LESSON 1A – THE GREAT TURN
Essential Question
Why did Stalin make the ‘Great Turn?’
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
• Preview – Better test scores
• Learn the state of the Soviet economy in the 1920’s
• Fill out tables explaining the different perspectives on what
to do
Success Criteria
I can explain whether or not the Soviet Union
should continue NEP or begin rapid
industrialization
PREVIEW
Let’s pretend you wanted to
get better test scores out of
students.
• You do not know what is on
the test and cannot steal it.
What some possible ways
you could do this?
• You can do anything you
want. ANYTHING!!! You have
no rules.
• All we care about is results
VOCAB
NEP
Kulak
Success Criteria
I can explain whether or not the
Soviet Union should continue NEP
or begin rapid industrialization
MARXIST-BOLSHEVIK
THOUGHT
All Soviet leaders wanted to
transform Russia, build a
communist state and that to do
this, Russia needs to
industrialize
Marxism – the economic
system creates the political
system
Bolsheviks – the political
system can create/impact the
economic system
• All agreed this, the only
difference was how
THE RUSSIAN
MaCONTEXT
rx predicted revolution in an industrial
state, like Germany and Britain, but Russia
was one of the least industrialized states
To industrialize a country, you need to
spend money on factories, equipment to
produce goods (capital investment)
• Usually gained from foreign countries
• USSR was isolated and didn’t have the
money to buy these
The only source of wealth was agriculture
• Surplus grain could be exported
• The peasants would also have to grow extra
grain in order to feed a growing industrial
workforce
• Therefore, everything relied on the peasants
NEP
1926 Party Congress – ‘transform our
country from an agrarian into an
industrial one, capable by its own
efforts of producing the necessary
means’
• Industrial capacity had reached pre-1914
levels and a massive injection of funds and
capital was needed
• Grain supply did increase, but not enough
for its industrialization plan
• 1913- exported 12 million tons grain
• Best NEP year – 3 million
• 1926-7 – exports 33% and imports
38% of 1913 levels
NEP = New
economic policy
introduced by
Lenin in 1921. It
allowed private
trade and
business
(capitalism) in
order to
encourage
economic
growth although
the State still
controlled heavy
industry,
transport and
banking.
NEP AND THE PEASANTS
NEP
Grain

Gov’tdidn’t
tried to
reach
encourage
the market
a new
because:
tactic to sell more grain

collecting
taxes
1.Stopped
Agriculture
was still
veryfrom
backward
peasants
form ofwooden
grain and
• 1927in–the
5 million
madeploughs
them pay
a money
were
still in tax
use
 Banned private traders who paid
2. Peasant landholding actually
more
for grain
thanafter
the gov’t
became
smaller
the 1917
 Peasants
had to sell at lower prices
Revolution
to the
state and
had estates
to sell more
• Large
efficient
and
grain farms
than before
to pay their and
taxes
had disappeared
 Meat been
pricesdivided
rose soupthe peasants fed
to animals
and sold
theand
3.their
Thegrain
relationship
between
gov’t
animals
+ held
grain back
peasants
deteriorated
byhoping
the endthe
of
price
the would
1920s go up
Result of all this?
The grain
procured by the
state in 1927 was
¾ of what was
procured in 1926.
This slowed
down
industrialisation
as their was less
grain to export to
pay for foreign
machinery.
Something had to
be done.
Bureaucrat Why is more
grain needed
and why isn’t
it reaching
the markets?
More grain is needed in order to export abroad to
make foreign currency which is used to pay for
foreign technology and machines in order to
industrialise.
Grain isn’t reaching markets because: a) farming
is inefficient and doesn’t produce enough b) the
revolution destroyed old, efficient farms c)
peasants are holding onto grain
Governmen How would
t Official
you persuade
more peasants
to get more
grain to
market?
Use propaganda to persuade peasants to sell
more grain
Peasant
Hide grain, feed grain to animals and then sell
them, sell on black market
How and why
would you
avoid sending
more grain to
the markets?
Raise the price of grain at market?
Threaten/force peasants to sell more grain?
