STALIN: Economy

When was the NEP abandoned?

1928

What was NEP replaced with?

- Stalin's 'Great Turn'

What did the Great Turn consist of?

- A series of Five Year Plans which set targets for industries to attain

What did the targets of the 'Five Year Plans' force managers to do?

- The ambitious targets forced managers & workers to devote their maximum effort to the programme.

What happened if a target was not achieved?

- It was deemed a criminal offence.

What was the flaw of the reporting system of the Five Year Plans?

- To avoid criminal offences, corruption & faulty reporting was used to meet statistics and succeed the targets set.

Why was the Great Turn introduced?

- NEP was failing to produce the growth that many communists sought.

- A war scare in the late 1920s made self-sufficiency important.

What did true socialism demand economically?

- A developed industry rather than dependence on peasantry

Why did the Great Turn suit Stalin?

- It was a form of central planning; he had central control over the economy.

When was the First Five Year Plan?

1928-1932

What was the First Five Year Plan's production target?

Increase production by 300%

What industries were aimed to be developed under the First Five Year Plan?

Coal, iron, steel, oil and machinery

What was the First Five Year Plan's electricity production target?

Boost electricity production by 600%

What was the First Five Year Plan's aim for the light industry?

Double the output from the light industry, E.G: Chemical production.

Why was the First Five Year Plan 'achieved' in 4 years?

- Likely due to the 'over-enthusiastic reporting' by officials.

By how much did electricity output grow under the First FYP?

Output increased by 3x

By how much did coal and iron output grow under the First FYP?

Output increased by 2x

By how much did steel production increase by under the First FYP?

Increased by 1/3

Were any of the major targets achieved under the 1st FYP?

NO, but there was impressive growth

Why couldn't there be efficient development under the First FYP?

- Too few skilled workers and too little effective central coordination for efficient development.

What targets were not met under the First FYP?

- Targets for Chemical industry

What industries were neglected under the First FYP?

- House-building, food-processing and other consumer industries.

When was the Second Five Year Plan?

1933-1937

What did the Second Five Year Plan aimed to continue to develop?

- The heavy industry

What did the Second Five Year Plan put emphasis on?

- On the light industries such as chemicals, electrical and consumer goods.

What did the Second Five Year Plan aim to develop between cities and areas of industry?

Develop communications

What did the Second Five Year Plan aim to boost?

- Engineering and tool-making.

What was emphasis placed on in 1936 under the Second Five year Plan?

1935: Greater emphasis on rearmament

What happened to the Dnieper Dam under the Second FYP?

- Completed in 1932, extended with four more hydroelectric power generators, making it the largest dam in Europe.

What Metro was opened under the Second FYP? When?

1935

Moscow Metro

What Canal was opened under the Second FYP? When?

1937

Volga don Canal

What metals were mined for the first time under the Second FYP?

Copper, zinc and tin.

What happened to Steel output under the Second FYP?

Output grew 3x

What happened to Coal production under the Second FYP?

Production grew 2x

By 1937, under the Second FYP, USSR was self-sufficient in...?

Metal goods and machine tools

Stats of rearmament rise from 1933 to 1937 under the Second Five Year Plan

4% GDP in 1933 to 17% GDP 1937

Which production failed to meet its targets under the Second Five Year Plan?

Oil production

There was no appreciable increase in what, under the Second FYP?

- Consumer goods

There was an emphasis on what under the Second FYP?

- Emphasis on quantity, rather than quality.

When was the Third Five Year Plan?

1938-1942

What did the Third FYP aimed to continue to develop?

- The heavy industry

The Third FYP aimed to promote rapid...?

Rearmament

The Third FYP aimed to complete the ....?

Transition to communism

Under the Third FYP, what industry grew strongly?

- The Heavy industry, in particular machinery and engineering

What production stagnated under the Third FYP?

- Steel production

What industry failed to meet targets causing a fuel crisis under the Third FYP?

Oil industry

What did industries lack under the Third FYP?

Raw materials

Under the Third FYP, consumer goods were relegated to..?

The lowest priority

There was a lack of what under the Third FYP due to Stalin's purges?

- Lack of good managers, specialists and technicians

When was there a Hard winter under the Third FYP? Impact?

1938

Undermined plan.

Why was the Third Five Year Plan disrupted?

By the German invasion 1941

Why was there agricultural change under Stalin?

As organisation was seen as necessary for rapid industrialisation

Why was surplus grain needed?

For export, to purchase industrial equipment and to feed a growing industrial workforce.

