economic development 3c

• the great turn


  • 1924 the economy was based on the continuation of the NEP. the great compromise of 1921 moved away from war communism toward a partial return of free markets and private economic activity. this acheived a degree of economic stability and many saw it as the way forward
  • between 27-29 there was a dramatic shift in economic policy. the NEP was abandoned and regime committed to rapid industrialisation whatever the cost. policy toward peasants was replaced with brutal collectivisation of agriculture.
  • this change marked the end of the leninist phase and start of stalinism
• the problems of the russian economy

  • industrialisation had taken place at some speed in tsarist russia before 1917 but the industrial economy was badly impacted by wwI and Civil war. there was a degree of recovery after 1921 but it was slow and patchy, despite elaborate central planning organisations- veshenka and gosplan
  • production was weakened by strikes, managerial inefficiency and low levels of mechanisation. officials blamed nepmen for obstructing central planners, factory managers blamed government officials for interfering and demanding unrealistic prices.
• the problems of the russian economy

  the problems of industrialisation were linked to agriculture

  • agriculture: 1926 agriculture recovered to pre ww1 levels, but was uneven; peasants had grain to avoid paying taxes leading to the procurement crisis 1927-8; exports fell; farming was primitive; party struggled to control the countryside; kulaks were blamed for many problems and were attacked
  • industry: didnt recover as quickly as agriculture, not to pre ww1; profit went to state; outdated machinery; concerned with producing quantity not quality; the party blames class enemies not policies
• stalin's solution


  stalin wasn't an economist, his solution was a simple formula

  1. the USSR needs to industrialise
  2. industrialisation requires large amounts of manpower and capital
  3. USSR doesn't have sufficient capital and cant borrow because of bad foreign relations
  4. USSRs unexploited natural resources like oil and gas were the only available resource
  5. peasants must produce surplus food to sell abroad to raise capital
  6. efficient farming under collectivisation will create surplus labourers to become factory workers
• stalin's solution


  • the first step toward using the land for capital was collectivisation of agriculture.
  • this would involve taking the land from the peasants who would no longer farm for individual profit, but pool their efforts and receive wage.
  • stalin referred to the "setting up of collective farms and state farms in order to squeee out all capitalist elements from the land"
  • collective farms (kolkhoz) run as coopratives where peasants pool resorces and share labour and wages
  • state farms (sovkhoz) contained peasants working directly for the state and paid them wage
• stalin's solution

  • both kolkhoz and sovkhoz were to be means by which private land ownership would end and agriculture would begin to serve the direct interests of the state.
  • the plan was to group 50-100 holdings into units. it was believed that large farms would be more efficient and encourage effective use of machinery reducing labour and letting rural workers go find work in factories
• why stalin made the great turn

  • increase military strength
  • self sufficiency
  • increase grain supply
  • move towards socialism
  • establish his credentials
  • improve standards of living
• why stalin made the great turn- military strength

  • stalin knew a non industrialised country was a weak one, a modern was requires well developed industry to manufacture munitions. the war scare in the late 20s and 30s increasingly convinced stalin USSR would be attacked
• why stalin made the great turn- self sufficiency

  • stalin wanted USSR less dependent on western manufactured goods. a strong industrial base would produce the goods USSRs people needed and make it more independent
• why stalin made the great turn- increase grain supply

  • stalin wanted to end the economy's dependence on the backwards agricultural system and peasants. which created problems when there was bad harvest or peasant risings.
• why stalin made the great turn- move towards socialism

  • according to marxism socialism needed a highly industrialised state where the overwhelming majority were workers. in 1928 only 20% of USSR citizens were workers
• why stalin made the great turn- establish his credentials

  • stalin needed to prove himself as successor and equal to lenin. his economic transformation of USSR would take the revolution towards socialism and establish him as a leader with historic importance
• why stalin made the great turn- improve standards of living

  • stalin wanted to catch up to the west in terms of standard of living people enjoyed. industrialisation created wealth for a society. communist life should be a good life and people in other parts of the world should appreciate what communism has to offer working people. (goes back to socialism in one country)
• great turn timeline

