The USSR's Economic Transformation Under Stalin

Background

Joseph Stalin was born in 1879 into an impoverished family; his mother was a peasant and his father was a cobbler. His success in academics resulted in him receiving a scholarship to a seminary where priests were trained and there he turned toMarxism; Stalin then became a follower ofLenin. When he became the leader of the Soviet Union afterLenins deathin 1924, he realized that Russias economy needed to be drastically improved in order to keep up with the economies of the west - Stalin believed that the USSRs economy was at least 50 years behind other developed countries. The Soviet Union was in a state of dismay after being defeated by the Alliance Powers in WW1 and needed a leader like Stalin to improve the economy.

Socialism in One Country

Socialism in one country is the basic theory that Stalin socialism was founded on. It was his belief that the Soviet Union could survive without other socialist/communist nations - contrary to Lenins belief that, though socialist revolutions could occur in one country, the success of socialism was unachievable without revolutions in countries that were more advanced.

Five Year Plans

After WW1 the Soviet Union was in need of a plan and a leader that could properly execute it. Stalin knew that Russia was about50 years behind the rest of the developed countries. If there was no increase in production and completion of the Five Year Plans, Russia was a target of many capitalist countries who wanted to destroy communism. Stalins aim was to increase industrial output by 250% which would allow Russia to catch up to the rest of the developed countries. The Five Year Plans were intended to get Russia back on track and caught up to the rest of the countries.

Promotion of Stalin's First Five Year Plan

First Five Year Plan: 1927-1932The first Five Year Plan focused heavily on the transformation of industries and agriculture. In order for Russia to catch up, it was necessary for these resources to be modernised. By basing the first plan on improving industries, it would pave way for industrial growth. The production of iron and coal quadrupled and 1500 new industrial plants were built. Stalin created harsh targets and wanted a 200% increase in coal production. Stalin recognized that these stats were vital for the alteration of Russia. He knew that without the increase of these productions the Soviet Union would be subject to invasions from capitalist countries in the west. Stalin hoped to achieve these goals by penalizing workers that did not meet the demands. He used public humiliation as a form of punishment and paid higher wages to workers that were successful in meeting the demands. Stalins left wing opponents didnt agree with this tactic, but Stalin got his way and wages were increased for certain individuals. Stalin then introduced collectivization. This meant that individual land labour was to be consolidated into collective farms. Agricultural distribution was an issue and Stalin saw collectivization as a solution. He believed that replacing individual land would result in an increase of food supply for urban population. The plan wasnt successful and resulted in the murdering, torturing, and imprisonment of farmers.

Second/Third Five Year Plan: 1933-37 and 1938-1941The second five year plan started in 1933 and continued to focus on heavy industry. It expanded on the first five year plan, and the targets were double and triple the 1932 level. The Third Year Plan was from 1938 to 1941. Rather than focus on heavy industries again, Stalin decided to try a different approach. This time, the focus was on light industry to raise the standard of living through consumer goods. The Third Year Plan was interrupted by the Second World War, and the production of consumer goods quickly switched to armaments. The emphasis was on the USSRs role in the war and making sure all of the necessary actions were being taken. The railways were extended and they increased the output of the army. They had complications with mobilizing the troops so it was made sure that transportation was up and running. Without the Five Year Plans, Russia wouldnt have been able to hold their ground during the Nazi invasion and would have been subject to serious damage that would have shaped their history. Stalins plans also allowed the USSR to be self sufficient throughout the war.

Fourth and Fifth Year Plans: 19461950 and 19511955The final plans focussed mainly on the reconstruction of the war. A lot of the USSR had been severely damaged. 98,000 collective farms had been ruined, 137,000 tractors were lost, 49,000 harvesters, 7 million horses, 17 million cattle, 20 million pigs, and 27 million sheep. 25% of all capital equipment had been destroyed in 35,000 plants and factories. 6 million buildings were ruined as well. Poland was hardest hit from the war, but the USSR was close behind. Reconstruction was hard to achieve due to labour shortages caused by the casualties in the war which slowed down the process.

