Synoptic Question: Industry
Stalin
Before/During the War
Stalinist system of central command
economy with Gosplan as economic planning agency & use of FYPs entrenched
in system. Meant economy could be unilaterally directed to war effort.
3rd FYP meant armament
production trebled. 100,000 tanks produced in the war. 1 million artillery
shells being built every month.
BUT – by end of 1942 industrial
production only 68% of pre-war production
Lend-Lease Scheme 1942
Equalled 1/5 Soviet resources, 53% of
explosives, 1000 trains vs 52 produced by USSR, $111 billion in aid
After War
Command economy continued after war
to focus on industrial recovery
2/3 Soviet property destroyed, loss
of 7 years’ worth of pre-war income
90% investment went into capital
goods, industrial production increased by 75%
1940 quotas exceeded in 1950, apart
from in agriculture
In the 4th FYP, all
targets were met apart from agriculture
Oil production doubled between
1945-50, from 19 million tonnes to 41
The BAM railway and Dnepropatrovsk
dam were prestige projects
Economic growth from 1950-56 was 10%
Khrushchev
Destalinisation – trying to remove
excesses of command economy
Set up 7YP (1959-1965)
40% investment went into previously
neglected Eastern region
3 sectors failed to meet their
targets, 2 sectors scrapped targets and only one met targets
Investment was put into new
industries: nuclear, space and chemicals, diverting investment away from old
sectors like coal and steel
There was still an emphasis on
quantity over quality
Between 1959-63, economic growth had
decreased to 5%
Decentralisation was introduced in
1957
105 regional ministries with economic
councils (sonarkhozy) set up
Eventual remerged together,
ministries coveted resources because of Stalinist fear of not meeting targets
Brezhnev
Utilising oil in Siberia, in 1983 357
million tonnes of oil were extracted, this totalled 60% of oil production
Industrial output in 1970-80 fell by
15%
In the 10th FYP, no
targets were met
Kosygin Reforms were attempted in
1965, trying to make managers more accountable by introducing costs, prices and
profit motive, failed from bureaucratic obstructionism, abandoned by 1970
By 1982, industrial growth had
stopped
25% of investment was devoted to the
military, increasing by 5% each year, USSR outspent USA on defence
Black Market grew – 2nd
economy = 20% GNP, 40% total personal income and 100 billion roubles annually
15 year scientific programme – but not
for civilian sectors
Andropov
Set out an industrial experiment in
December 1984, trying to make enterprise managers more accountable, decreasing
power of ministries, and using output as success indicator
Not successful due to lack of
decentralisation
Anti-Corruption drive – discipline and
efficiency
Chernenko
Reversed the anti-corruption drive
Gorbachev in charge of economic
planning while he was ill
Gorbachev
Perestroika called (Katastroika)
Acceleration – thought accelerated
growth would solve problem (tinkering), gave economy no breathing space
12 FYP set higher targets, workers
complained about having to meet higher targets
Law on Joint Enterprise
Allowed foreign industry, but didn’t
work because they functioned on profit-motive while Soviet enterprises didin’t
Trade deficit with the West widened
Law on State Enterprise Jan 1988 –
workers could elect managers, trying to make managers more accountable for
finances and decision-making
Ministries still had final control –
bureaucratic obstructionism
Law on Cooperatives May 1988
Legalised 2nd economy as
enterprises had to barter with others because they were starved of resources outside
of centrally-planned economy
By 1989, trade deficit was 10% of GNP
By 1991 inflation was rising 2-3%
each week
Shatalin Plan proposed – convert to
market-based economy in 500 days, but rejected by Gorbachev and Ryzhkov
Replaced by 4 Stage Compromise
Package approved by Supreme Soviet in Oct 1991
By January 1991, private property
ownership was legalised, effectively ending communism
And that’s all folks!
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