By 1927, what was happening to the grain output?

It was insufficient for grain export

What did collective farming aim to do?

- Make farming more efficient

- Allow more mechanisation

- Facilitate grain collection

- Socialise the peasants

What were the 3 types of collective farms?

- Toz

- Sovkhoz

- Kolkhoz

When was the 1st stage of Collectivisation?

1929-1930

What was the Toz farm?

- Peasants owned their land

- Shared machinery

- Co-operated in activities such as sowing and harvesting

What was a Sovkhoz farm?

- A farm owned and run by the state

- Peasants who worked on this farm were paid a regular wage

What was a Kolkhoz farm?

- A collective farm which ensured farming was done as one unit

- Households were allowed to keep their own private plot up to one acre

- 50-100 households which pooled land, tools and livestock.

- Peasants lived rent-free as long as they fulfilled the state-procurement quotes.

What happened to the surplus grain in kolkhozes?

Surplus of grain was divided between the families

When were the Kulaks annihilated as a class?

December 1929

Why were Kulaks annihilated as a class?

They were seen as a catalyst for some of the grain procurement problems.

What percentage of peasant households were kulaks said to represent?

4%

What percentage of peasant households were destroyed, believed to be property of kulaks?

15%

What did the Red Army and the Cheka do to the kulaks?

Identified, executed, deported

How many richer peasants were forced to migrate North and East to poorer land?

Circa 150,000

What did peasants do to avoid being labelled as 'kulaks'?

- By killing their livestock

- By destroying their crops which added to agricultural problems

By January 1930, Stalin aimed to collectivise what percentage of grain-farming areas?

25%

How were the peasants persuaded into joining the kolkhoz?

- Through the treatment of kulaks which frightened them

By March 1930, what percentage of peasant households had been collectivised?

58%

Why did the percentage of households collectivised decrease in October 1930?

Collectivisation became voluntary

By October 1930, what percentage of peasant households had been collectivised?

20%

When was the 2nd stage of Collectivisation?

1930-1941

What was the 2nd stage of Collectivisation referred to as?

The Second Serfdom

What was established to provide seed and hire machinery to the kolkhozes? How many?

2500 machine tractor stations

What was the job of the MTS?

- Ensured quotas were collected

- Dealt with troublemakers

Why percentage of their produce did the peasants have to hand over for the MTS service?

20%

What collectivisation law was introduced in August 1932?

- Those who stole from a collective were jailed for ten years.

What sentence was given to those who attempted to sell meat or grain before quotas were fulfilled?

10 years

What was introduced to stop the peasants from leaving the collectives?

Internal passports

How did peasants make profit?

Through their private plots, allowing them to grow goods and sell.

What percentage of vegetables, meat & milk in the USSR was produced through peasants' private plots?

- 52% of the vegetables

- 70% of the meat

- 71% of milk

Who was the 'breadbasket' of Russia?

Ukraine

What was Ukraine's procurement target between 1931-1932?

Over 7,000,000 tons each year

By 1936, what percentage of peasant households were collectivised?

90%

What were the problems of collectives?

- They were poorly organised.

- Party activists who helped establish the collectives knew nothing of farming.

- There were too few tractors.

- There was an insufficient number of animals to pull ploughs as they had been eaten by peasants.

- There was a lack of fertilisers.

In what year did grain output exceed pre-collectivisation levels?

Until after 1935

How many of the successful farmers did 'dekulakisation' remove?

Circa 10,000,000

Between 1929-1930, what percentage of cattle, pigs & sheep were slaughtered by peasants?

25-30%

In what year did live stock numbers exceed pre-collectivisation levels?

1953

What were peasants forced to do due to the unrealistic procurement quotas?

Forced to hand over almost all of their grain

Why was there a decrease in food production in October 1931?

Due to drought and kulak deportations.

When was there a famine in Ukraine?

Spring 1932

When was one of the worst famines in Russian history?

1932-1933

What caused the famine of 1932-1933?

- Government taking excessive amounts of grain from the worst-hit areas & exporting abroad to fund industrial equipment.

How many died in the 1932-1933 famine?

What is the famine known as?

• Not an exact number of deaths as the USSR did not want to acknowledge the famine but it is estimated at around 7- 10 million

• Holodomor

What impact did Stalin's Five Year Plans have on Russia?

Russia became a highly industrialised & urbanised nation.

What percentage of the population lived in towns by 1939 in comparison to 1926?

33% in comparison to 17% in 1926

By 1940 the USSR had overtaken which country in iron and steel production?

Britain