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79 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What were the economic policies under Lenin? |
War Communism The NEP The nationalisation of industry |
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What economic problems did Lenin inherit from the Tsar? |
No technology, backward economy First World War |
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What was the nationalisation of Industry? |
The Bolshevik's first step towards socialism, by building an economy strong enough to support socialism. |
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What is state capitalism? |
When large industries were nationalised to build a government-controlled economy. It was very unpopular. |
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What were Lenin's first four decrees? |
The 1917 Decree on Land The 1917 Decree of Peace The 1917 Decree for Workers The 1918 Decree of Worker's control |
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What was the 1917 Decree on Land? |
A decree that allowed peasants to seize land belonging to the nobility, churches, and landlords. |
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What was the 1918 Decree of Worker's Control? |
A decree that allowed workers in factories to eject their managers and take over in committees. |
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What was the effect of Lenin's early decrees on the economy? |
Lower unemployment among workers Lost productivity from loss of managers Leaving WW1 meant lower output |
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What was Vesenkha? |
The government department that controlled the eocnomy, also called the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy. |
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What is a command economy? |
An economy where supply and the factors of production are fixed by central government rather than a market. |
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What was war communism? |
A type of command economy introduced during the civil war to enable the Reds to take complete control of their territory. |
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When was War Communism introduced? |
June 1918 |
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When did War Communism end? |
March 1921 |
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Why was War Communism introduced? |
The civil war meant that the Bolsheviks needed control of factories, farms and transport. |
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What was food dictatorship? |
Grain requisitioning, where peasants had to give up a quota of food to the government to feed the workers and the army. |
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What was labour discipline under War Communism? |
A set of laws that reversed worker's rights laws to increase output of industry and supply the war. |
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How did War Communism lead to the abolition of the market? |
Grain could no longer be traded for profit There were no firms competing as industry was state-owned Food was rationed and given for free |
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What were the consequences of War Communism? |
Decreased productivity in factories
Low agricultural output - famine Reds able to win the Civil War |
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What was the NEP? |
The New Economic Policy, introduced after the Civil War to restore capitalist elements to the USSR. |
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When was the NEP introduced? |
March 1921 |
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Why was the NEP introduced? |
To encourage growth, restore trade and money, and restore confidence in the government. |
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What were Obshchina? |
Village communities, run by a local council, that administrated communal affairs. |
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Who were the Nepmen? |
Peasants who grew richer under the NEP by profiting from free enterprise. |
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What were the criticisms of the NEP? |
It was uncommunist, and popular It led to a new middle class (the Nepmen) Price levels changed dramatically |
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What was the scissors crisis? |
A period in 1923 where agricultural prices fell and industrial prices rose rapidly. |
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What is centralised economic planning? |
Where the output of industry is decided by a central government. |
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What was the Great Turn? |
A 'left turn' for Stalin's economic policy, towards collectivisation and communal ownership. |
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When was the Great Turn declared? |
December 1927, at the Fifteenth Party Congress. |
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Why did Stalin decide to industrialise so rapidly? |
The USSR was under threat from Britain, France and Japan, and needed to militarise The Communist Party encouraged the implementation of a socialist policy |
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Why did Stalin introduce the 5-year Plans? |
To take greater control over the people To take greater control over the economy To make society more socialist To give a sense of progress and achievement |
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When was the First 5-year Plan? |
1928-1932 (it finished a year early |
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What happened during the First 5-year Plan? |
Mass collectivisation Dekulakisation Industrialisation |
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When was the Second 5-year Plan? |
1933-1937 (it finished a year early) |
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What happened during the Second 5-year Plan? |
Targets were relaxed as a 'reward' Heavy industry was made a top priority Mothers were encouraged to work |
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When was the Third 5-Year Plan? |
1938-1941 (Germany invaded Russia in 1941) |
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What happened during the Third 5-year Plan? |
Germany invaded the USSR
Focus on militarisation Supposed to focus on consumer goods, never did |
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When was the Fourth 5-year Plan? |
1946-1950 |
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What was the focus of the Fourth and Fifth 5-year Plans? |
Rebuilding after the war Settings up the Eastern Bloc |
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When was the Fifth 5-year Plan? |
1951-1955 |
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Who was Alexi Stakhanov? |
A coal miner who mined 227 tonnes of coal in one shift, and became a celebrity for his hard work. |
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What was Magnitogorsk? |
A small village renovated as a 'model town' with huge factories and 250,000 new inhabitants. |
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Why was there a debate around the NEP after Lenin's death? |
It was a key issue of the power struggle It was an opportunity to change the plan Lenin left no clear indication whether he wanted it to continue |
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What were the driving forces behind Stalin's economic policies? |
Eliminating Nepmen Giving Russia strong industry Controlling the economy Enhancing Stalin's personal authority |
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Why was industry so dependent on agriculture? |
The USSR needed to ensure that it could feed all of the workers in factories, and they could not employ more workers without expanding |
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What was a Kolkhoz? |
A collective-owned farm, organised by the Government and run by collectives. |
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What was dekulakisation? |
The use of Party Cadres to execute 1.5 million Kulaks as part of a propaganda and terror campaign. |
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What were the Kulaks? |
Richer peasants, who owned a few machines and employed other peasants. |
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What was collectivisation? |
The process of organising peasants into state-run farming collectives, called kolkhozes.