Result of the Five Year Plans:In some areas, the first Five Year Plan was a success. By 1940 the USSR had overtaken Britain in the iron and steel production, and was within 20% of Germanys output. The large expansion of energy products helped the plans to get under way. New factories and towns had a need for power and more dams, roads and railway were created. Although the industrial part of the plan had gone well, the social aspect was not so smooth. Stalins harsh and ruthless plans required workers to live under harsh conditions. The industrial output goals were met, but at the cost of the workers. Stalins plan for collectivisation was definitely less successful than industrialization. The plans assisted Russia to avoid Nazi invasion and also provided them with enough resources and plans to allow them to be self sufficient during the war.

Collectivization

"Hired hand, join the collective farm"

On November. 27th, 1927, Joseph Stalin introduced the policy of collectivization of agriculture in the Soviet Union. Collectivizing agriculture was a process of the government taking ownership of farms, by transforming individual farms into large state-owned ones. The government provided supplies and tractors for the farm workers, and hoped to modernize Soviet agriculture.In the early 1920s, farming peasants chose to eat their produce instead of selling it. Therefore, people in the city only saw about half of the grain actually produced. Stalin thought that collectivizing farms would improve productivity, and produce enough grain to support the growing labour force. The collectivization of agriculture was to be the backbone for industrialization in Russia, the governments primary focus.The wealthier peasants in the Soviet Union, called kulaks, owned medium-sized farm lands and employed poorer peasants. The kulaks didnt want to give up their farms to the government. Instead, they burned their buildings and crops, and slaughtered their animals. In response to the kulaks actions, the government forced the kulaks out of Russia into Siberia and Central Asia. Approximately five million kulaks disappeared, and the government sent a strong message to anyone who thought of opposing collectivization.In addition to the kulaks, other peasants in Russia were also mistreated during collectivization. Many peasants were sent to various places throughout Russia to agricultural work camps. One in five deportee peasants died. In total, approximately six million peasants died either in transportation to, or the harsh conditions in the work camps.After the first five year plan ended in 1932, agricultural output was actually down by 23 percent. This was caused by the disappearance of the kulaks, who produced much of the agricultural output. In fact, so many civilians who were sent to work on collectivized farms died that there werent enough people working the land. The demands of the government were too high, and many peasants resisted.Stalin didnt give up on collectivization, and after the second five year plan, up to ninety percent of farms had been collectivized. The other ten percent of agricultural land was allowed to be privately owned for people who also farmed the large collectivized farms. These private plots were very small, at just 0.25 to 0.5 hectares for each person. Output of grain had increased in Russia, and agriculture had been modernized.Around 12 million people disappeared during the collectivization period. Although collectivization helped rapid industrialization in the USSR, the human cost was high.

Mass Industrialization

Stalins Five Year Plan (adopted in 1928) called for intensive andrapid industrializationof the economy - with an emphasis on heavy industry. In 1926, 75% of people living in the Soviet Union worked in agriculture, but with Stalin seizing control of food production through the collectivization of this industry, he also directed a large part of the work force into industry. As a result, only 51% of people worked in agriculture by 1940.Between 1930 and 1938 alone, 25 million farm workers and peasants were forcefully relocated to industrial centers from rural areas and made to be factory workers. This was achieved by rigorous training, socialist propaganda, and harsh discipline.Stalin initiated many large-scale projects between 1928 and 1941 such as the Stalingrad Tractor Factory and the Baltic-White Sea Canal; unfortunately, many of his projects depended on slave labour. This resulted in an estimated 10 million political prisoners being held in concentration camps and forced to work in various industries such as gold mining and forestry. These camps were regularly replenished with opponents of Stalins socialist regime.

Propaganda posters were used to promote Stalin's industrialization/large-scale projects

Regrettably, Stalins industry-obsessed economy resulted in consumer-good and food shortages in Russia because he invested so much money into heavy industries instead. Also when Russia converted their tractor factories into war-craft plants when they saw the threat of the Nazis building, their products still fell short in quality (despite their large quantity) compared to those of Germany and Japan. It is estimated that, though Russia made large gains in industry during Stalins reign, the Soviet Union was essentially weaker than the other powers at the end of the 1930s. Therefore, Stalins brutal methods for industrialization were not remotely worth the price that the Soviet Union paid.

The export industry was the most successful aspect of Stalins economy. For example, industries such as coal, iron, and steel thrived duringStalins reign. However, consumer goods were not as successful due to the fact that the vast majority of the economy was geared towards large exporting industries. During the war the production of consumer goods were replaced with the production of armaments.