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Industrial and Social developments in towns…
Industrial and Social developments in towns and cities
Gosplan
Was the state planning agency that was given responsiblilty for drawing up the plans and establishing output targets for every economic enterprise
No easy task, given that the communist govt made the overall decisions as to what should be produced, and when, over a five year period
Gosplan also suffered from a lack of reliable information particularly on costs of imports or the price that exports might commandant faced the difficulty of planning for many variable and changing commodities
The targets set were normally very ambitious, they were intended to force managers and workers to devote their maximum effort to the programme.
Since failing to meet targets was deemed a criminal offence all those involved went to great measures to ensure that the reported statistics showed huge improvments, which then led to corruption as people were faking results
Gosplan was placed in a position were it was working off falsified statistics and if things went wrong they would be held responsible
First Five Year Plan, 1928-1932
Was approved by the Sixteenth Party Congress in April 1929
It was not based on very secure data and was extremely over-ambitious. The ambitious target system included:
Coal
1927-28 actual production - 35.5m
1932-33 target production - 75m
Oil
1927-28 actual production - 11.7m
1932-33 target production - 22m
Steel
1927-28 actual production - 4m
1932-33 target production - 10.4m
Pig Iron
1927-28 actual production - 3.3m
1932-33 target production - 10m
People were afraid to question anything about it as Stalin's regime became more authoritarian and critics might easily be labelled as disloyalty, sabotage or treason
The Plan Focused on the development of heavy industries such as coal and steel
Aims were to:
increase production by 300 percent
focus on the development of coal, iron, steel, oil and machinery
boost electricity production by 600 percent
double the output from light industry such as chemicals
Stalin claimed that all targets had been met within four years whereas in reality none of the targets were met although the investment bought some impressive growth
Electricity trebeld
Coal, Iron output doubled
Steel production increased by a third
New railways, engineering plants, HEP schemes and industrial complexes sprung up
However, for all Stalin's claims, the targets for the chemical industry were not met and house-building, food-processing and other consumer industries were neglected
Second Five Year Plan, 1933-1937
This built on the infrastructure provided by the first plan, it gave more attention to consumer goods than the first plan, but heavy industry still remained as the overall priority
Aims were to:
Continue the development of heavy industry
promote the growth of light industries, such as chemical, electrical and consumer goods
Develop communications to provide links between cities and other industrial areas
foster engineering and tool-making
The plan had some success, particularly during the 'three good years', 1934 to 36
Moscow Metro opened in 1935
Volga Canal in 1937
Dnieprostroi Dam producing hydro-electric power
The comparison to be made between the target figures between the 1st and 2nd year plans
Coal
1932-33 target production - 75m
1932 actual production - 64.4m
1937 target production - 152.5m
1937 actual production 128m
Oil
1932-33 target production - 21.7m
1932 actual production - 21.4m
1937 target production - 46.8m
1937 actual production - 28.5m
Steel
1932-33 target production - 10.4m
1932 actual production - 5.9m
1937 target production - 17.0m
1937 actual production - 17.7m
Pig Iron
1932-33 target production - 10m
1932 actual production - 6.2m
1937 target production - 16.0m
1937 actual production - 14.5m
Third Five Year Plan, 1938-1942
It had a particular focus on the needs of the defence sector, in light of the growing threat that Nazi Germany posed to the USSR, the plan was disrupted by the war in 1941
Aims were to:
place a renewed emphasis on the development of head industry
Promote rapid rearmament
complete the transition to communism
once again heavy industry was the main focus of the plan, with some strong growth in machinery and engineering, although the picture varied across the country
Resources were being increasingly diverted to rearmament on which spending doubled between 1938 and 1940
This had adverse affects on other areas
steel productions stagnated
Oil failed to meet targets, causing a fuel crisis
Many industries found themselves short of raw materials
Consumer goods were also relegated, once again, to the lowest priority
biggest problem with the 3rd plan was the death of good mangers, specialists and technicians following Stalin's purges
Also an exceptionally hard winter in 1938 and the needs of defence played a part
Furthermore, the plan was disrupted and finished early because of the German invasion of 1941
'Showpiece' Projects
Dnieprostrol Dam
construction began in 1927 and it opened in October 1932
the largest hydro-electric power station on the Dnieper River, placed in Zaporizhia Ukraine
Generating some 560 MW, the station became the largest Soviet power plant at the time and one of the largest in the world
The Turksib Railway
Railway between Turkestan and Siberia built between 1936 and 1931 with passenger service beginning in 1929
Also known as the Central Asiatic Railway
Connected Central Asia with Siberia
IT ran from Tashkent to Novosibirsk, where it met the West-Siberian portion of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Moscow Metro
Opened in 1935
Opened with one 11km line and 13 stations. It was the first underground railway system in the USSR
It was extended in a second stage,1938 but the third stage was delayed by the Second World War
Volga Canal
Constructed between 1932 and 1937
connects the Muskva and Volga rivers
