What Was Joseph Stalin's Impact On Russian Society

The introduction of collectivisation and industrialisation also referred to as the Five Year Plans, had both positive impacts and negative impacts on Soviet society and the economy. Following the rise to power of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s, the country had apparent prosperity and stability, with the party securely in power and the new economic policy recovering the economy. However, Stalin was in a similar position to that of his predecessors, as the Russian economy was still in shambles and on the verge of an economic crisis, due to the inefficiency and lack of development of industry. Stalin’s plan to solve these fundamental problems was to transform Russia into a modern, industrial powerhouse. Stalin was able to attain …show more content…
Industrialisation, a component in the Five-Year Plans, was the process of shifting the Soviet from an agrarian-based economy to a modern, industrial nation based on abundance. Overall, the first five-year plan that focused on the expansion industry had positive impacts and was a success. The plan saw an increase in industrial output; with coal and steel production doubling, electricity production tripling, whilst workplace productivity was at a high. Hence, the policy transformed Russia into one of the most advanced industrial countries in the world and aided the consolidation of communism in the Soviet. Nevertheless, in the short term, central planning was not as effective, with some industries over and under producing and there were inconsistencies in production. At the centre of the problem was the chaos that existed due to ineffective central planning. As supported by a report from the British Embassy in 1932 that refers to, “A record of over-staffing, over planning, and complete incompetence…” Consequently, Russia was plagued with instability and there was never an increase of the