(U2) The Economy 1924-41 Flashcards
(56 cards)
1
Q
Why was the NEP so popular in 1924?
for the wider USSR
A
- led to improvements in industrial and agricultural output
- also allowed accumulation of wealth, e.g. NEPmen, kulaks
2
Q
Why did some party members oppose the NEP, particularly after 1924? (3)
A
- it still left insufficient levels of agricultural and industrial output
- some believed it only made the bourgeoise more wealthy
- failed to address peasant rights, land reform and the limited scale of industrialization
3
Q
Outline Bukharin’s economic policies in 1924 (3)
A
- continue the NEP & preserve prosperity
- allow Russia to produce food and basic household goods
- keep taxes low
4
Q
Outline Trotsky’s economic policies in 1924 (2)
A
- End the NEP and create a fully socialist economy e.g. through abolition of currency
- also pursue global revolution
5
Q
Why did Stalin believe ‘Socialism in One Country’ would solve the USSR’s economic issues?
Why did Trotsky oppose Stalin’s 1928 economic policies?
A
- He believed the USSR could financially focus on modernization in agriculture and industry
- he believed in global revolution, prevented by Socialism in One Country
- fundamentally opposed the NEP for its capitalist aspects & policies that were similar to it
6
Q
What were Stalin’s economic aims by 1928? (2)
A
- modernisation and industrialisation with greater agricultural efficiency
- increasing military capacity of the USSR
7
Q
Why was the 1927 NEP crisis politically important?
A
Stalin decided NEP had to replaced to promote rapid industrialisation:
- this demonstrated a shift to the left of the party
- also allowed greater blame to be placed on kulaks and peasants for hoarding etc.
8
Q
What were Stalin’s 2 main economic problems in 1928?
A
- ensuring agricultural five-year plans and collectivisation were successful
- trying to eliminate opposition from Bukharin and the ‘right’ over end to NEP
9
Q
What were the political effects of Stalin’s decision to abandon the NEP?
A
Led to backlash from the ‘right’ led by Bukharin
10
Q
What were the political effects of Stalin’s decision to abandon the NEP?
A
Led to backlash from the ‘right’ led by Bukharin
11
Q
Why did Stalin want to introduce his own economic policies in 1928?
A
- Modernisation; USSR lagged technologically behind western powers
- Greater agricultural efficiency
Policies:
- 5-year plans (industrialisation)
- collectivization (agriculture / industrialisation)
12
Q
Why did Stalin make collectivisation compulsory?
When?
A
- September 1929
- attempt to rapidly increase agricultural efficiency & destroy Kulak class
13
Q
What effects did Collectivisation have on peasants by 1932?
not humanitarian
A
- kulaks effectively eliminated
- Peasant farms amalgamated
- 1929 - 15% of all farms collectivised
- 1932 - 62%
By 1937 - 97% of farms were collectivized
14
Q
Describe the main features of collectivisation (2)
A
- small farms amalgamated into kolkhozy (state farms)
- mechanisation - machines used extensively, increasing food production and decreasing labour demands
Consequently, many peasants moved to urban areas, increasing the industrial workforce
15
Q
How did Stalin deal with opposition to collectivisation?
A
policy to quell opposition:
- 25,000 party members sent from urban to rural areas to root out resistance
- backed by the OGPU and Red army
- also banished members of the Kulak class to remote regions in Russia
OGPU became NKVD post 1934
16
Q
Why was terror used to crush peasant opposition to collectivisation?
A
Peasant protests:
- slaughter of livestock
- refusal to sow cereal crops
- arson of properties and barns
All of which threatened collectivisation
17
Q
What effects did collectivisation have on the kulaks? (2)
A
Class crushed:
- many exiled to remote areas e.g Siberia, Ural Mountains etc
- land and assets siezed by the state
18
Q
What were the 2 most important effects of collectivisation by 1933?
A
- Bad harvests & govt negligence led to widespread famine. About 10 million died and some resorted to cannibalism
- Production collapse in agriculture; Grain fell by 15.1m tonnes in 3 years
19
Q
What were the causes of the famine in parts of the USSR by 1932-33? (2)
A
- bad harvests
- govt exporting grain for foreign currency to aid industrialisation
20
Q
How did the Soviet regime promote collectivisation?
A
Through propaganda that stressed its ideological and economic benefits
21
Q
Why did Stalin take a more moderate approach to collectivisation and peasants, after 1933? (2)
A
- societal effects of famines of 1932/3 and subsequent threat of opposition
- kolkhozy lacked manpower, state needed peasants for them to function
22
Q
What effects did collectivisation have on the economy up until 1939? (5)
A
- more than 250,000 kolkhozy created
- grain requisitioned by force
- increased use of machinery
- fall in no. of livestock
- severe food shortages and famines 1932 & 33
Overall lack of progress in agriculture
23
Q
Why were Machinery and Tractor Stations (MTS) important?
