% all peasant households identify as kulaks. Those who weren’t shot by the OGPU were exiled to Siberia. 150,000 Kulak families deported
1930- March -St announced 50% peasant farms had been collectivised… allowed for brief return of voluntary collectivisation
Oct- numbers dropped bc of this 20% collectivised
1931- once spring crop sown- collectivisation enforced again
1941- all farms collectivised

Question 10

Effects of collectivisation on peasants

Answer 10

-widespread + violent opposition to col. Many peasants killed livestock + destroyed machines, fearing wld be branded as kulaks if kept them
-Armed forces resp brutally… sometimes burning down villages + deporting those who resisted
-some peasants sent to remote places in Siberia to labour camps. Thousands died in harsh conditions of the camps run by the OGPU. Est 10 mil deported as kulaks under Stalin
-Peasants in collective farms treated badly, targets = high. Farms receive nothing if quotas not met, state prices = low… farms struggled to cover costs.
- by 1939 ab 19 mil peasants had migrated to towns or cities
-many regions exp a drought in 1931 especially in Ukraine. Famine spread 32-33. Gov cont to demand grain quotas despite drop in prod. 6-8 mil died. Famine bc coll

Question 11

Success of collectivisation

Answer 11

-dekulakisation + collectivisation= farming under state control. No opp for farmers to hold back grain
-cap in countryside eradicated, except peasants priv owned blocks
-1941 100% collectivised
-Money from grain exports = funded Ind… poor conditions caused migration to cities. 1922 and 1940 urban pop 22-63 mil
USSR succeeded in its aim of exporting more grain (raised from 30,000 tonnes 1928 to 5 mil 1931). Prov invest for rap Ind
Extended regime overt country side- built soc

Question 12

Failure of collectivisation

Answer 12

During peasant oppression, ag prod fell dramatically. 1933, harvest 9 mil tonnes less than 1927
Grain did not exceed pre-coll levels until after 1935
Livestock no fell by 25-30% did not recover until 1953
Living standards fell in urban + rural areas. In towns + cities wages also declined
Feminine killed 6-8 million people, high Soc cost. Not seen like this w/in party

Question 13

First five year plan (1928-32) Aims

Answer 13

develop heavy industry
boost electricity production
Double light industry e.g chemicals

Question 14

First 5 year plan successes

Answer 14

Elec prod doubled
Coal & iron output doubled
Steel prod incr ny 1/3

Question 15

First 5 year plan limitations

Answer 15

None of the extreme ambitions met
Improvements in chem Ind lagged behind
Consumer Ind badly neglected

Question 16

Second five year plan (1933-37) aims

Answer 16

Cont the growth of heavy industry
Boost light industry: Chen’s, elecs, consumer goods
Develop communications
Foster engineering

Question 17

Second five year plan successes

Answer 17

some large scale communications projects
Rapid growth in elec prod & chems
New metals (e.g copper & tin) mined for the first time
Steel output trebled
USSR self-sufficient in metal goods + machine tools by 1937

Question 18

Second 5 year plan limits

Answer 18

Oil prod failed to meet its targets
Consumers still v short of some products
Quantity incr- qual = bad

Question 19

Third five year plan (1938-42) aims

Answer 19

Renewed emphasis on heavy industry
Promote rapid rearmement
Complete the transition to communism

Question 20

3rd five year plan successes

Answer 20

Some strong growth in machinery and engineering
Defence industries developed exceptional models e.g the T-34 tank
Spending on rearmament doubled between 1938-40

Question 21

3rd five year plan limitations

Answer 21

Other areas stagnated after defense was prioritised
Oil production failed to meet target causing a fuel crisis
Lack of specialists due to purges
German invasion of 1941 disrupted the plan, causing it to end early

Question 22

Success of the 5 year plans

Answer 22

The Sov econ grew at 5-6% PA between 1928-1940. Impressive result, especially in context of global recession
The USSR became a major industrial power as a result of the 5 year plans
Impressive results in heavy industrial growth. Light Ind also started to deliver more consumer goods for Sov cits
Created OPPs for ordinary workers to develop new skills and progress in their careers, incr for women and men
Plans fostered a sense of pride in the com system and what it could achieve

Question 23

Weaknesses of the 5 year plans

Answer 23

Social downsides include deteriorating living conds… dom by strict lab discipline
Fear of missing targets cr an environment of bribery and corruption, and a focus on quantity rather than quality
Success of 5 yr plans in achieving industrialisation was also built on prison-camp labour and the very low prices paid to collective farms for very high quotas of grain- even during times of food shortage and famine.

Question 24

Post-war reconstruction; industry issues

Answer 24

St promised in 1945 that by 1960 Rus would be the worlds leading econ
Problems adjusting in peacetime conditions
In 1945, mining production, electricity generation and steel production were around half of 1940 levels.
The transport infrastructure was badly disrupted
The workforce was exhausted and depleted by wartime sacrifices
End of foreign aid added significant pressures on industry
A high investment in military production (25% of total expenditure by 1952) as a result of the Cold War meant less investment in other areas

Question 25

Industrial recovery successes

Answer 25

Many of the plan’s targets were met or exceeded. For example, more coal, oil, steel, cement, and electricity were all being produced in 1950 compared to 1940
By 1950, Ukraine’s Ind output was higher than before the war
Improved production of consumer goods under the 4th 5 year plan, for example, cotton fabrics, wool fabrics and sugar were back to pre-war production by 1950. (However, prod of shoes, clothes and furniture lagged behind pre-war levels, which had already been inadequate to meet demands.)
As early as 1948, average soviet incomes were back to 1938 levels.

Question 26

Reasons for rapid post-war recovery

Answer 26

War reparations transferred masses of materials from Germany to the USSR
Central planning was able to enforce the mass mobilisation of people and resources
A ‘rebound effect’ (recovery from a low base) enabled rapid rebuilding of essential services
The people were proud of the USSR’s victory and willing to make further sacrifices

Question 27

Post-war reconstruction agricultural problems

Answer 27

Large numbers of farms had been destroyed in the war (98,000 collective farms)
Large quantities of farm machinery had been destroyed and livestock numbers were seriously depleted
Food production in 1945 was at 60% of 1940 levels.
Death and injuries from the war meant a shortage of farming labour.
1946 was the driest year since 1891, famine hit parts of Ukraine and central Russia 1946-47, killing an estimated 1.5 million people people… highlighted the serious problems facing agriculture
Fourth 4 year plan brought some incr but failed to reach most of its targets
Stalin’s writings on the Sov econ blocked reform in agriculture. For example, payments to farm products were still kept very low, taxes were incr, an in 1948 a ban on selling food grown on kolkhozniks’ private plots was reintroduced