The Stalin era: recovery from war after 1945

Question 1

What did the Second World War do to the Soviet economy?

Answer 1

Devastated it

Question 2

After the Second World War, what did economic planners set out to do using techniques developed in the 1930s?

Answer 2

Set about rebuilding Soviet industry and reviving Soviet agriculture

Question 3

After the Second World War, Soviet agriculture grew rapidly but industry grew more slowly.
True or false?

Answer 3

False.
Industry grew rapidly and agriculture more slowly

Question 4

Give some examples of how the Soviet economy was set back significantly by the Second World War.

Answer 4

People were homeless
Production in industry decreased
Grain production decreased

Question 5

By 1945, how many people were homeless?

Answer 5

25 million

Question 6

By 1945, how had industrial production decreased?

Answer 6

Soviet industry was producing around a third of what it had produced in 1940

Question 7

By 1945, how had grain production decreased?

Answer 7

Soviet agriculture was producing around half the grain it had in 1940

Question 8

What did the post-war plans focus on?

Answer 8

Heavy industry and rearmament

Question 9

Post-war, what percentage of economic investment was devoted to developing heavy industry?

Answer 9

Almost 90%

Question 10

BY 1950, what was the Soviet economy producing more of than it was in 1940?

Answer 10

Coal
Oil
Electricity
Iron
Steel

Question 11

BY 1950, what was the Soviet economy like?

Answer 11

The fastest growing in the world

Question 12

After the Second World War, why did the Soviet Union continue to prioritise military spending?

Answer 12

Because of the development of the Cold War

Question 13

What was the Cold War?

Answer 13

Period of heightened political tension between the Capitalist West, led by America, and the Communist East, led by Russia.

Question 14

By 1952, what percentage of the government spending was the Soviet military budget?

Answer 14

Around 25%

Question 15

Why had military spending led to real achievements?

Answer 15

By 1949, Soviet scientists had successfully tested their first atomic bomb

Question 16

Between 1945 and 1953, summarise 8 problems the Soviet economy was plagued by?

Answer 16

Economy remained inefficient
Light industry failed to grow
Soviet workers remained unproductive compared to those of other industrial nations
Consumer goods remained scarce
High-tech production lagged behind other modern economies
Tractors, trucks and other high-tech goods were poorly made
Farming remained labour-intensive
Productivity on farms was low

Question 17

What is light industry?

Answer 17

Manufacturing that produces consumer goods

Question 18

Why did the economy remain inefficient between 1945 and 1953?

Answer 18

Due to the problems associated with the command economy

Question 19

Give evidence of how light industry failed to grow between 1945 and 1953.

Answer 19

Less than 12% of industrial investment in Stalin’s last years went into light industry

Question 20

Why did consumer goods remain scarce between 1945 and 1953?

Answer 20

Due to lack of investment in light industry

Question 21

Why did high-tech production lag behind other modern economies between 1945 and 1953?

Answer 21

High-tech production relies on the quality of material and precise engineering, whereas the Soviet economy was designed to create vast quantities of material.

Question 22

Why was productivity low between 1945 and 1953?

Answer 22

Lack of incentives

Question 23

What did Stalin’s economy do for the Soviet Union?

Answer 23

Industrialised it

Question 24

Despite Stalin’s economic growth, why did this not lead to a better living standard for most citizens?

Answer 24

Some historians argue, his economic policies reflected his gigantomania

Question 25

What is gigantomania?

Answer 25

A love of giant things

Question 26

Give examples of things Stalin wanted to do due to his gigantomania.

Answer 26

Build giant factories
Build huge aeroplanes
Produce vast quantities of steel

Question 27

Due to his gigantomania, what was Stalin interested in?

Answer 27

Efficiency
Consumer goods

Question 28

Due to Stalin’s gigantomania, in what way did the economy industrialise?

Answer 28

In a way that served Stalin’s gigantomania rather than the needs of the Soviet population

Question 29

What did Communists who joined the Party during the 1930s believe about Stalin’s economy?

Answer 29

It was a huge achievement

Question 30

From the 1930s, what would the Soviet Communists credit Lenin and Stalin with?

Answer 30

Lenin = Laying political foundation for Communism

Stalin = Establishing the world’s first Socialist economy

Question 31

Leaders would reforms aspects of Stalin and Lenin’s system but what remained at the heart of the Soviet system until the late 1980s?

Answer 31

Lenin’s one-party state

Stalin’s command economy