Chapter 16: The social and economic condition of the Soviet Union by 1941

all farms collectivised, free market ended, overtook britain in iron and steel production, coal and oil production vastly stepped in 3rd 5YP, massive investment permitted growth under 5YPs, labour production increased

Strengths of the economy 1941

9 aircraft factories built in 1939, 1938-41: x3 spending on rearmament, the economy produced 230 tanks, 700 military aircraft, and more than 100k rifles per month

How did the economy gear the nation for war by 1941?

Proportion of budget for defence x11 from 3.4% in 1933 to 32.6% in 1940, spending went from 27.5bn to 70.9 bn roubles

How did spending on rearmament increase between 1933 and 1940?

coal by 130 million tonnes, crude oil by 20 million tonnes

By how much did oil and coal increase by between 1928 and 1940?

18 million tonnes of steel and 15 million tonnes of pig iron by 1940 compared to GB who was producing only 10 million tonnes of steel and 6 million tonnes of pig iron

How did Soviet steel and pig iron production compare to British production?

grain by 22 million tonnes(73-95), cows decreased by 1 million(29-28), pigs by 8 million(19-27)

By how much did agriculture improve between 1928 and 1940?

Consumer goods neglected and scarcer than in NEP, economy not geared towards war in 1941, deficiencies in quality and quantity of equipment, bureaucracy hindered implementation of economic schemes

Weaknesses of the economy by 1941

shoes went from 58 to 211 million pairs, automobiles went from 0-0.5 million

How were consumer goods neglected between 1928-1940?

1926-33: x2 in % of population living in towns, Stalin claimed progress toward true socialism, more control of people and countryside, used industrialisation as class warfare

Strengths of society by 1941

“social” ownership of means of production, everyone collectively “owned” factories and fields(or rather State did on people’s behalf) => no profit by some at others’ expense

Soviet definition of “true socialism”

1929: Party officials in Kolkhoz and secret police in MTS supervised peasants

How did the regime control the countryside?

factory managers subjected to Party control(demotion/execution), workers kept in strict order via labour books, internal passports, threat of denial of benefits and penal sentences

How did the regime control the cities?

used Komsomol to preach against ‘class enemies’ who were trying to hold up progress

How did Stalin use industrialisation as ‘class warefare’?

reality far cry from socialist ideals, rather than classless there was hierarchy(Party elite on top), soviet masters replaced capitalist bosses, poor quality of life for non-Party personnel, industrialisation achieved at the expense of the people

Weaknesses of society by 1941

Marxism => State would wither away/instead State became more authoritarian

How did industrialisation go against Marxist ideals?

socialism, collectivising, ownership, people, totalitarian, unelected, needs

The USSR and Marxist Stage Theory:

The USSR never achieved true communism but rather claimed to have reached ‘_______’ by closing all private factories in ____ and _________ all agriculture in the 1930s. However critics claimed it was not a socialist state since ‘social’ _______ under Stalin didn’t exist for the good of the ________ but was a form of dictatorial/_________ power where in everything was determined by ______ leaders who failed to take the ______ of the individual citizens into account

1940, criminal, 1929, one, interference

A ____ decree made poor quality production a _______ offence and thus enterprises has to worry about both quality and quantity. This breached a CC directive of ____ which put forward that factories should be managed by ___ person, free from _________ by the party org.

central, command, organisation, labour, working conditions, incomplete, grain

The Situation on the outbreak of war in 1941:

The development of _____ authority and _______ economy was vital in the ___________ of the Soviet war effort in 1941, and the harshness of the ______ laws and _________ _________ built resilience. This gave the USSR a much stronger basis from which to mount a defence and fight back however 3rd 5YP left _______ and less _______ was being produced than under the NEP