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What was the famine of 1932-1933? |
A famine affecting grain-producing areas of the USSR, officially denied by the USSR, that led to 6 million deaths. |
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What was Holodomor? |
The use of the 1933 famine to kill 7 million Ukrainians, in part by taking all their grain to Russia. |
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What was grain procurement? |
The right of the state to take any grain it needed from Kolkhozes, usually set at a target level. |
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Who were the 25 thousanders? |
25,000 Party activists sent into the countryside to manage collectives, but instead waged class warfare against Kulaks. |
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How did the peasants resist collectivisation? |
They refused to work in the fields They sabotaged machinery They raided grain stores They refused to give up Kulaks |
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Why did the economy recover after World War 2? |
They took heavy reparations from Germany They used COMECON to take goods to the USSR They demanded payment from countries they 'liberated' in WW2 |
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What is an MTS? |
A Machine and Tractor Station, used to loan machinery to collectives and spy on peasants. |
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What were Krushchev's agricultural goals? |
Improve incentives to produce
Invest in resources Increase the farmable land Grow more corn |
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What were Khrushchev's industrial goals? |
Move towards light industry Cut military spending Modernise the economy Build communism |
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What were Khrushchev's economic policies? |
The Virgin Lands Scheme, 1953 The Corn Campaign, 1958 |
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How did Khrushchev improve incentives in agriculture? |
The farming quota was reduced, and higher prices were paid for surplus crops. |
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In what ways did Khrushchev invest in economic resources? |
Construction of fertiliser plants, 1954 Increased production of tractors |
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What was the Virgin Lands scheme? |
The state-funded conversion of land in Caucasus, Kazakhstan and West Siberia into farmland. |
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What was the Corn Campaign? |
The conversion of Ukrainian farms to produce maize to feed animals, which would encourage production of meat. |
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How was the Virgin Lands scheme successful? |
It led to a 5-fold increase in farmed land over 10 years There was a 12.8% growth in agriculture investment |
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How was the Corn Campaign successful? |
It allowed Khrushchev to become more ambitious in planning of the economy |
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How was the Virgin Lands scheme a failure? |
It was very expensive for the government It did not lead to more growth after 1960 |
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How was the corn campaign a failure? |
The targets were quite badly missed It was only half as efficient as the US system |
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How did Khrushchev change military spending? |
Military spending cut in 1955 Military spending increased in 1962 |
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What was the 7-year Plan? |
A plan to boost agricultural output and invest in light industry to produce consumer goods. |
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How was the 7-year Plan a success?
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60% increase in the production of consumer goods Chemical fertiliser production increased |
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How was the 7-year Plan a failure? |
The plan focused on production, not consumption, so goods were not ideal Extensive administrative reform led to chaos The targets were revised upwards despite not being met |
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What were the Kosygin reforms? |
1968 reforms by Khrushchev's successor, Kosygin, to invest in light industry and measure success by profit, not output. |
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Why were the Kosygin reforms not liked by the Party establishment? |
They were similar to the reforms of the Prague Spring, which led to dissent against the USSR. |
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How did the Cold War affect the Soviet economy? |
Soviet military spending aimed to beat the USA Defence spending was 13% of GDP in 1970 |
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What was developed socialism? |
The alternative to Communism, which aimed to achieve high living standards and job security.
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What was the Black economy? |
The black market, which Brezhnev accepted, as it helped to provide goods and raise living standards. |
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What were Brezhnev's agricultural reforms? |
He halted investment in domestic produce, and imported huge amounts of grain from the USA. |
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What was the focus of the Ninth 5-year Plan? |
Investment in consumer goods Improvement of living standards |
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What were Andropov's economic reforms? |
The anti-corruption campaign, 1982 The anti-alcohol campaign Operation Trawl, arresting absentees |
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Why did the economy decline in the 1980s? |
Growth was extensive, not intensive - there was more of it, not improved efficiency Central planning failed to efficiently allocate Lower expectations were placed on the economy |
