Five-year plans of the Soviet Union
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The five-year plans for the development of the national economy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: Пятилетние планы развития народного хозяйства СССР, Pyatiletniye plany razvitiya narodnogo khozyaystva SSSR) consisted of a series of nationwide
Several Soviet five-year plans did not take up the full period of time assigned to them: some were pronounced successfully completed earlier than expected, some took much longer than expected, and others failed altogether and had to be abandoned. Altogether, Gosplan launched thirteen five-year plans. The initial five-year plans aimed to achieve rapid industrialization in the Soviet Union and thus placed a major focus on heavy industry. The first five-year plan, accepted in 1928 for the period from 1929 to 1933, finished one year early. The last five-year plan, for the period from 1991 to 1995, was not completed, since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991.
Other
Background
Part of Soviet economics |
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When the war ended, the NEP took over from War Communism. During this time, the state had controlled all large enterprises (i.e. factories, mines, railways) as well as enterprises of medium size, but small
The NEP had been Lenin's response to a crisis. In 1920, industrial production had been 13% and agricultural production 20% of the 1913 figures. Between February 21 and March 17, 1921, the sailors in Kronstadt had mutinied. In addition, the Russian Civil War, which had been the main reason for the introduction of War Communism, had virtually been won; so controls could be relaxed.
In the 1920s, there was a great debate between Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov on the one hand, and Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev on the other. The former group considered that the NEP provided sufficient state control of the economy and sufficiently rapid development, while the latter argued in favor of more rapid development and greater state control, taking the view, among other things, that profits should be shared among all people, and not just among a privileged few. In 1925, at the 14th Party Congress, Stalin, as he usually did in the early days, stayed in the background but sided with the Bukharin group. However, later, in 1927, he changed sides, supporting those in favor of a new course, with greater state control.
Some scholars have argued that the programme of mass
Plans
Each five-year plan dealt with all aspects of development: capital goods (those used to produce other goods, like factories and machinery), consumer goods (e.g. chairs, carpets, and irons), agriculture, transportation, communications, health, education, and welfare. However, the emphasis varied from plan to plan, although generally, the emphasis was on power (electricity), capital goods, and agriculture. There were base and optimum targets. Efforts were made, especially in the third plan, to move industry eastward to make it safer from attack during World War II. Soviet planners declared a need for "constant struggle, struggle, and struggle" to achieve a Communist society. These five-year plans outlined programs for huge increases in the output of industrial goods. Stalin warned that without an end to economic backwardness "the advanced countries...will crush us."[12]
First plan, 1928–1932
From 1928 to 1940, the number of Soviet workers in industry, construction, and transport grew from 4.6 million to 12.6 million and factory output soared.[13] Stalin's first five-year plan helped make the USSR a leading industrial nation.
During this period, the first
Stalin announced the start of the first five-year plan for industrialization on October 1, 1928, and it lasted until December 31, 1932. Stalin described it as a new revolution from above.[14] When this plan began, the USSR was fifth in industrialization, and with the first five-year plan moved up to second, with only the United States in first.[15]
This plan met industrial targets in less time than originally predicted. The production goals were increased by a reported 50% during the initial deliberation of industrial targets.[16] Much of the emphasis was placed on heavy industry. Approximately 86% of all industrial investments during this time went directly to heavy industry. Officially, the first five-year plan for the industry was fulfilled to the extent of 93.7% in just four years and three months.[15] The means of production in regards to heavy industry exceeded the quota, registering 103.4%. The light, or consumer goods, the industry reached up to 84.9% of its assigned quota.[15] However, there is some speculation regarding the legitimacy of these numbers as the nature of Soviet statistics is notoriously misleading or exaggerated [citation needed]. Another issue was that quality was sacrificed in order to achieve quantity, and production results generated wildly varied items [citation needed] Consequently, rationing was implemented to solve chronic food and supply shortages.[15]
Propaganda used before, during, and after the first five-year plan compared the industry to battle. This was highly successful. They used terms such as "fronts," "campaigns," and "breakthroughs," while at the same time, workers were forced to work harder than ever before and were organized into "shock troops," and those who rebelled or failed to keep up with their work were treated as traitors.[15] The posters and flyers used to promote and advertise the plan were also reminiscent of wartime propaganda. A popular military metaphor emerged from the economic success of the first five-year plan: "There are no fortresses Bolsheviks cannot storm." Stalin especially liked this.[15]
