A Level History - Russia chapter 14

When did Stalin launch his new economic programme for industry?

1928

What was Gosplan?

the state planning agency

What was Gosplan responsible for in Stalin's new economic programme? (from 1928) (2)

drawing up plans and establishing output targets for every economic enterprise (by matching up how much input was available with how much output was needed)

Why was Gosplan's role difficult? (4)

regional leaders disputed with Gosplan as to why their region should get first priority, there was alack of reliable information on costs of imports and prices of exports, gosplan had to plan for many changing commodities, had to work from deliberately falsified statistics

Why were targets set in the FYPs very ambitious?

so that managers and labourers would have to devote maximum effort to the programme

Why was it very bad to fail to achieve a target?

was seen as a criminal offence

What did people do to ensure targets were met?

falsified statistics, often reporting them as much higher than the original target

When was the first five year plan?

1928

When was the first five year plan approved?

April 1929 at the first party congress

Where was the first five year plan backdated to?

October 1928

How much coal was produced in 1927-1928?

35.4 million tonnes

What was the target for production of coal in 1932- 1933?

75 million tonnes

What was the actual production of coal in 1932?

64.4 million tonnes

Why were people afraid to criticise the flaws in the FYPs?

could be accused of being a "saboteur" or a "wrecker"

When was the Wall Street Crash?

October 1929

What did the FYP1 focus on?

development of heavy industry

What were the aims of FYP1? (4)

increase production by 300%, focus on development of heavy industry, boost electricity production by 600%, double the output from light industry

In how much time did Stalin claim the targets of the FYP1 had been met?

4 years (rather than 5)

What was the supposed early completion of the FYP1 targets probably due to?

over-enthusiastic false reports

Were any of the targets of the FYP1 actually met?

no

How had the output of electricity increased by the end of FYP1?

output trebled

How had the output of coal and iron increased by the end of FYP1?

output doubled

How had the output of steel increased by the end of FYP1?

increased by a third

Which targets of FYP1 were not met?

targets for chemical industry

What was neglected in the FYP1?

consumer industries

Why were the targets of the FYP1 not all met? (3)

too few skilled workers, too little effective central coordination for efficient development, smaller industries lost out against big factories

When was the FYP2?

1933

What did the FYP2 focus on?

heavy industry (still)

What were the aims of the FYP2? (4)

continue development of heavy industry, promote growth of light industries, develop communications to provide links between areas, foster engineering and tool

When were the "three good years"?

1934-1936

What happened to development of electricity production and chemical industries in FYP2?

grew rapidly

Which new metals were mined for the first time during the FYP2? (3)

copper, zinc, tin

What happened to steel production in the FYP2?

output trebled

What happened to coal production in the FYP2?

output doubled

By when was the USSR basically self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools?

1937

When did the focus of the FYP2 shift?

1936

What did the focus of the FYP2 shift to in 1936?

rearmament

Why did the focus of the FYP2 shift to rearmament in 1936?

due to the rising Nazi threat

What was the GDP of rearmament in 1933 and in 1937?

4% in 1933 and 17% in 1937

What were the failures of the FYP2? (2)

oil production failed to meet targets, not much increase in consumer goods?

How much of military production was produced by secret workshops?

almost half

What was the increase in output of consumer goods between 1933 and 1938?

300%

When was the FYP3?

1938

What was the focus of FYP3?

defence sector

When was the FYP3 disrupted?

1941

Why was the FYP3 disrupted in 1941?

German invasion

What were the aims of the FYP3? (3)

place renewed emphasis on development of heavy industry, promote rapid rearmament, complete the transition to communism

By how much did spending on rearmament increase between 1938 and 1940?

doubled

What were the effects of concentration on rearmament in the FYP3? (4)

steel production stagnated, oil didn't meet targets, many industries were short of raw materials, consumer goods lowest priority again

What was the effect of oil not meeting targets during the FPY3?

caused a fuel crisis

What was the biggest problem of the FYP3?

lack of managers, specialists and technicians

Why was there a lack of managers, specialists and technicians in the FYP3?

due to Stalin's purges

When did construction for the Dnieprostroi dam start?

1927

When did the Dnieprostroi dam open?

1932

What was the Dnieprostroi dam?

the largest hydro

Where did the Dnieprostroi dam provide electricity for? (2)

some aluminium production plants and a steel production plant

When were four extra generators added to the Dnieprostroi dam?

during the FYP2

What effect did the Dnieprostroi dam have on soviet production in 1932?

increased soviet electric power fivefold

When was the Turksib railway built?

between 1926 and 1931

When did passenger service on the Turksib railway begin?

1929

What was the Turksib railway?

a railway which connected Central Asia with Siberia

How many workers worked on the Turksib railway?

50,000

What was the political reason for the building of the Turksib railway?

was designed to create a working class in Central Asia

What was transported on the Turksib railway from Turkestan to Siberia?

cotton

What was transported on the Turksib railway from Russia to the Fergana Valley?

cheap Siberian grain

When was the Moscow Metro opened?

1935

How many stations did the Moscow metro have?

13

When was the Moscow Metro extended in a second stage?

1938

What delayed a third stage of the Moscow metro?

WW2

What was the advantage of the Moscow metro?

helped deal with the influx of peasants from the countryside in the 1930s

What was in the architecture of the Moscow metro that made it look like a "palace of light"? (4)

marble walls, high ceilings, chandeliers, use of steel

When was the Moscow Volga canal constructed?

What was the Moscow Volga canal?

What was built at the confluence of the Volga river and the Moscow Volga canal?

When was the statue of Lenin at the Moscow Volga canal built?

How tall was the statue of Lenin at the Moscow Volga canal?

Who built the Moscow Volga canal?

How many prisoners were employed to work on the Moscow Volga canal?

How many prisoners died building the Moscow

Volga canal?

How many grams of bread did prisoners building the Moscow

Volga canal get a day if they were fulfilling work quotas and if they weren't?

When was the White Sea Baltic canal built?

1933

How was the White Sea Baltic Canal built?

using forced labour

What are Magnitogorsk and Komsomolsk examples of?

completely new industrial cities to be showpieces of Stalin's economic policies

Where was Magnitogorsk built?

in the Urals

What was created at Magnitogorsk?

a gigantic steel plant

How many people lived at the new town at Magnitogorsk?

150,000

Where was Komsomolsk built?

in the Far East of Russia

What was built at Komsomolsk? (2)

shipyards and a heavy plant

Which groups largely built Komsomolsk? (2)

the communist youth organisation (komsomol) and prison camps in the area

Which industries did Komsomolsk become a regional area for? (4)

metallurgy, machinery, oil refining and ship building

Who advised on the car industry?

Henry Ford

How did Henry Ford help develop the car industry? (2)

trained Russian engineers in the USA and helped design a car plant at Gorky

What foreign experience helped develop the Dnieprostroi dam?

experience gained from construction of hydro

Who helped develop the asbestos industry in the Urals?

Walter Rukeyser

Construction engineers from which country helped build the Moscow Metro?

Britain (specialists from the London underground)

How did British specialists help develop the Moscow Metro? (3)

handled engineering designs, routes, construction plans

What did native workers do to develop the Moscow Metro? (2)

built and decorated it

Why did some Western labourers go to work in the USSR?

at the time of the Great Depression, communism presented an attraction

How were foreign specialists and labourers treated by officials in the USSR?

with great suspicion

Why did the secret police arrest several British engineers working on the Moscow Metro?

because they had gained an in