Changes in industry and agriculture, 1953–85

• Name all the economic policies emplaced in the Soviet Government from 1953-1964

  • 1953 September - Virgin Land Scheme launched
  • 1957 February - Sovnarkhoz reforms
  • 1958 September - Corn Campaign Launched
  • 1959 January: Seventh 5-Year-Plan
  • 1962 February - Division of Party into: Agriculture & Industry
• Name all the economic policies emplaced in the Soviet Government from 1964-1982

  • 1965: Kosygin Reforms are introduced
  • 1971: Ninth Five-Year-Plan
  • 1973: Brezhnev Reforms
• What was Khrushchev's focus for the economy?

  • Light industry
  • Chemicals & Oil industry
  • Consumer goods.
• What challenges did Khrushchev’s policies face?

  • Vast bureaucratic system of administration based in Moscow stifled initiative.
  • The system was clumsy and wasteful
• How many regional councils did he set up in 1957? Why?

  105 (sovnarkhozy) to supervise enterprises.
• What were these councils called?

  Regional Economic Councils - Sovarkhozy
• What changes did he make to working hours and conditions?

  He reduced them from 48 hours to 41 hours by 1960.
• What was the role of managers?

  They were given more influence in their factories. To encourage initiative they were allowed to keep 40% of their profits made by their factories to invest in their enterprise.
• How did Khrushchev use education to support his policies?

  Specialist technical schools were set up and vocational education expanded.
• Seven Fifth year Plan

  • Dates: 1959-1965
  • Aims: To transform the fuel and chemical industries & focus on consumer goods
  • Actions: Development of technology
  • Outcomes: Increased output. Economic growth rate was 7.1%. Quantity of the consumer goods was often poor. Targets were not met, and rarely exceeded.
• What was Khrushchev's background?

  Peasant.
• What did Khrushchev want to do to improve productivity?

  He made genuine attempts to meet peasants on collectives and listen to their views.
• What measures did he introduce to improve productivity?

  • Individual collectives were given greater powers at local level
  • MTS were abolished. Peasants hated them. They were replaced with a system that expected each collective to buy its own machinery.
  • Prices for state procurements were increased and compulsory seizure of food was replaced by planned state purchases - to encourage productivity.
  • Greater concessions were given to peasants as to how they could use their produce from private plots.
  • Virgins Land Scheme - 1954
• What was the Virgins Land Scheme, and when was it introduced?

  Introduced in 1954, it encouraged the opening up of new areas to agricultural production. Volunteers, often members of the young communist league (Komsomol) were put to work in areas such as Siberia and Kazakhstan. Over 120,000 tractors were provided for the scheme.
• What were the Agrogorodas?

  Agro-Industrial villages that linked food production with food processing. They enabled much greater investment in agriculture to take place. It was unpopular with the peasants, who felt more divorced from the land they worked.
• Overall, how successful were Khrushchev's reforms?

  Khrushchev succeeded in raising status of agriculture in the Soviet economy. The incomes of farmers doubled between 1952 and 1958 but still remained far below those of industrial workers. Between 1953 and 1958, food production increased by 51%. Productivity remained low, and investment was not enough to remedy the problems caused by years of underinvestment.
• Did Khrushchev's actions improve productivity?


  Productivity remained low, with too many people engaged in farming. In 1959, the target for grain production in Kazakhstan failed to be met. The land was dry and suitable only for grazing.