‘‘100 Years in 10’: The 100 Years in 10’: The Impact of the 1Impact of the 1stst & 2 & 2ndnd Five- Five-

Year Plans in the USSR, Year Plans in the USSR, 1928-371928-37

The First Five-Year Plan: TheoryThe First Five-Year Plan: Theory End of NEP—back to Socialist

Accumulation Theory Little more than broad targets

to increase production in:– Industry by 180%– Consumer Goods by 70%– Agriculture by 55%

The ‘quotas’ were overly optimistic

Stalin called for ‘5yp in 4’

The First Five-Year Plan: RealityThe First Five-Year Plan: Reality Stalin’s call for 1st 5-Year

Plan in Nov 1928 came as a surprise

Little guidance was given to officials on how to do it, & it led to forced collectivization

By 1929 Stalin needed a scapegoat for agricultural failures—blamed the kulaks (“wealthy” peasants)

Undertook 3 campaigns:

1. Grain Procurement1. Grain Procurement

Urban activists were sent into the countryside to collect grain—16 million tons collected

Those who opposed were labeled ‘kulaks’, arrested, and their property was confiscated

2. Dekulakisation 2. Dekulakisation Campaign against ‘Kulak

speculators’—who were they? “Liquidate kulaks as a class” Around 15% of all households

were affected Escalated to destroy peasant

way of life Over 200k persons killed,

jailed or exiled to Siberia

3. Mass Collectivization 3. Mass Collectivization (kolkhoz)(kolkhoz)

By 1934, 75% of peasant households had been collectivized

Targets were given but not much guidance as to how

Collectivization and liquidation worked together

Opposition and protest led to disruption of supplies

Property and livestock were destroyed

Retreat from Collectivization?Retreat from Collectivization? Unrest threatened spring

sowing/planting Stalin pressured by top

officials to retreat from collectivization

He blamed officials for misunderstanding his orders

Many abandoned collectives, those captured were sent to gulags

““Victory” over the PeasantsVictory” over the Peasants Once the 1930 crop was harvested collectivization

continued unabated 25 million households were soon in 250k collective

farms—90% + of peasant population Organized like traditional villages but govt-controlled

How the Plans WorkedHow the Plans Worked Gosplan Economy run as if at war State controlled all aspects of

the economy Huge new party & gov’t

empire created Economic policy zigzagged Industrialization by military-

style mobilization

Political GoalsPolitical Goals Showpiece schemes were

favored over economically sound projects

‘Gigantomania’ favored by politicians with little engineering background

These projects drained resources from needed projects

Political rivals fought over resources

Palace of Soviets, Scale Comparison with Highest Buildings of the World, 1931-1932, USSR

The Palace of the SovietsStarted in 1937Broken down to make bridges in 1941

Tatlin’s Tower-Artist Vladimir Tatlin attempts to erect constructivist

monument in early 1920’s St. Petersburg-Made of iron, glass and steel

‘the first monument without a beard’

Worker EnthusiasmWorker Enthusiasm ‘Shockworkers’ pushed for higher

production Record breaking was encouraged: Extra privileges were given to

those who succeeded Those who did not give the needed

resources were called ‘Wreckers’ Over time skilled workers moved

up in the party and production stagnated

Managing ChaosManaging Chaos

Enterprises had one-person leadership, but watched by the party

This led to resentment Goals kept changing

leading to managers and workers breaking rules

Managers and local Party officials worked together

End of 1End of 1stst Five-Year Plan Five-Year Plan By end of 1st 5-Year Plan

(1928-32), advances in industry were offset by agricultural collapse

Oil, steel and coal production all more than triple

A return to grain requisition Protests & arrests continued Nothing prepared USSR for

horrors to come

Russia’s industrial output had Russia’s industrial output had surpassed France, Japan, Italy and surpassed France, Japan, Italy and

maybe even Britain by the late 1930’smaybe even Britain by the late 1930’s

“Stalinism is one way of attaining industrialization just as cannibalism is one way of attaining a high protein diet.”

-Nikolai Bukharin

Popular Riddle Among Soviet Popular Riddle Among Soviet Workers:Workers:

“Why were Adam and Eve like “Why were Adam and Eve like Soviet citizens? Because Soviet citizens? Because

they lived in paradise and had they lived in paradise and had nothing to wear.”nothing to wear.”

Famine 1932-3Famine 1932-3 The winter of 1932-33 saw a

terrible famine in the rural areas—10 million died

Worst in Ukraine—6-7 million died of starvation

Stalin criticized Party officials for the problem.

Many were arrested for sabotaging his plans

By 1934 the worst was over

A ‘Terror’ Famine?A ‘Terror’ Famine?

Many historians see the famine as intentional

Goal: to break the peasants, especially the kulaks

There were other factors:– Weather– Decline in livestock– Lack of transportation– Misleading data

Start of 2Start of 2ndnd Five-Year Plan, 1934 Five-Year Plan, 1934 After horrific effects of 1st

5YP, Stalin waited 2 years before beginning 2nd 5YP

2nd 5YP focused on– increasing

consumer/industrial goods– raising living standards– raising productivity & quality

At first, success in increasing annual output

22ndnd 5YP Boom (1934-6) 5YP Boom (1934-6) Number of industrial plants

increased from 1,500 to 4,500 1937 production was 5X

1928 levels Increase mostly in heavy

industry; consumer goods remained scarce

Allocation of resources and pay based on effort led to development of class divisions

The Stakhanovite MovementThe Stakhanovite Movement

Alexei Stakhanov “Record-breaking coal miner

—227 tons in 1 shift” Became model for all

workers to follow

End of 2End of 2ndnd Five-Year Plan (1936-7) Five-Year Plan (1936-7) Effects of 2nd 5YP:

– Shortages in skilled labor– Disruption in production– Bottlenecks in inventories– Paralysis in leadership– Shortages in expertise– Rearmament—rise of Hitler– Poor harvest in 1936– Hard winter in 1937– Slump in world trade

Stalin moved to the left Purges of opponents accelerated