Agriculture and industry

• Stalin's high rate of economic growth during the 4FYPs


  
  

  • Overall grew at average of 7.1% a year.
  • USSR had fastest growing economy during 1930s
  • wasn't effected by the Western Great Depression.
• Stalin's workforce increasing during 1FYP


  
  

  • 3.12 million in 1920 to 6.01 million in 1932.
• Lenin - War Communism causing factory failure

  
  

  • February 1921 factories ran out of fuel and 93 closed
  • Threw out 30,000 workers and ended their entitlement to food for 10 days.
• Stalin's continued shortage of consumer goods during the 4FYPs


  
  

  • 1934 a queue of 6,000 people waited for shoes in Leningrad.
  • The scissor crisis made pots and pans impossible to get for ordinary people.
  • 40% of goods wasted during 1FYP.
• Lenin - War Communism causing an increase in production

  
  

  • grain production under government control to supply the Red Army to win the Civil War.
  • Weapon ammunition increased.
• Khrushchev's failed Corn Campaign

  
  

  • Animal feed fell by 30% between 1958-64.
  • Produced only 50% of the corn cultivated by American farms at the time.
• Reforms failing due to the inherent problems of the command economy


  
  

  • Inevitably lead to lack of productivity amongst workers as they have no financial incentive to work harder.
• Continued chaos and disorganisation during the 4FYPs


  
  

  • Frequent shortages of coal, steel and machine parts during 2FYP, led to factory managers hoarding.
  • 40% of goods wasted during 1FYP.
  • Economy under Lenin had frequent fundamental changes with it going from State Capitalism, to War Communism and then the NEP all within 4 years.
• Increased production levels in heavy industry under the 4FYPs


  
  

  • Oil increased by 9.7 million tons under 1FYP.
  • Coal increased by 12.3 million tons under 3FYP.
  • Total industrial output increased by 80% during 4FYP.
• Lenin's NEP brought infrastructure.

  
  

  • 1926 supplies of water and electricity were more reliable than they had been prior to WW1.
• Reforms failing due to the excessive levels of military spending

  
  

  • went from 4% to 17% between 1933-37.
  • Arms race meant by 1952, the total military spending was a 1/4 of overall government spending.
• Stain - false numbers during 1FYP


  
  

  • Managers under so much stress to reach unrealistic targets so they lied about produce to avoid loosing their jobs, prison or death.
  • This made it impossible to effectively manage the economy.
• Stalin - collectivisation causing human suffering

  
  

  • Famines in rural areas, 5 million dead in Ukraine.
  • 9.5 - 10 million exiled.
  • Stalin sealed boarders on Ukraine and didn't believe the famine was real.
• Lenin - NEP causing incentive among peasants

  
  

  • Increase in food production, 1921-24 increases grain by 14 million tons a year.
  • Area of land being farmed doubled, ending famine.
• Lenin - NEP being an ideological success

  
  

  
  

  • Argued that because it brought political stability and economic prosperity, that they now needed to industrialise and build a socialist society.
• Khrushchev - failure of consumer goods

  
  

  • 5 motor cars per 1000 people in 1966 whilst USA had 398 per 1000 in the same year.
  • Production was 5% lower then intended.
  • Factories produced a small number of high value items to met targets that people couldn't afford, like lavish sofas.
• Lenin - War Communism and the treatment of peasants

  
  

  • They hid grain underground due to requisitions.
  • Received merciless beatings.
  • Lenin ordered them to be hung.
  • Cheka responded to 118 peasant uprisings in February 1921 alone.
  • Red Army leader beat elderly peasants in front of their whole village.
• Brezhnev - reforms failing due to stagnation

  
  

  • 'Trust in Cadres' stagnated and caused laziness and corruption as there were no high expectations anymore.
  • Only 2 people promoted to the Politburo between 1964-71.
• Khrushchev - failure of Virgin Land Scheme

  
  

  • Only caused temporary growth.
  • Harvests in 1959-60 were slightly below that of 1958.
  • Was extremely expensive as land was unsuitable.
  • Treatment of women.
• Increase in size of industrial labour force during the 4FYPs


  
  

  • Between 1926-32 urban population grew from 26 million to 38.7 million.
  • Under 1FYP the Russian workforce increased from 3.12 million in 1928 to 6.01 million in 1932.
  • Increased number of women, by 1955 they made up 46% of the workforce.
• Khrushchev - successes of the Virgin Land Scheme

  
  

  • Total area farmed went from 18.2 million hectares in 1953 to 97.4 million in 1964.
  • Agricultural production increased by 35% between 1954 and 1958.
  • Grain harvest went from 82.5 million tons in 1953 to 134.7 million tons in 1958.
• Production levels increasing during 1FYP