Why? Government doesn’t pay as high enough
for grain, if we hold onto grain, they will be
forced to raise price
NEP AND STALIN
Stalin sent out officials to
seize grain
• Jan 1928 – went into the
Urals and Western Siberia
on a requisitioning
campaign
• Encouraged poor peasants
to denounce kulaks (rich
peasants) who were
‘hoarding grain’
• Resulted in more
grain, but a complete
destruction of
peasant-gov’t
relationship
NEP AND THE
WORKERS
1928 – wages reach pre-1914
levels, did not have an 8-hour
day, high unemployment
throughout NEP, high food
prices, women forced out of
jobs because of returning Civil
War soldiers, large number of
homeless, most workers lived
in overcrowded, poor-quality
homes, parentless children
joining gangs (result of Civil
War)
2 POLICIES
POLICY 1 – BUKHARIN &
THE RIGHT
Accepted that industrialization
was the main goal, but wanted
to cooperate with the
peasantry
Believed trying to force the
peasants to supply more grain
might lead to the collapse of
the USSR and the end of the
revolution
The right was prepared to take
more time to achieve
collectivization and was not
keen on seizing grain
POLICY 2 – TROTSKY &
LEFT-WING
Believed the peasantry had to be
exploited through taxation and
prices so that the wealth they
generated could be transferred
to industrial investment
If gov’t bought cheap grain and
sold for high prices, surplus
could be pumped into industry
Industrial development could
only be funded at expense of
peasants
Success Criteria
I can explain whether or not the
Soviet Union should continue NEP
or begin rapid industrialization
WHAT TO DO?
Policy 1 – Carry on with the NEP
Increasing the price of grain
will encourage peasants to sell
food to government. This will
give peasants more money to
spend on better equipment like
tractors to produce even more
food.
Using force will anger
peasants who might hid more
grain.
Collectivisation provides no
incentive for peasants to work
hard
Poor peasants means
inefficient farming
Policy 2 – Rapid industrialisation
Rapid industrialisation is
needed to defend Russia.
Forced industrialisation is
quick and collectives means
we can monitor peasants
better.
NEP allows peasants to remain
as landowners – not
communism!
Russia is too backward – it will
take to long to industrialise
unless something is done
soon
Russia doesn’t have time to
industrialise naturally – too
many enemies!
WRAP UP
Can we answer our question?
Why did Stalin make the ‘Great
Turn?’
With your partner, discuss possible answers
• What was the state of the Soviet economy in the
1920’s?
• What different paths could the politburo taken?
• What would you have done?
LESSON 1B – THE GREAT TURN
Essential Question
Why did Stalin make the ‘Great Turn?’
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
• Preview – What if?
• Learn about the Great Turn and why it occurred
• Discuss the significance of this Great Turn
Success Criteria
I can analyze primary and secondary
sources to explain why Stalin made the
Great Turn
PREVIEW
What was the most important
decision/event of your life? Why?
• Ex. Moving from a different area?
• Ex. The day you broke your
arm?
Look back at the events leading to
that? What could you have done
differently?
• Ex. You broke your arm playing
soccer, but you didn’t feel well
that day and were thinking about
not playing
What if you made another choice.
How would that have changed
your life?
VOCAB
5-Year Plan
Collectivization
NEPman
Great Turn
Command Economy
Success Criteria
I can analyze primary and
secondary sources to explain why
Stalin made the Great Turn
STALIN’S ECONOMIC
AMBITIONS
Industrialize
and Modernize
• There were practical and ideological
reasons for wanting this
1. Increase military strength
Increase
grain
supplies
5.3.Establish
his
credentials
• Non-industrialized
= weak (Crimean War)
of as
the
economy
Needed
todependence
prove
himself
the
successor
•End
Warthe
scare
during
the
1920s,
thus on the
backward
system
and
equal toagricultural
Lenin
convincing
Stalin that
the USSR would be
attacked
(He(1928),
was proved
correct)
During
famine
bad
harvest
Economic
transformation
would
takeorthe
discontent,
the
stateatindustrial
was
thebase
revolution
forward
with
Stalin
the at
centre
of
•peasant
Needed
a well-developed
nd revolution
mercy
of the peasantry
this
to2manufacture
weapons for defense
• Poland had a new anti-communist dictator
Move
a socialistofsociety
6.4.To
improve
thenewspapers
standard
livingmore hstule
andtowards
British
grew
Industrialization
1928 – 20%
of created
population
werefor
workers
Achieve
self-sufficiency
2.
wealth
society
had
to industrialize
in order
toWestern
achieve
The
communist
life
be
the on
good
life
•USSR
Make
USSR
lessshould
dependent
socialism
and
communism
and
peopleespecially
in other
parts
of the world
should
goods,
for industrial
production
appreciate
it had to
offer
working
• Producewhat
the goods
the
people
needed
people
4. REASONS FOR THE GREAT TURN
1.