The first five-year plan was not just about economics. This plan was a revolution that intended to transform all aspects of society. The way of life for the majority of the people changed drastically during this revolutionary time. The plan was also referred to as the "
There was, however, strong resistance to this at first. The peasants led an all-out attack to protect individual farming; however, Stalin rightly did not see the peasants as a threat. Despite being the largest segment of the population they had no real strength and thus could pose no serious threat to the state. By the time this was done, the collectivization plan resembled a very bloody military campaign against the peasant's traditional lifestyle.[16] This social transformation along with the incredible economic boom occurred at the same time that the entire Soviet system developed its definitive form in the decade of 1930.[15][page needed]
Many scholars believe that a few other important factors, such as
While most of the figures were overstated, Stalin was able to announce truthfully that the plan had been achieved ahead of schedule; however, the many investments made to the west were excluded. While many factories were built and industrial production did increase exponentially, they were not close to reaching their target numbers.[16]
While there was a great success, there were also many problems with not just the plan itself, but how quickly it was completed. Its approach to industrialization was very inefficient and extreme amounts of resources were put into construction that, in many cases, was never completed. These resources were also put into equipment that was never used, or not even needed in the first place.[16] Many of the consumer goods produced during this time were of such low quality that they could never be used and were wasted.
A major event during the first Five Year Plan was the
Second plan, 1932–1937
Because of the success made by the first plan, Stalin did not hesitate with going ahead with the second five-year plan in 1932, although the official start date for the plan was 1933. The second five-year plan gave heavy industry top priority, putting the Soviet Union not far behind
Consistent with the Soviet doctrine of
The second 5-year plan (1933–1937) introduced an incentive scheme to persuade all the peasants to join collective farms. They were each allowed a small plot of land for their own use, this led to a recovery in agricultural production as the peasants produced fruit, vegetables, meat and milk on their own plots.
Third plan, 1938–1941
The third five-year plan ran for only 3½ years, up to June 1941, when Germany
The first two years of the third five-year plan proved to be even more of a disappointment in terms of proclaimed production goals.[citation needed] Still, a reported 12% to 13% rate of annual industrial growth was attained in the Soviet Union during the 1930s.[citation needed] The plan had intended to focus on consumer goods. The Soviet Union mainly contributed resources to the development of weapons and constructed additional military factories as needed. By 1952, industrial production was nearly double the 1941 level ("five-year plans"). Stalin's five-year plans helped transform the Soviet Union from an untrained society of peasants to an advanced industrial economy.
Fourth and fifth plans, 1945–1955
Stalin in 1945 promised that the USSR would be the leading industrial power by 1960.
The USSR at this stage had been devastated by the war. Officially, 98,000 collective farms had been ransacked and ruined, with the loss of 137,000 tractors, 49,000 combine harvesters, 7 million horses, 17 million cattle, 20 million pigs, 27 million sheep; 25% of all capital equipment had been destroyed in 35,000 plants and factories; 6 million buildings, including 40,000 hospitals, in 70,666 villages and 4,710 towns (40% urban housing) were destroyed, leaving 25 million homeless; about 40% of railway tracks had been destroyed; officially 7.5 million servicemen died, plus 6 million civilians, but perhaps 20 million in all died.[citation needed] In 1945, mining and metallurgy were at 40% of the 1940 levels, electric power was down to 52%, pig-iron 26% and steel 45%; food production was 60% of the 1940 level. After Poland, the USSR had been the hardest hit by the war. Reconstruction was impeded by a chronic labor shortage due to the enormous number of Soviet casualties in the war (between 20 and 30 million). Moreover, 1946 was the driest year since 1891, and the harvest was poor.
The USA and USSR were unable to agree on the terms of a US loan to aid reconstruction, and this was a contributing factor in the rapid escalation of the
Sixth plan, 1956–1958
The sixth five-year plan was launched in 1956 during a period of dual leadership under Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin, but it was abandoned after two years due to over-optimistic targets.[20]
Seventh plan, 1959–1965
Unlike other planning periods, 1959 saw the announcement of a seven-year plan (Russian: семилетка, semiletka), approved by the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1959. This was merged into a seventh five-year plan in 1961, which was launched with the slogan "catch up and overtake the USA by 1970." The plan saw a slight shift away from heavy industry into chemicals, consumer goods, and natural resources.[21]
The plan also intended to establish 18 new institutes by working with the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.[22]
Eighth plan, 1966–1970
The eighth plan led to the amount of grain exported being doubled.
