Section 4: How successful was Stalin’s attempt to modernize the USSR
- Series of Five-Year Plans imposed by
Communist Party, 2 imposed during late
1920s to late 1930s.
1931 Stalin stated in a speech that
Soviet Union 50-100 behind advanced countries, and made it a goal to close this gap in 10 years or be crushed. o 1941 Russia invasion by Germany was an important test for Soviet
Union.
- USSR being able to withstand the invasion was a confirmation to Stalin that economic policies of the 5 year Plans drive for modernization had worked. o Progress was unbalanced and was achieved at an enormous cost.
Heavy Industry
Few industries had meet the over ambitious targets of the first Five-Year Plans. o Adjusted by Stalin to appear over achieved.
Despite this rapid growth in engineering industry and fuel production due to the focus of the first Fiver Year
Plan and the concentration of resources contributed to heavy industry. Very impressive. o Increase production
 Improving efficiency in existing factories and developing new industrial plant. o Successfully complete project
 Provide power and growth in industry
 E.g. Dnieper dam project o Developed both traditional industrial centers, e.g. Moscow and
Leningrad, and new centers in less developed parts of the country,
Kazakhstan and Georgia.
Success of the second year Five-Year Plan due to: o New industrial centres started in first Plan were completed and in production. o Coal and Steel production increased rapidly in early 1930s.
 1928-1941 a four times increase in steel and 6 times increase in coal production.
 *Note at a time when rest of the world suffering from Great
Depression.
Historical Intrepretations

Historian Nove draws attention to issues of concerning official production figures, as it indicates that production of machinery over-fulfilled the plan despite less success in production of metal. o Odd and contradictory to each other given close connection between the two industries.
Chaotic implementation and planning
Are factors that limited economic achievements in economic policy o State rigid adoption of command economy
Led to failures because planners based in Moscow had little understanding of local conditions in far reaches of Soviet Union. o Many resources were wasted as they were inappropriately used. o Imposition of over-ambitious production targets by central government.
 Encouraged managers to be creative in production, such as hijacking trains transporting materials to their own factories. o Manipulation of production figures
 Led to corruption becoming an integral part of the Soviet
Economy. o Interference by Soviet party on production led to economic slowdown.
 Purges in 1937 led to many managers to be removed.
Consumer Industry
Was not able to match to that of the progress made in heavy industry o Clothing production decline under first Five-Year Plan.
 Collapse of livestock number due to collectivism. o While second and third Plans attempted at increase consumer goods but increases in international intentions resources redirected resources towards heavy industry and armaments.
Despite this there were some advance in consumer goods, however did not solve the problem of shortages of important consumer goods. o Foot wears production and food processing made significant increases.

 Late 1930s, developments starting to have some impact on living standards. o New bakeries, ice cream and meat packing factories were established in towns.
Labor conditions
Substantial economic progress was achieved through harsh working conditions and is an indication that Stalin and the government thought that the cost was of no consequence as long as the task was complete. o Plans called workers to devote all their strength to achieving the targets set in each Plan.
 First Five Year Plan relied on revolutionary attitudes to motivate a work force unskilled.
 By 1933 17% of workforce in Moscow were skilled.
 Training schemes introduced that transform the workforce and the percentage of unskilled workers dropped through 1930s but still was a problem in some areas.
 Stakhanovite movement
 Shock brigades of Communist Party members designed to instill the workforce with socialist values to promote production. o Government increased wages of trained and skilled workers
 to encourage workers to acquire the skills necessary to improve productivity. o Work discipline improved to punish slackers.
 As not all workers were convinced by slogans in the party.
 High level of absenteeism (practice of staying away from work).
Agriculture o Use of slave labor to complete large building projects.
 Conditions endured by slave labors ensured they died before the project was complete.
 E.g White Sea Canal
Collectivization had a huge human cost Took Soviet decades for agriculture to reach some of the production figures it attained in period before collectivization o Elimination of 15 million kulaks, class enemies of peasants, represents human tragedy of epic proportions.
Historian Robert Conquest (1986) o Argues that the collectivization was a deliberate policy of genocide against Ukrainian population by Stalin. o Backs it up with the Ukraine having the worst of the food shortages in grain harvest in 1932.

o Comparison of Kazakhs Illustrates another side of human cost
 Nomadic group forced into collectives against will
 Resulted in sheep flocks being wiped out and a epidemic reduced the Kazakh population by 40%
Impact on Economic o Was devastating:
 Cattle from 1928 70 million in – 1933 39 million
 Grain production 1928 73.3 million tones – 1934 67.7 million tones o However widespread use of agricultural machinery led to recovery in late 1930s
 Still productivity remained low
Urbanization
Industrialization of the Soviet Union brought rapid increase in urbanization. o Rapid change was an important element in the modernization of the Soviet Union.
 Established cities grew alongside the movement of populations from country side into cities.
 E.g. Moscow from 1929 2.2 million, 1936 3.6 million.
 New cities emerged from industrial development in 1930s;
 Towns of Donbass coal and steel region doubled in population.
Historian Moshe Lewin (1975) o Challenges the view that this development constitutes as rapid urbanization.
 Towns and cities were swamped by people from rural areas
 Rualisation is a better term to describe then urbanization.
Rush to industrialize

o Resources for housing and entertainment were rare. o Workers had to sleep in tents, makeshift huts or even in the factories.
Living Standards
Harder concept as it includes aspects of housing, services, social security and how these relate to the values of society in terms of its expectations.
Historian Nove (1969) o Early years of the first Five-Year Plan brought a decline in living standards ever.
Neglect of consumer goods

 Food shortages
 Rationing and poor quality of goods o However conditions after 1933.
 Real wages stayed below 1928
1935 o Rationing of meat and bread and all rationing was abolished o Cheap food available to workforce canteens and work clothes were given free of charge. o Public transport was developed in towns and cities
 Except trams stayed overcrowded. o Uemplyomement not a major problem
 Due to shortage of labor by industrialization
 Working conditions hard, repetitivae and mentally unchallenging. o Living conditions remained far below
 Not like propaganda suggested high modern city life.
Social Transformation
Is an important aspect of modernization under Five Year plans. Yet the human cost of economic development of the Soviet Union also left deep impact. o Removal of bourgeois capitalist elements seen as holding back development of modern socialist societies

 Kulaks and Nepmen o Process of collectivization
 Removal village priest and traditional school teacher and kulaks o State control over the economy
 Removal of Nepmen, private traders and owners of small businesses who profited under NEP.
1936 o Stalin stated that only 3 classes existed in Soviet society in to move toward a socialist utopia.
 Working Class
 Peasentry
 Working intelligentsia
 Administrators and managers
1930s o Soviet Union social changes are reflected in the rapidly change from backward agricultural based economy into a modern industrial based economy.
 Impressive transformation in economic achievements and its speed.
 However not felt by all aspects of the economy
 Consumer industry
 Agriculture lagging behind.
 Battle between industry and agriculture for resources
 Industry eventually gained more resources.
Debate
Whether economic achievements were worth the cost has been a source of debate among historians.
Was Stalinism Necessary?
Conclusion
At end of 1990s growing consensus among historians that economic policies pursued by Stalin to modernize the Soviet Union were unnecessary. o Liberal school in the West and Russian writers since 1991.
 Emphasize the enormous human cost of the policies and
Stalin’s personal manipulation of policy to his own advantage.
 See the existence for alternatives methods. o Challenge by revisionist historians.
 See economic policies during 1930s as instruments for
Stalin is misleading. o Stalin and supporters
 Defended Five-Year Plan and collectivization as necessary tools in the process of strengthening the revolution and survival.