Stalin - Economics

What was the background of Stalin economic policy?

• Modernise the USSR rapidly to catch up to the West.

• Consolidate Party control over the industry and agriculture.

• End the NEP and private enterprise to centralise control.

Stalins economic slogan:

Socialism in one country.

Between what years were the Five Year Plans?

1928-1941

Between what years was the First FYP?

1928-1932

Features of the First FYP:

• Goals: Rapid industrialisation, with ambitious targets for heavy industry (steel, coal, machinery).

• Key Projects: Magnitogorsk steel plant, Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, expansion of the Moscow Metro.

• Economic Impact: Steel production increased from 4 million tons in 1928 to 18 million tons in 1932.

• Human Cost: Harsh labor conditions, forced labor from Gulag prisoners (e.g., White Sea Canal), high mortality, poor living conditions.

• Consumer Goods: Sacrificed; shortages widespread.

How was the Fist FYP implemented?

• Industry placed under Gosplan control; targets set to modernize the USSR.

• NEPMEN and private traders forced into state cooperatives.

• Bourgeois experts removed from factories; some retained to restore production.

• Shock brigades and incentives (rations, flats, statues) used to motivate workers.

• Bribes and corruption are prevalent to meet targets.

Between what years was the Second FYP?

1933–1937

Features of the Second FYP:

• Continued emphasis on heavy industry; slightly more attention to consumer goods and living standards.

• Coal production increased from 64 million tons to 128 million tons.

• Expansion of industrial complexes in Leningrad, Moscow, Kazakhstan, and east of the Urals for security reasons.

Challenges: Resource allocation issues, labor productivity problems, ongoing inefficiency and corruption.

Between what years was the Third FYP?

1938–1941

Features of the Third FYP:

• Focus shifted to military and defense industries due to growing international tensions.

• Production prioritised for armaments, aircraft, and military vehicles.

• Interrupted by German invasion in 1941.

What were the key issues across the Five Year Plans?

• Unbalanced Growth: Heavy industry expanded, but consumer goods, textiles, and housing neglected.

• Command Economy Challenges: Central planning ignored local conditions, resulting in wastage and inefficiency.

• Purges: 1937 purge of managers and technical experts slowed economic progress.

Between what years was collectivisation and agriculture implemented?

1928–1937

What were the reasons for collectivisation?

• Economic: Small farms inefficient; large collective farms allowed mechanization and released labor for cities.

• Political: Increase Party control in countryside, eliminate influence of the Mir, remove Kulaks as a class.

• Support Industrialization: Extract surplus grain to fund industrial projects

Methods of collectivisation:

• Forced Collectivization: Peasants compelled to join collective (kolkhoz) or state farms (sovkhoz).

• Dekulakization: Confiscation of property, deportations, executions (6–15 million affected).

• Propaganda: Promoted collectivization as socialist achievement; resistance branded counter-revolutionary.

• Mechanization: Machine and Tractor Stations (MTS) provided machinery and political instruction.

Impact of collectivisation:

• Economic: Initial chaos, livestock slaughtered; famine of 1932–1933, particularly in Ukraine (Holodomor), Kazakhstan, and other grain-producing regions; millions died.

• Long-Term Productivity: Mechanization improved some efficiency, but overall productivity remained below pre-collectivization levels.

• Political and Social: State control over agriculture consolidated; rural way of life disrupted; millions displaced, persecuted, or killed.

Between what years was the Post-WW2 reconstruction?

1945–1955

Between what years was the Fourth FYP?

1946–1950

Features of the Fourth FYP:

• Focused on rebuilding industry and infrastructure.

• Achievements: Heavy industry restored; steel, coal, and electricity production exceeded pre-war levels.

• Problems: Consumer goods neglected; underutilization of new technology; inefficiency persisted.

• Use of 2 million Gulag prisoners accelerated reconstruction.

Between what years was the Fifth FYP?

1951–1955

Features of the Fifth FYP:

• Continued expansion of heavy industry and military production.

• Construction of large-scale projects in Moscow; impressive propaganda, but some waste and debate over effectiveness.

• Agriculture: MTS monitored collectives; high taxes on private plots; labor shortages persisted.

• Grain production in 1952 remained below 1940 levels.

• Khrushchev’s Agrotowns (combining towns and farms) were unpopular.

What was the set of the overall post-war economy?

• Industrial output impressive; living standards gradually recovered (by 1948).

• Investment in light industry remained low (only 12% of total investment).

• Centralized government control ensured rapid rebuilding but neglected innovation and consumer needs.