Khrushchev's Economy

What was Khrushchev's de-stalinisation programme of the economy focused on?

A greater move towards consumer goods and agriculture at a more realistic pace

What was the Social Contract?

The attempts were made to reform the system during Khrushchev's leadership

What was promoted in the sixth five year plan?

When was that?

• The Virgin Lands scheme

• 1956-60

What kind of plans were the 5 year plans converted to?

When?

• Seven year plans

• At the 21st Party Congress in 1959

What was promoted in the first seven year plan?

When was that?

• Promotion of light industry

• 1959-65

What was the focus of the Soviet economy during the Khrushchev era?

Light industry, chemicals, and consumer goods

What shift did the Soviet Union make regarding industry under Khrushchev?

Move away from heavy industry towards light industry

Why?

It would broaden the base of the Soviet economy and start to bring real benefots to the lives of the people

What was a major issue with the bureaucratic system of administrators in Moscow?

it made it difficult for local innovations to take place without upsetting the plans

What were the harsh labour laws that affected the workforce under Stalin?

Fines for absenteeism and a rigid working environment

What was the ecnomy like under Khrushchev?

What were the effects of this?

• It was clumsy and wasteful

• made it difficult to adapt to new trends and unforeseen events

Explain this

Administrators worked out the likely demand for a product, but if the demand was higher than that, it would be unable to get met because the system was too inflexible to respond

What did Khrushchev set up in 1957?

Why?

-The setup of 105 Regional Economic Councils

-Attempt to move decision making to regional bases

What were these Regional Economic Councils called?

Sovnarkhozy

What change occurred regarding labour laws under Khrushchev?

Harsh labour laws under Stalin were removed

What were the hours of the working week reduced to by 1960?

From 48 hours to 41 hours

What replaced Stalin's coercion of workers to improve production?

Incentives for better performance

What were managers now allowed to do in factories?

They were allowed to keep 40% of profits to invest as they wished

What was emphasized in education during Khrushchev's reforms?

Vocational education

What did he set up because of this?

Specialist technical schools

Who promoted these plans?

Evsei Liberman

What was his plan called and when was it promoted?

When?

• The Liberman Plan

• 1962

What was the plan?

What happened to him?

• advocated for a shift in Soviet economic planning by emphasizing profitability and introducing market-like incentives

• His ideas were watered down by the conservatives in the Politburo who preffered to stick to Stalinist principles

What was the time period of the 7YP?

1959-1965

What was founf which encouraged the government to transform the fuel and chemical industries during the 7YP?

new mineral resources

Where did they find the minerals?

The Volga- Urals fields

What would this lead to a shift in emphasis of?

From coal to oil and natural gas

Benefits of natural gas for them?

Abundant and cheap

What was the focus on the chemical industry linked with?

The increase in targets for consumer goods

-Production of synthetic fibers in 1958

-Target under 7YP

-Actual produced

-166,000 tons

-666,000 tons

407,000 tons

Were the targets for footwear met during the 7YP?

No, they were not met

What was the ideal target for housing during the 7YP?

660

What was the actual production for housing during the 7YP?

79.2

What else was to be promoted?

Regional development

What percentage of available investments went to the area East of the Urals during the 7YP?

Over 40%

What was the claim made by the Soviet Union regarding technology and consumer goods?

When was this made?

• ‘We will bury you’

• 1959

What significant USSR event in 1957 worried many Western countries?

The launching of Sputnik

When were these worries increased?

• When the USSR sent a dog into space

• Sent Yuri Gagarin

When was Gargarin sent into space?

1962

What did the headlines about space achievements mask in the Soviet Union?

The realities of Soviet economic performance

How was the quality of goods produced in the Soviet Union often described?

Poor

What was the annual growth rate of the Soviet economy in the 1950s?

7.1%

What was the annual growth rate of the US economy in the 1950s?

2.9%

Why did the Soviet Union still lag behind the US despite a higher growth rate?

The economic base was smaller

What was the increase in food production from 1953-58?

35%

What problems remained in the Soviet economy during the 1950s?

Poor labour productivity, inefficiency, and waste

Why did the Sovnarkozy experiment make national planning difficult?

the requirements of local enterprises were hard to foresee

What happened to Gosplan's influence over time?

It became overwhelmed with work and had less influence to direct decisions

What change in 1962 added to confusion among party officials?

Division into agricultural and industrial sectors

What happened to economic growth in the Soviet Union by 1964?

Why?

• It slowed

• Spending on consumer goods was reduced and the housing programme was cut back

Who did K receive strong resistance from?

Party bureaucrats who had become strongly attached to Stalin’s approach of focusing on heavy industry

What proved too strong for Khrushchev, affecting his reforms?

The influence of the military-industrial complex

What was Khrushchev's approach to understanding peasants in the Virgin Land Scheme?

Khrushchev made genuine attempts to meet peasants on their collectives and understand their viewpoints.

What percent of the population worked on farms?

54%

How did Khrushchev view his expertise in agriculture?

Khrushchev considered himself to be an agricultural expert and was genuinely committed.

What situation would this address from under Stalin?

The sacrificing of agriculture for the needs of industry

What did K do to increase productivity?

Introduced measured to win over the peasants to collectivisation and stimulate initiative in the system

What did individual collectives gain in 1955?

greater powers to make decisions at local levels

What happened to MTS?

Why?

• They were abolished

• The peasants hated them as instruments of central and political interference

What were each collective therefore expected to do during the Virgin Land Scheme?

to buy its own machinery

What did some of the collectives turn into?

What did they do?

• Large agro- villages (Agrogoroda)

• linked food production with food processing

What was a result of collectives increasing in size during the Virgin Land Scheme?

Enabled greater investment in land to take place

The use of what things rapidly increased during the Virgin Land Scheme?

Fertilisers and irrigation

Negative result of increasing size of collectives?

Unpopular among peasants who felt divorced from the land they worked on

What change was made to prices for state procurements during the Virgin Land Scheme?

Prices given for state procurements were increased

What replaced requisitioning of grain during the Virgin Land Scheme?

Planned state purchases

What concessions were given to peasants during the Virgin Land Scheme?

Peasants could make use of their private lots and sell the food they produced at market

How did the production on the private plots compare to the production on the collective plots?

Private plots produced more compared to collective plots

What was the impact of the Virgin Land Scheme initiated in 1954?

Encouraged the opening up new areas to agricultural production

How many acres were brought under cultivation during the Virgin Land Scheme?

6 million acres

How many tractors were provided for the Virgin Land Scheme?

120,000 tractors

What became the centre of economic planning due to the virgin land scheme?

Agriculture

By how much did farmers' incomes increase from 1952 to 1958?

Despite this, what did it remain less than?

• Doubled

• Industry workers

What was the percentage increase in food production from 1953 to 1958?

35%

How were Khrushchev's policies perceived due to their failures?

Labelled 'hare-brained'

What happened to Kazakhstan's food production quota in 1959?

It was not met

What was this the first sign of?

The Virgin Land scheme failing

What was the term used to describe the shift from cash crops to food crops?

Maize-mania

What was a major reason for the failure of the maize crops?

Lack of irrigation

What did the USSR have to start importing due to the failure of the virgin land scheme?

Grain from America and Australia

What was one of the main reasons for Khrushchev's dismissal in 1964?

Failure of the virgin land schemes

What is a cash crop

Example of cash crops

One culitvated primarily for selling

Cotton