(collectivisation)
A
Reduced labour requirements, allowing peasants to move to urban areas, aiding industrialisation
24
Q
Why was there no real improvement in agricultural production between 1929 and 1939?
A
Humanitarian cost of collectivisation
25
**How** did **collectivisation** leave the *economy badly prepared for war*? (**2**)
- *agricultural production struggled to meet requirements* of the expanding urban workforce and the military
- society **fractured over the humanitarian cost** - not ‘unified’
26
What were the **main aims** of the **1st Five-Year Plan**? (**3**)
**When** did it start & end?
1.
- transform the **USSR** into a modern **industrial state** as **quickly as possible**
- **increase rate of industrial growth** to do so, e.g *target to increase coal production 100%*
- develop **new cities and industrial areas** to *house new industrial workforce* e.g. Magnitogorsk
2. 1928 - 1932
27
What **reasons** did Stalin give in **1931** for the **increased pace** *of industrialisation*? (**3**)
- crucial to **national survival** against western powers
- *more steel and oil production* needed to **drive future economic growth**
- state needed to **modernise to provide** for all
28
What **industries** were **encouraged** under the **first Five-Year Plan** and **why**?
**Steel and oil production** particularly; largely to *prepare for potential war*
29
What was the **issue** with **targets** under the *1st Five-Year Plan*?
They were **completely unrealistic** and **changed frequently**
30
**Why** did *Stalin claim*, in **1932**, that the **first Five-Year Plan** had been a **success**? (**2**)
- wanted to **convince workers** and **gain their loyalty**
- wanted to **convince western powers** that the *USSR was strengthening*
31
What were **Stalin’s political aims** for the **first Five-Year Plan**? (**2**)
- create a ‘**command economy**’ with *more state control* e.g. through **ban on private trade & employment *1930***
- **eradicating opposition** e.g. *1928 show trials of mining engineers*
32
How did **party officials** *help* in *achieving the aims* of the **first Five-Year Plan**? (**3**)
- **propagandising** e.g. slogans like “*Five-Year Plan in 4*”
- **party volunteers** e.g. *Komonsol* helped build cities like *Magnitogorsk*
- encouraged ‘**storming**’ - overtime work that usually compromised quality to meet targets
33
What **groups** were the *new industrial workforce* **from**? (**5**)
| (1st 5-Year plan)
- *most* were **under 30**
- **80%** were **unskilled** or *without experience*
- **9m peasants** moved from *1929 to 1932* to become industrial workers
- **millions of women** recruited *by 1932*
- also **slave labour** from **Gulags**
34
**How** did **bureaucracy hinder** the *implementation* of the **first Five-Year Plan**? (**5**)
State being so large led to **inefficiency**, e.g.:
- through falsified stats,
- lack of training and experience of leadership,
- poor communication
- and over focus on targets
- also **maladministration** as a result
35
What **other problems** did the **first Five-Year Plan** face? (**2**)
| (other than bureaucratic hinderance)
- USSR suffered severe skills shortage
- high labour turnover
36
**Why** was the **1st 5-Year Plan** a **failure**? (**3**)
By **1932**:
- **targets not met** e.g. *coal 10.7m tonnes less* than *1928 target* (but a year less to reach)
- *urban workers* affected by **food shortages**
- **1928-32 - wages halved**
37
**Why** did the **2nd Five-Year Plan** place *focus more* on **heavy industries**? (**2**)
- pursuit of economic **self sufficiency**
- also out of **fear of war**
38
What **economic problems** affected *parts of the USSR* in **Jan 1933**? (**3**)
How did these **affect** the **2nd Five-Year Plan**?
1.
- **serious famine** in cereal producing areas - **10 million died** (consequence of collectivisation)
- **food shortage** for workers
- **shortage of materials** for **industry**
2. Industries **didn’t meet targets**
39
What were the reasons for the **economic weaknesses** of the **second Five-Year Plan**? (**3**)
- **widespread corruption** during the great purges - also **falsified figures**
- increased **transport & factory running costs** placed **strain on suppliers**
- **funding decreased** as well - *defence up to **13% spending 1937*** - issues weren’t addressed as easily
40
**Why** were **party officials** *afraid* to **challenge weaknesses** of the *2nd 5-Year Plan*?
Risked confrontation with the NKVD / some form of reprimand
(During **Great Purges**)
41
How did **Soviet propaganda** *support the aims* of the **second Five-Year Plan**?
**‘Stakhanovite’ movement 1935**:
- Ukrainian coal miner who did *4x his quota in one 14h shift*
- workers encouraged to **emulate** this & be **labelled a ‘stakhanovite’**
- *failure* to improve production risked being **denounced** / a **victim of terror**
42
How **successful** was the **2nd Five-Year Plan**?
