Stalin S Economy

Stalin’s Economy

I. March 1921  NEP (+ capitalist)

 Grain requisitioning abolished  Small business reopened  State control of heavy industry  Ban on private trade removed

It provided an economic recovery, to Russia’s pre 1913 levels. After 1925 problems began to emerge: Scarcity of resources (not enough grain exports) High level of unemployment Food shortages

Due to… Backward economy Deteriorated relationship between government and peasants

II. 1927  Great Turn: Implementation of the Five Year Plan

Motivation: Have a faster industrialization of the society to: set the base for military rearmament, self sufficiency, independence from western powers, move towards a socialist society, establish Stalin’s credentials, and increase grain supplies.

1) General features of the plans: a) Agriculture  Collectivization

Why?   To make farming more efficient through the use of modern machinery  It would require fewer peasants to work, meaning more labor available for industry  To facilitate the grain procurement (fewer collections points)  To socialize the country

Carried out through…  Propaganda to inflame class hatred and advertise of collective farms  The creation of a class enemy: ‘Kulaks’ (rich peasants) who poorer peasants would denounce (dekulakization)  Terror, force: “25.000ers”

Consequences   Riots and armed resistance from peasants  They burnt crops, slaughtered animals (20-35%) or ate them.

1930  Stalin backtracked as he knew this could lead to collapse of grain, but soon restarted once harvest had been gathered. 1932-34 Famine, caused by… Lack of farming knowledge/skills (most efficient peasants were killed) Not enough animals and machinery Low grain production against a high level of grain requisitioning.

Collectivization was a success because…  90% of peasants’ households were collectivized  State procurement of grain increased  It was an essential step in modernization  The state govt. gained control of villages and peasants.

It was not a success because…  There was a lack of experts  Grain production decreased  Meat production decreased (due to farmer’s resistance strategy)  There was use of force  Grain quotas remained the same (even though there was a decrease in grain prod.)  High human cost (famine) b) Industrialization: First Five Year plan in 1928.

Organization   Commanded economy (State would decide what, where and when to produce)  Setting of production and output targets which industrial enterprises had to achieve.  Bonuses were paid to enterprises that exceeded their targets and if they failed it would mean a criminal offence. (Targets back up by law)  It was run through commissariats and departments.  Emphasized on development of heavy industry to provide power and goods to manufacture other products.

It was a success because…  The USSR became a self sufficient country (didn’t depend on Western countries exports)  Most important targets were achieved (in heavy industry)  Higher rates of employment  Soviet economy was booming

It was not a success because…  There was not a systematical growth  Heavy industry grew at expenses of other industries that provided consumer goods  Scarcity of consumer goods in the market  Very bad living conditions for peasants  Targets were unrealistic and lack of mechanisms whereby these targets were to be achieved  There were inaccurate statistics from enterprises in order to show they had fulfilled the program. (corruption and bribery increased)