Promotion of light industry, chemicals and consumer goods (K

• • Seven Year Plan saw focus on light industry - consumer goods and agriculture.
  • Initial decrease in military spending, then increase in early 1960s.
• • Consumer goods increased by 60%.
  • Fertiliser production increased by 20 million tonnes.
  • Synthetic fiber production increased by 241K.
• Military spending under Khrushchev

  • Stalin deliberately kept living standards low for increased spending in military.
  • Stalin’s heirs were dedicated into increasing living standards for the people.
  • Khrushchev began cuts in military in 1955.
  • Consequently, percentage of GDP spent on military decreased from 12.1% in 1955, to 9.1% in 1958.
  • Returned in 1962.
  • By 1964, military spending reached 11% of total GDP.
  • Rise in military spending coincided with the fall in economic growth.
  • Therefore increasing military spending leads to a fall in economic growth.
• Successes of Khrushchev's 7 Year Plan

  • Khrushchev hoped to overtake the USA by 1970 and achieve communism by 1980.
  • Khrushchev hoped increasing chemical production and consumer goods would improve living standards and heavy industry.
  • 60% increase in consumer goods.
  • Fertiliser increased by 19 million tons.
  • Synthetic fibres increased 241,000 tons.
• Failures of Khrushchev's 7 Year Plan

  • 1957 Sovnarkhoz decentralisation reforms destroyed economic coordination and weakened Gosplan.
  • 1962 saw Khrushchev divide the Communist Party into two halves - industry and agriculture.
  • Khrushchev lacked confidence and commitment; constant reform led to jokes that the 5 Year Plans were replaced with '3 plans every year'.
  • Key targets missed; synthetic fibres were 200,000 short;.
  • Focus on weight of goods meant that factories used heavy metal to build lamps that were too heavy for ceilings.