Stalin and the economy

1. Stalin and the economy Industrialisation and the 5 Year Plans 1928 - 1942

2. Industrialisation ~ the theory of central planning • Once the NEP had been reversed all industry was owned and run by the State. • Stalin was committed to the idea that detailed planning and rigorous enforcement of production targets could move the USSR forward massively in 10 years. • Gosplan (the State Planning Committee) was set up to over-see the Central Plan

3. Central Planning ~ how it worked • The 0.5 million planners in Gosplan worked out a very high 5-year production target for each factory or industrial unit in the USSR. • They then back-tracked from this final target to produce annual targets which increased year on year to reach the final target. These targets ~’quotas’~ were the minimum standard to be reached. • Each worker in the factory or industrial unit was give a weekly ‘norm’ ~ the amount of production they were expected to produce.

4. Rewards and punishments • Workers who exceeded their norms received extra pay, food, and better housing for them and their families. • Workers who failed to reach their norms lost money and food, and could lose their housing. • Workers who failed regularly or who complained were dealt with by OGPU. • Generally there was initial enthusiasm for the 5 Year Plan ~ the language used was of patriotic ‘war’ against poverty and backwardness

5. The First 5 Year Plan 1928 -33 • Focused on heavy industry ~ steel works, iron works, coal production, hydro-electric power, chemicals, motor-vehicles, synthetic rubber, man-made fibres, and electrical goods ~ the target was 300% increase in all these industries. • In addition the necessary infra-structure needed to be set up – roads, railways and canals. • Stalin was convinced that the military threat would come from the West and therefore these new industrial complexes were located deep inside Russia to the East of the Ural Mountains. • The workers often faced terrible conditions. Many were peasants who had been displaced by collectivisation. Piece-work rates were introduced and a 7 days week. • Despite poor planning and great loss of life the First 5 Year Plan achieved great progress. Industrial cities, such as Magnitogorsk were built. The Moscow underground was started • Although many factory managers lied about their targets great strides in production had been made. In 1932 Stalin announced that the first 5 Year Plan had been completed in 4 years.

6. The Second 5 Year Plan 1933 - 1938 • More realistic targets were set although they were still highly demanding. • Fearing the growing threat of the Nazi Party in Germany the focus of the Plan became increasingly military. • Working and living conditions remained poor but there was some small improvement overall. • This Plan also saw the appearance of Stakhanovism

7. Aleksei Stakhanov • A coalminer in the Donbass region. • 30 – 31st August 1935 extracted 102 tonnes of coal in a 6-hour shift exceeding his norm by 14 times. • Hailed as a hero of the revolution, he and other extremely hard-working workers were grouped together as the Stakhanovites and used to do propaganda tours of the USSR. • Used to inspire workers they also caused discontent. It has been suggested that he had done this.

8. The 3rd Five Year Plan 1938 - 1941 • Originally this Plan was to be focused on consumer goods however the growing threat of war with Germany changed the emphasis to armaments. • In June 1941 Germany invaded the USSR and this ended this Plan.

9. The 5 Years Plans ~ an evaluation • Despite the difficulty of trusting the figures produced by Gosplan it is clear that the USSR’s industrial production increased massively. • The USSR had achieved this industrial growth without foreign investment and thus was not hit hard by the World Recession. • There had not been an equivalent increase in the living standards of the Russian people. • The human cost had massive