Agriculture in the Soviet Union

reforms, agriculture was set to be modernised through collectivisation, but its prosperity began to crumble as the implementation of this system cost human lives and marked an economic disaster, whereas Communists managed to strengthen their political reins. However, was it worth it and who was it successful for? The Russian agriculture had been going through major changes within a compressed period of time from 1861 with the abolishment of serfdom, which was considered…

economic problems within the Soviet Union. Khrushchev had decided that the agriculture as well as the industry sectors of the soviet economy needed reforms, this process became known as ‘reform communism’, a type of communism permitting some kind of reform whilst maintaining its essential features. (Todd, 112)) Khrushchev understood that the collectivisation of agriculture policy was not working, (Ilic,11) thus introducing new policies such as the “virgin lands” policy and the idea of…

The events that took place subsequent to Joseph Stalin’s death in 1953 transformed the Soviet Communism and way of life in many different ways. Essentially, the transformation of Soviet life after the Thaw can be said to have undergone three phases: introduction of reforms during Khrushchev’s era, the Brezhnev stagnation, and Gorbachev reforms that ultimately led to the Soviet Union dissolving in 1991. When Nikita Khrushchev rose to power, he made significant reforms including policies of peace…

Under Stalin’s control, the Soviet Union experienced a foundational transformation that served to create a new empire. The Communist Party became the core of the state, forming a government of party leaders and soviets, as well as replacing capitalist elements of the former era with the ideology of socialism. Stalin’s Soviet Union also underwent rapid industrialization, shifting the country’s chief economy from agriculture to manufacturing. Nevertheless, the push for industrialization saw…

In 1985, the Soviet Union had been in a period of stagnation for almost two decades, and before that it had gone through poorly planned reforms in the Khrushchev era. Once Brezhnev had his time in leadership, the country needed to make some drastic changes. By 1985, the USSR had fallen in culture and overall quality of life, the economy was in intense disrepair, and the Communist Party leadership had become ineffective. Gorbachev’s reforms, including perestroika and glasnost, were the major…

dictators in world history. He is famous for his strict rule over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He is responsible for an estimated 20 million deaths and the times he spent as the ruler of Soviet Russia will never be forgotten. Joseph Stalin was born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on December 18, 1879 in Gori, Georgia which was then a part of the Russian Empire. His Father was a cobbler and he and his family grew up in poverty. When he was 7…

Adolf Hitler of Germany and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union were authoritarian leaders who had a major impact on the economic state of their respective countries in the early to mid 20th century. Their respective economic policies mainly focused on the industrialisation and modernisation of their countries as both countries had a relatively weak economy in comparison to the rest of the Western world at the time. Furthermore, both countries practiced autarky and rearmament as a means of…

The plan was to increasingly industrialize the Soviet Union in an unrealistically short period of time, using grain exports to pay for Western machinery. The major feature of the Five-Year plan was collectivization. Collectivization is the socialization of agriculture, ending private ownership of agricultural production. This meant that the class of private ownership, the Kulaks, no longer existed within the Soviet Union and would be liquidated as a class. In theory, collectivization would lead…

Joseph Stalin’s Industrialization of the Country, 1928, represents his all-encompassing sweeping push to reform The Soviet Union into a country that would have the technological and industrial capabilities to play a large role in the international affairs of the world. As it occurred through some periods of Russia’s history, starting with Peter the Great’s push for urbanization, Stalin desired to transform the USSR from a “backwater” nation into a force that could be on-par with some of the most…

atmosphere during Stalin’s time in order to further comprehend the Stalinist rationality. When Stalin rose to power, he deviated from Lenin through his desire to achieve socialism in one country; he believed that the Soviets had to be capable of being self-reliant before being able to help other nation attain socialism. Further, he perceived that the Soviet Union was far behind the West in terms of industrialization and sought to match their level within the shortest amount of time. Thus, Stalin…