Theme 2- Stalin Flashcards
(17 cards)
How was there a transformation of the economy in the years 1928-41?
All aspects of industry and agriculture were brought under state control with the implementation of Five-Year plans and collectivisation. The impact of these changes were wide-ranging, as the USSR emerged as a modern, industrialised, superpower: it was ‘Stalin’s Revolution’. The human cost of this transformation was enormous.
The implementation of 5 year plans
The plans aimed to use the most advanced technology, applied with an emphasis on heavy industry, to make the USSR self-sufficient. They would rely on the mass mobilisation of its people and resources. The language of the Plans reflected a massive military campaign as the people were encouraged to ‘storm’ and ‘conquer’ on many ‘fronts’.
‘bourgeoise experts’
These were technical staff who had retained their positions because the state needed experts to keep running industry running. In 1928, these experts went through a series of Show trials accused of ‘wrecking’ and deliberate sabotage, often in collaboration with foreign agents. As class enemies, this group was seen as the enemy within and could not be tolerated. Part of the old world disappeared and was replaced by a stronger socialist order. Unfortunately, the loss of this group of technical experts hindered the progress of the Five-Year Plans.
What did the First 5 year plan focus on?
First 5 year plan (1928-32) - concentrated on heavy industry, such as coal, steel and iron, an approach recommended by ‘superindustrialisers’. Consumer industries and textiles were neglected. The original justification for this focus was the need to build up industrial infrastructure of factories, communication networks and plant before other sectors would flourish. This was a reasonable justification for the focus of the first five year plan.
What did the Second and Third 5 year plans focus on?
Second 5 year plan (1933-37) - initially set higher targets for the production of consumer goods, but as the 1930s progressed, the rise of Hitler in Germany redirected the focus onto the needs of defence, which meant that heavy industry was still priority.
Third 5 year plan- launched in 1938, was geared even more directly towards arms production to meet the threat of Germany.
What were the results of the First 3 five-year plans 1928-41?
The targets of the First 5 year Plan of 1928-32 were very ambitious at the start, but as the plan was put into effect they were constantly raised to unrealistic heights. The goal became not just fulfilling the plan, but over-fulfilling it; not to do so was a lack of commitment to the Revolution. Although targets were rarely reached, the achievements of the 3 five year plans were impressive and transformed the soviet union into a major industrial power with a modern, if unbalanced, economy.
The first 5 year plan
Industrial expansion was largely the result of making more efficient use of existing factories and equipment. New plants didn’t have a significant impact until 1934 and large industrial centres, such as Magnitogorsk and Gorki were built from scratch and became large cities. In 1925, there were only 25 people living in Magnitogorsk, this number had increased to 250,000 people.
Alexei Stakhanov
The most well-known modern worker was Alexei Stakhanov, a coal miner who could mine 15 times the average amount of coal. There were rewards for model workers, such as a new flat and bigger rations; slackers were held up to ridicule.
How did the gulags help the USSR industrialise?
As a last resort, the government could always use slave labour to complete large building projects especially in cold, remote regions such as Siberia, where nobody would work. The answer was to use the burgeoning population in the Gulag. Labour camp prisoners were diverted to mines, railway construction and other projects. The most notorious was the White Sea Canal Project, which employed 180,000 prisoners by 1932. The completion of the canal was hailed as a propaganda triumph. Although 10,000 people died on the project and the depth was reduced by 10 feet. This seems to illustrate the attitude of Stalin and his government that the human cost and quality were of no consequence as long as the aim was achieved.
How were Factory manager put under severe pressure?
They faced increasingly unrealistic targets, used a wide range of enterprising methods, which occasionally included ambushing resources destined for other factories. Bribery was another useful tool of the factory manager. The corruption for which the USSR became infamous had its roots in the policy requirements of the 1930s.
How was quality sacrificed?
In the rush to fulfil targets, quality was often sacrificed. The Stalingrad tractor factory was supposed to be producing 500 a month in 1930, but in June it only managed 8. Most of these broke down within three days.
The second and third plans
The second five year plan drew lessons learnt from the chaotic planning of the first five year plan and made more use of technical expertise. With the First five year plan starting major industrial centres, the results were impressive, especially in coal. The chemical industry also made progress, but the oil industry remained disappointing. The Third Plan became heavily focused on the defence industry in light of growing international tension.
What was the growth rate 1928-41?
Overall, this period saw a 17% growth rate but progress was unbalanced. There was a four-fold increase in the production of steel and a six-fold increase in coal production. The plans saw the successful completion of projects for growth in industry. The Dnieper dam project was one of the most important examples.
What suffered during 1928-41?
Consumer industries suffered. The production of textiles actually declined during the first five year plan and the housing industry virtually ignore. The shortage of consumer goods was made worse by the fact that the collectivisation of agriculture had destroyed a lot of cottage industry previously undertaken in rural areas. The focus on heavy industry had consequences that the Soviet Union had to live with for the rest of its history.
What limited Stalin’s achievements of economic policy?
Chaotic implementation and planning have often been highlighted as factors that limited this. The state’s rigid adoption of a command economy, directed by the government, led to failures because planners based in Moscow had little understanding of local conditions in far-flung places in the Soviet Union. The result was that many resources were wasted because they were inappropriate. By removing many managers and the technical experts through the purges in 1937, the actions of the party led to a slowdown of the economy.
Reasons for collectivisation
- the link with industry: industrial progress would only be possible if it was supported by an increase in food surpluses.
- the economic case for collectivisation
- the political case for collectivisation: help extend socialism to the countryside
By 1928, Stalin had become convinced that the state of agriculture and the attitudes of sections of the peasantry were holding back the industrial progress.
