Industrialisation + Collectivisation

• The FYPs set high targets for industry. These targets were broken down in geographic regions and factories.
• Arrest, prison or worse would happen if targets were not met. This pressurised quantity over quality in the workplace.
• Propaganda portrayed target plans as a final blow to capitalism. The Soviet Union was to become a massive, industrial power.
• Heavy industry was emphasised in the first 3 FYPs. Oil, coal and steel are some examples of this industry.
• The 1932 targets were increased in 1929. Increases in big production was achieved despite the fact that no targets were ever reached.
• Electricity trebled by 1932.
• The 1932 target for coal was 75 million tons. 64 million tons was achieved.
• The 1932 target for oil was 21.7 million tons. 21.4 million tons was achieved.
• The 1932 target for iron ore was 20.2 million tons. 12.1 million tons was achieved.
• The 1932 target for pig iron was 10 million tons. 6.2 million tons was achieved.
• Growth was maintained in production through the 1930s. Consumer goods were neglected.
• Rearmament was prioritised in 1930s because the fear of war was increasing.
• An industrial complex was built in Magnitogorsk in the 1930s. It took a few years to build it.
• The Dnieprostroi Dam was constructed which improved electricity production. Production improved 500%.
• Human lives was the huge cost of new infrastructure. Displaced peasants mostly suffered.
• Living conditions deteriorated for Soviet workers. The main reason for this was the rise of an urban population.
• Stalin succeeded in the primary aim of making the Soviet Union a powerhouse. He defeated Nazi Germany in WW2.
• The first FYP was from 1928 to 1932. The second was from 1933 to 1937.
• The third FYP was from 1938 to 1941. The fourth was from 1946 to 1950.
• The fifth FYP was from 1951 to 1955. The sixth was from 1956 to 1960.
• The seventh and final FYP was from 1959 to 1965.
• Several villages were amalgamated as a result of collectivisation. All equipment and livestock was pooled.
• Grain was procured under collectivisation. This was because it would feed the workforce and it would pay for imports of equipment.
• Communist Party members implemented collectivisation. They were backed by the secret police and soldiers.
• Stalin destroyed the kulaks to force peasants into submission.
• Peasants suffered from increased state control. They were classed as "kulaks" if they opposed forced collectivisation.
• 50% of peasants had been collectivised by March 1930. 90% by 1939.
• Crops and livestock was being burned and killed in opposition to collectivisation.
• Many collectives were being ran ineffectively by farmers because of little knowledge.
• Food production declined as a consequence of collectivisation. Grain exports increased.
• 3 million people died as a result of famine in Ukraine from 1932-33.
• The Soviet Union finally recovered pre-war levels of grain production in 1939.
• Many peasants were driven off and forced into labour camps to build the industrial Soviet Union.
• Peasants way of life was destroyed because of collectivisation. This life was based around community and the Church.
• Orland Figes stated that Stalin's war on the Kulaks had little to do with "economic considerations".