**More than the 1st**, but still *not very successful*:
- slight **increase** in **workers wages**
- USSR became **self sufficient in metal work**
- *food shortages* **decreased**
But
- ***1937* living standards worse** *than **1928***
- **mixed results** in production increases generally; e.g. **oil didn’t improve much** *by 1937*, but **coal grew**
43
What were the **aims** of the **3rd Five-Year Plan**?
**When** was it?
**Why** did it **end** abruptly?
1.
- **increase production** in **heavy industry** with *high targets* e.g. **58% steel increase**
- creation of a *war economy*. **1940 - 33% industrial budget on defence**
2. **1938 - 1941**
3. *Operation Barbarossa* and Nazi invasion in **June 1941**
44
Over what **years** did the **2nd Five-Year Plan** run?
1933 - 1937
45
To what **extent** had the **Five-Year Plans** achieved their **economic aims** by **1941**?
| (successes and failures)
**Didn’t totally achieve** their aims:
Successes:
- war economy **aided** by focus on **heavy industry**
- **new industrial centre**s built e.g. *Magnitogorsk*
- huge **factories constructed**
- **coal and steel production** appeared to rise - **coal 600%, Steel 400%**
- **electricity connected** in important areas
Failures:
- **poor control** of industry - *reduced efficiency*
- **severe shortages of materials** in industry
- **falsified figures**
- production and availability of **consumer goods** collapsed
46
**Why** did *peasant relocation* during Collectivisation **hamper the Five-Year plans**? (**3**)
- **kulaks and leadership** of farms *replaced* by **unskilled party officials**
- **farms lost manpower** and *agricultural production decreased*
- peasants in cities **lacked skills for industrial work** & *using new tech*
47
Give stats to demonstrate the:
- Growth of the Urban Population
- decrease in agricultural population
In the 1920s and 30s, USSR
- *urban population* **up 30m 1926 - 1930**
- *agri population* **down 13m 1928 - 1939**
48
*Broadly*, for the Soviet regime, were the **Five-Year plans a success or failure** by **1941**?
**Mixed results**:
- soviet economy shifted from being **agrarian to a modern industrial** one
- however the key *drawbacks* were the **humanitarian cost** & **damage to agricultural production**
| (among many other drawbacks covered in other cards)
49
**Why** was there **opposition** to *collectivisation* and the *Five-Year Plans*?
What **concession** was Stalin forced to make?
- The elimination of the kulaks and the heavy handed approach with peasants
- allowed *peasants* to own **small private plots**, allowing them to privately produce food
50
How did the Soviet regime **incentivise meeting targets**? (**3 categories**)
- *propaganda* e.g. ‘**Stakhanovite movement**’
- *financial incentives* e.g. bonuses
- **largest**: state terror
1. NKVD post 1934 (secret police)
2. Absenteeism became a capital offence
3. Workers couldn’t change jobs without govt permission
4. Gulags
| millions died in the period
51
Give **two social problems** facing **Soviet citizens** in the **1930s**
- incredibly *poor housing* and **poor working & living conditions**
- **food shortages** and **lack of consumer goods** - thriving *black market*
52
How were **Stalin’s economic policies** used for **social control** by **1941**? (**3**)
- workers **lives & leisure time** were **controlled** by *legislation*
- opposition was dealt with by **terror** through *NKVD or Gulags*, or via **execution**
- peasants **forced to urbanise**
53
How did the **economic role** of **women** *change* between **1928 and 1941**? (**5**)
Women became increasingly important in the economy:
- urban women formed **construction brigades**
- **early 1930s, over 40%** of *all workers* were female
- **end of 1930s, 70%** of *all new workers* were *female*
- **1940, 13m in industry**, compared to **3m in 1928**
- **1940 - over 40%** of **engineering students** were female
54
During the **growth of the urban population** during the **1930s**, what were the **issues** for the **urban population**? (**6**)
| in detail
- *rampant poverty & poor housing*: **25% workers** in **conveniently constructed apartments**
- poor sanitation
- new towns lacked paved roads & drainage
- lack of living space —> **4m2 per person 1940**
- severe food shortages & rationing - sometimes a lack of drinking water
- low stocks of consumer goods
55
Who constituted a *majority* of the **prisoners in Gulags**?
What was the **role** of **gulags** in the economy?
1. political prisoners
2. source of slave labour:
- **millions in 1930s**
- used in **mining and construction**
- e.g. Magnitogorsk and Belomor Canal
- **hundreds of thousands died** building *Belomor Canal* by **1933**
56
Geographically, **where** were **gulags** *particularly used*?
What was the most important **impact** of the **Gulags societally**?
- **Remote areas**, e.g. Siberia or Ural Mountains, particularly for mining and *enriching the state*
- **intense climate of fear**, populace *largely obedient to Stalin*