Ninth plan, 1971–1975
About 14.5 million tonnes of grain were imported by the USSR. Détente and improving relations between the Soviet Union and the United States allowed for more trade. The plan's focus was primarily on increasing the number of consumer goods in the economy so as to improve Soviet standards of living. While largely failing at that objective[23] it managed to significantly improve Soviet computer technology.[24]
Tenth plan, 1976–1980
Leonid Brezhnev declared the slogan "Plan of quality and efficiency" for this period.
Eleventh plan, 1981–1985
During the eleventh five-year plan, the country imported some 42 million tons of grain annually, almost twice as much as during the tenth five-year plan and three times as much as during the ninth five-year plan (1971–1975). The bulk of this grain was sold by the West; in 1985, for example, 94% of Soviet grain imports were from the non-socialist world, with the United States selling 14.1 million tons. However, total Soviet export to the West was always almost as high as the import: for example, in 1984 total export to the West was 21.3 billion rubles, while total import was 19.6 billion rubles. [citation needed]
Twelfth plan, 1986–1990
The last, 12th plan started with the slogan of
The 1987
Five-year plans in other countries
Most other communist states, including the People's Republic of China, adopted a similar method of planning. South Korea had five-year plans from 1962 to 1996 which were introduced by Park Chung Hee.
Although the
Pakistan had five-year plans from 1956 to 1998, they were succeeded in 2004 by the Medium Term Development Framework. Bhutan, whilst not a socialist country, has also adopted five-year plans to support their economy and national development.
Information technology
State planning of the economy required processing large amounts of statistical data. The Soviet State had nationalized the
Honors
The
See also
- Eastern Bloc economies
- Left Opposition
- Primitive socialist accumulation
- Soviet calendar
- Soviet-type economic planning
References
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- ^ "The First Five Year Plan, 1928–1932". Special Collections & Archives. 2015-10-07. Retrieved 2019-02-23.
- ^ Carr, Edward Hallett; Davies, Robert William (1971). Foundations of a Planned Economy, 1926-1929. Macmillan. p. 199.
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- ISBN 978-0-7456-5735-6.
- ISBN 978-1-893638-97-6.
- ISSN 0260-9592.
- ^ Hunt, Lynn (2010). The Making of the West, Volume II: Since 1500: Peoples And Cultures. MacMillan. p. 845.
- ^ Lynn Hunt et al., The Making of the West, Peoples, and Cultures: A Concise History (Since 1340), 3rd ed., vol. 2 (Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010), 831–832.
- ^ Sixsmith, Martin (2014). Russia A 1,000-Year Chronicle of the Wild East. New York: The Overlook Press.
- ^ ISBN 978-0195341973.
- ^ a b c d e f g Khlevniuk, Oleg V (2015). Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator. London: Yale University Press.
- ^ "Famine". history.hanover.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
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- ^ "'Atheistic five-year plan' was announced in the USSR 80 years ago". Interfax. 15 May 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-19-835467-3.
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- ^ Federenko, I.M. (24 May 1960). Science and Technical Progress (USSR). United States Joint Publications Research Service. p. 7 – via Internet Archive.
- ISBN 0-8157-3041-1.
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- ISBN 9004156917 pp. 80–81.
- ^ McDonald, Hamish (28 January 2008). "No End to Ambition". Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ Robinson (2012), p. 178-203
- ^ Sheridan, Greg (28 January 2008). "Farewell to Jakarta's Man of Steel". The Australian. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
- ^ A Computer Perspective, by the office of Charles & Ray Eames, Edited by Glen Fleck, produced by Robert Staples, Introduction by I. Bernard Cohen, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1973, pgs 64, 96-97
- ^ Before the computer by James W. Cortada, p142, who cites James Connolly, History of Computing in Europe, IBM World Trade Corporation 1967
- ^ U.S. Ambassador Joseph E. Davies intercedes for IBM during Stalin's Great Purge, website by Hugo S. Cunningham, accessed 2010 9 16, which cites Joseph E. Davies, Mission to Moscow, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1941.
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