One of the worlds tallest statues of Lenin, 25m high was built in 1937 at the confluence of the Volga River and Canal
Built by prisoners in labour camps
Use of Foreigners
To provide necessary expertise for these vast projects and others like them, the USSR was forced to turn to foreign companies and individuals with both managerial and technical skills
As an example, an American Henry Ford, advised on the car industry, training Russian engineers in the USA and helping design the car-plant at Gorky
The Dnieprostroi Dam project used the experience gained from the construction of hydro-electric power stations in Canada and in 1932 six American engineers were awarded the 'Order of the Red Banner of Labour' for outstanding work in the construction of the DniproHES
Development of the Moscow Metro relied on construction engineers from Britain, although built and decorated by native workers, the engineering desgins, routes and construction plans were handled by specialist recruited from the London Underground
However, foreigners were sometimes looked upon with suspicion and it was easy to scapegoat them if something went wrong
Secret police arrested numerous British engineers working in Moscow because they had gained an in-depth knowledge of the city's geographical layout
The Stakhanovites and working and living conditions for managers, workers and Women
Stakhanovites
emerged after Aleksei Stakhanov, a coal miner in the Don Basin, cut an extraordinary 102 tonnes of coal with his pneumatic pick in 5 hours 45mins in Aug 1935
Was the normal amount of coal expected from a miner in 14 times that lent of time
He was declared a Soviet hero and given a large bonus and honorary awards, and competitions were arranged for others to to emulate Stakhanovs achievement
It was an ideal propaganda for a party trying to create a new proletarian culture based on teamwork and selfless sacrifice
The movement became a way of forcing managers to support their workers so as to increase production
Was not universally popular with all workers at the time. Many people who had the rewards were targeted and attacked being victimised by their colleagues
Managers
Industrial enterprises were placed under the control of directors or managers who had the unenviable task of ensuring that the output targets set by regional administrators were met
Fulfilling quotas, while having limited control over their own resources prices, wages and other costs, was not an easy task.
The manager received a bonus that could be 40 percent of his income if he did better than expected.
Despite managers getting paid more they also had the pressure faced by them that it became normal to falsify statistics
They could be put on trial and imprisioned or even executed if they failed to meet targets
They were also expected to apply state regulations in the work place.
Workers
Despite the communist talk of 'proletarianisation' and the creation of the 'socialist man' the living and working conditions experienced by most industrial workers were far from a socialist paradise
The drive for industrialisation bought some tough measures: a seven day working week and longer working hours
Arriving late or missing work could result in dismissal, eviction from housing and loss of benefits.
Damaging machinery or leaving a job without permission was a criminal offence and strikes were illegal
From 1931, wage differentials were introduced, to reward those who stayed in their jobs and worked hard.
The numbers that poured into the industrial cities, particularly in the early 1930s, left workers living in extremely cramped communal apartments where they had to cope with inadequate sanitation and erratic water supplies. Public transport was overcrowded, shops were often empty and queues and shortages were an accepted feature of life
Although real wages increased during the second Five Year Plan they were still lower in 1937, than they had been in 1928
There were also workers who were forced to labour for the state in order to fulfil Stalin's grandiose projects - those who worked in prison camps inmates
Women
Despite the communist doctrine of equality in 1929 female workers (representing 29% of the workforce) were largely concentrated in the lowest paid jobs requiring the least skill
Women were paid less than men for completing the exact same job
Women workers began to enter the Soviet industry in unprecedented numbers and by 1935, women constituted for 42% of the workforce
The employment of women decreased the need for more housing development to cope with those migrating from the countryside
female workers were harassed in the workplace and not given any promotions as managers refused to do so
From 1936 the party made more effort to enrol women in technical train ing programmes, and even made women's entry into management positions easier
Why Collectivisation
Larger units of land could be farmed more efficiently through the use of mechanisation
Mechanised agriculture would require fewer peasants
easier for the state to procure the grain it needed for cities and for export
Collectivisation was the socialist solution for agriculture
Political reaction
In 1927 the grain procured from the state was 3/4 of the total of 1926. This therefore became a problem that Stalin recognised need to be fixed
Officalias were sent on requisitioning mission leading to an increase for the state but a breakdown in the relationship between the peasants and the regime. This led to the rationing of bread in the cities and the first kulaks arrested and deported
Bukharin and the right voiced fear of return to war communism
However, in 1929 with no change the party supported Stalin's methods - forced collectivisation
Bukharin and other rightist were removed
Programme initially disastrous due to lack of preperation
At end of 1929 due to the unpopularity of collectivisation it led local party officials to go an promote collectivsation