Stalin Economy
Revolution from Above
in 1928, stalin ended NEP
he claimed that russia was '50 or 100 years behind the advanced countries' and that they needed to catch up in '10 years'
Stalin's Five Year Plans
main principles GRIT
Gigantic projects with emphasis on quantity over quality
rapid industrialisation with factories nationalised
based on ideology
unrealistic targets and quotas
Case Studies
White Sea Canal 1933
100,000 gulag prisoners used to build, 25,000 died in first winter alone
depth of canal reduced to 12 feet to meet deadline but this made it useless for most shipping
opened in 1933 and western tourists were amazed
great propaganda success but useless practically
Dnieper Dam 1932
huge dam built in just five years
generating 50 MW, third largest power plant in the world at the time
Outcome
Successes
economy grew 17% while rest of world was in global depression
workers to peasants ratio reached 50/50 instead of a previous 20/80
iron, coal and oil production doubled during 5YP
Failures
mass poverty in cities and no focus on consumer goods
food prices remain high
650,000 people in moscow had no access to public bathhouse
inequality grew
gosplan targets not met and efforts to meet them led to poor quality goods
Agricultural Collectivisation
collectivisation aimed to bring 'socialism to the countryside'
kolkhozes - name for collective farms
successes
by 1941 all farms had been collectivised, and there was complete control
peasants no longer hoarded grain
50% of population lived in cities by 1939
failures
huge number of animals killed by peasantry in protest - horses halved
workers didnt starve but food prices increased dramatically
up to 7 million died in famine of 1932-33
10,000,000 julaks exiled as part of dekulakisation
amount of grain harvested fell as productivity declined
Smychka ruined
Post War Recovery 1945-53
WW2 devastated russia so the 4th five year plan aimed to recover economy
had to pillage resources from east germany as reperations
workers expected to work 12 hours, 6 days a week