Increase military strength – factories were needed for this
2.
Achieve self-sufficiency – resulting in long-term security for
communism in a hostile world
3.
Increase grain supplies – necessary to pay for industrialisation
4.
Achieving Socialism – rapid industrialisation and collectivisation will
help socialise people into good communists
5.
Establish his credentials – his credibility as leader rested on his
promise to ‘build socialism in one country’. Stalin needed the
modernise Russia in order to secure his own hold on power.
6.
Standards of Living – this needed to improve in order to improve for
Stalin to gain support amongst people, and to help spread
communism abroad
Dec 1927 – 15th Party Congress
THE GREAT TURN
• Announcement of the first 5-Year Plan
• demanded rapid industrialization, setting
high targets for industry to achieve
• In agriculture, the plan called for
collectivization
• 15% of peasant households were to
be collectivized
End of NEP
• NEP did recover the Soviet economy, but it
was not developing an industrial, urban,
proletarian, socialist society
• NEP encouraged private markets, private
enterprise and NEPMEN
• business men who took advantage of a
lack of commercial market and traded
• Peasants showed no signs of becoming
good socialists and couldn’t be relied on to
produce grain so the state could
industrialize
THE GREAT TURN
Many party members hated the NEP and
warmly welcomed Stalin’s ‘left-turn’ in his
policies of modernization and
industrialization
The Great Turn is the change from NEP to 5Year Plans because it marked a major shift in
the economy towards central planning
• Command economy
• Land was socialized through collectivization
• Industrialization would lead to the growth of the
proletariat along with new cities and new
wealth
Some historians claim that this Great Turn is
where the USSR ‘went wrong’
• Led to totalitarianism, tyranny and inhumanity
Success Criteria
With your partner, complete
I can analyze primary and
the questions on the
secondary sources to explain why
worksheet provided
Stalin made the Great Turn
1 AND 3, ARE THE COMMUNISTS
DEFINING THE IDEA OF ‘BUILDING
SOCIALISM’?
Source 1 defines ‘building socialism’ as
‘industrialisation and economic
modernisation’, achieved by building factories
and towns.
Source 3 describes how Communists saw
building socialism as ‘rapid industrialisation
and forcible collectivisation of peasant
agriculture’.
FIND AT LEAST THREE
REASONS WHY STALIN
WANTED TO TRANSFORM
SOVIET SOCIETY.
Didn’t want Russia to be ‘beaten’ by
other countries
Wanted to reform Russia into a modern
country by improving military, culture,
politics, industry and agriculture.
Modernisation of countryside
Wanted to compete with capitalism
THE SOURCE, WHAT MESSAGE EACH IS
CONVEYING ABOUT THE WAY SOVIET
SOCIETY IS GOING TO CHANGE.
Modernisation through
mechanisation – tractor
represents the future of
farming
Modernisation through
education – peasants are
being educated in latest
farming methods
THE SOURCE, WHAT MESSAGE EACH IS
CONVEYING ABOUT THE WAY SOVIET
SOCIETY IS GOING TO CHANGE.
Society will
become more
efficient and
productive
through better
planning and
organisation
THE SOURCE, WHAT MESSAGE EACH IS
CONVEYING ABOUT THE WAY SOVIET
SOCIETY IS GOING TO CHANGE.
Society will
industrialise
through the
efforts of all
workers
THE SOURCE, WHAT MESSAGE EACH IS
CONVEYING ABOUT THE WAY SOVIET
SOCIETY IS GOING TO CHANGE.
Society will
become more
equal – all
will work to
build
socialism
WRAP UP
Can we answer our question?
Why did Stalin make the ‘Great
Turn?’
With your partner, discuss possible answers
• Why did Stalin seek to industrialize and modernize
the Soviet Union?
• Do you think he was the only one who wanted
this?
• What was the Great Turn?