  • '25- 14th party congress called for "the transformation of our country from an agrarian into an industrial one, capable by its own efforts of producing the necessary means"
  • '26- NEP was maintained though concerns were raised as more investment was needed to drive industry forward
  • dec '27- 15th party congress announces end of the NEP and first Five Year Plan for rapid industrialisation (The Great Turn)

  the great turn began an economic and social revolution. its successes and failures would have massive lasting impacts on the soviet economy and lives of the people.
• besides the lives of the russian people in both rural and urban areas, the shift in policy had a majour impact on debates and power struggles within the party. during 1928-29 the clash of opinion between stalin and bukharin broke down their relationship completely.
• the launch of the first Five Year Plan

  • 1928 stalin launched his programme for rapid industrialisation. this was the beginning of sustained industrial transformation through a series of Five Year Plans.
  • centralised planning was to maximise, systematic targets were set for ambitious increased output
  • main aims: develop heavy industry (coal iron steel oil and machinery); boost production 300%; improve transport systems (rails); electrification, generate 6x more by 1933; feed growing industrial workforce by increased agricultural production; light industry (eg household goods) to double output
• the launch of the first Five Year Plan

  • the ambitious targets were intended to force managers and workers to devote maximum effort.
  • the launch was accompanied by a tidal wave of propaganda to whip up enthusiasm, full of grandiose predictions of future success.
  • stalin claimed the targets would be fulfilled by mass enthusiasm, workers pulling together for a great cause
  • there was to be massive investment in infrastructure, especially rails and energy. new industrial complexes were planned, like the new "steel city" Magnitogorsk and plans for new tractor factories at Stalingrad
• the launch of the first Five Year Plan

  • stalins rush to transform USSR through industrialisation and collectivisation aroused much enthusiasm and high expectations
  • much party membership wa pleaed to see commitment to radical social change and an end to the NEP
  • the propoganda was overblown but had considerable impact. urban workers hoped for better employment prospects and higher living standards. many poor and middle peasants were led to believe theyd benefit from land reform and introduction of modern farming methods
• the launch of the first Five Year Plan

  • the stalin revolution provoked opposition and pessimism from the start. many in the party saw kulaks as the backbone of the agricultural economy and feared harsh collevtivisation would result in less food production
  • many managine industrial production were already critical of the adverse impact of central planning and weren;t peruaded that huge emphasis on central planning would magically solve the industry's problems. they reguarded the new policy as a high risk gamble
• the decision to collectivise

  • the decision to commit to collectivisation was not sudden, rather there were already a few collective farms pre1927
  • between late '27 and dec 1929 intense debate within the party culminated in the decision to push through massive acceleration of collectivisation
  • there were three factors: grain procurement crisis in winter 1927-8; increased food supplies to support expansion of industrial workforce; ideological conviction that collectivisation was socialist and right "rich" peasants were an obstacle
• the decision to collectivise- right

  • for bukharin and his allies, helping peasantry was key to economic success, more incentive meant more production. he believed prices should be allowed to rise, encouraging farmers to sell more
  • his opponents wanted faster progress to modernisation and growth of industry- they regarded the peasants as an obstacle
• the decision to collectivise

  • in dealing with the grain procurement crisis, stalin focussed special attention on west siberia and the urals where the harvest had been good but grain procurement was down by 1/3 on the previous year.
  • stalins officials and police seized grain to stop speculation (buying up grain and hoarding it while hoping prices rise)
  • by summer 1928 bukharins political position was weakening, he was getting outvoted. and by november stalin began to directly attack him, charging him with right deviation
• decision to collectivise

  • during 1929 the drive for forced collectivisation steadily gained momentum and popularity. the central committee introduced a policy of sending 25k party members to the countryside to accelerate develipment of colletive farms.
  • in december 1929 stalin announced to party congress his readiness to impose forced collectivisation without any restraints to "smash the kulaks as a class"