  
  

  • Iron doubled between 1928-32.
  • Oil increased by 9.7 million tons per year within the same period.
• Stalin's Collectivisation - ideological success

  
  

  • Gave government control over nearly all of the farmers
  • Made all agricultural workers employees of the government
  • In theory this allowed the government to distribute food equally
• Stalin - Human tragedy during 1FYP


  
  

  • Deaths of many prisoners who were forced to work without food in freezing conditions.
  • Sea Canal project led to 10,000 deaths of slave labourers during the winter of 1931-32.
• Living conditions during 1FYP


  
  

  • No attempts to provide adequate housing and factories for industrial workers.
  • Not a single bathhouse for 650,000 people living in the Liberty district of Moscow.
• Lenin - ideological success of War Communism

  
  

  • Abolition of money
  • Free market and government controlled industry brought them closer to real communism
  • Leaders said suffering was essential to truly embrace the need for communism
• Lenin - War Communism causing political unrest among armed forces

  
  

  • March 1921 sailors mutinied demanding free trade
  • Military action needed to restore order
  • Grain rationing and weapons production supplied the army during CW
• Lenin - NEP effecting price of goods

  
  

  • Increased the price of goods + decrease in value of agricultural produce + smaller wages = larger poor and rich gap.
  • Called the 'scissor crisis'.
• Khrushchev - success of consumer goods

  
  

  • Production up by 60% from 1959-65.
  • Shoes up by 148 million pairs and synthetic fibres up by 500,000 tons.
  • TV sets up from 4 per 1000 people in 1955, to 82 per 1000 in 1966.
• Lenin - NEP brought undesirable industries

  
  

  • Possibility of earning extra money led to prostitution, gambling, drug dealing and stealing.
• Lenin - War Communism 1918

  • Decree on Nationalisation - gov could take ownership of any business with over 10 workers, by 1920 37k had been taken
  • Industry put in hands of Vesenkha to ensure it was all contributing to Civil War
  • Discipline in factories, striking punishable by death and unemployed had to build roads
  • Private trade banned
  • Grain property of gov, lead to food rationing
  • Workers paid in goods instead of money
• Lenin - War communism and economics

  • Grain requestioning led to a lack on incentive, by 1920 production was 40% lower than in 1913
  • Petrograd factories ran out of fuel, 93 closed down and left 3000 workers without food for 10 days
  • Led to a black market, 60% of food consumed during CW was bought through this
• Lenin - War communism and social

  • Famine killed 6M
  • Sent an army of 80k vagrants, criminals and unemployed men to requisition grain from peasants, only led to rape and murder
  • Working conditions worsened, 11 hour working days and striking punishable by death
  • Lenin order 100 hoarding peasants to be hung
• Lenin - NEP 1921

  • CW had led to social, economic and political problems
  • NEP ended War communism
  • Peasants allowed to sell overflow for profit
  • Stopped inflation
  • Public can now set up businesses
  • L had to retreat from Marxism to let Russia beath
  • Not full capitalism as gov still controlled major institutions
• Lenin - NEP in agriculture

  • Requisitioning replaced with taxation, allowed peasants to sell remaining food at market for profit
  • Bolsh announced that there would be no forced programme of collectivisation
  • Without collective farms, the mir would stay as the means of peasants self-regulating their farming activities
• Lenin - NEP in industry

  • Returned small scale industry to private lands, nut kept control of heavy industry, allowing Lenin to claim that the party still held 'the commanding heights of the economy'
  • In state owned factories, piecework and bonuses were used to try to raise production. To some Bolsh these were the techniques of capitalists
• Stalin's collectivisation- overview

  • Merged small farms into large collective farms
  • They would be supplied with modern fertilisers and mechanical equipment
  • 1st stage - Grain Procurement Crisis, wealthier peasants hoarding grain gave S they excuse to start collectivisation
  • 2nd stage - rationing, requisitioning and outlawing hoarding gave gov increased control over economy
  • 3rd stage - liquidation of Kulaks (wealthier peasants) confiscating their land, livestock and equipment to be shared equally
• Stalin's collectivisation - production success

  • 1928 - 1933, grain exported up by 12 million
  • 1930 - 1942, amount collectivised up by 75%
  • 1928 - 1939, industrial workers up 32%
• Stalin's collectivisation - food production failure

  • 1926-33 production fell 9M tonnes
  • 1928-32 pigs fell by 65% and horses halved
  • Bread rations fell 40% and potatoes 80%
• Stalin's collectivisation - implementation failure

  • 7% of farms remained independent
  • Few farms got new tech or fertilizer
  • Caused so much chaos, it was suspended in 1930