In 1928, Joseph Stalin became one of the world’s most contentious leaders. During the period that Stalin was in control of mother Russia, he transformed the Soviet Union into a modern super power. He used certain methods to change Russia. He did this by modernizing the Russian economy with his Five Year Plans. He also increased industrial and agricultural production with his policy of collectivization.
In fact Stalin was a great fan of coal steel and oil because he described them as decisive branches of industries because they were the first industries developed in the nineteenth-century industrial revolution . Another similar objective for the Five Year Plans was that Stalin wanted to arm and prepare Russia for war . In fact this was a big objective mostly for the SFYP and TFYP but even that Stalin did not wanted to create a war economy in the FFYP , he was very concerned that Russia should be ready to defend itself in the event of invasion and according to him heavy industry would lay foundations for rearmament in case of war . One his top priority and objective that is similar for the Five Year Plan’s was to fortify and to turn Russia into a world power which he shows by saying that : in ten years at most we must make good the distance which separates us from the advanced capitalist countries . However on another
During the war the Soviet Union and the USA formed a close alliance due to the shared aim of the defeat of Germany. The Soviet Union became a lot more powerful due to Stalin’s five year plans, and became a contender with the USA for the world’s largest superpower. This sparked conflict between the two nations and a race to see who would be the most powerful, the Cold War. One of the main factors that that caused the relationship between the Soviet Union and the USA was the arms race, which consisted of both nations building up their military and economic power to more than the other. A large army, navy, air force and weaponry were maintained and each party aspired to be more powerful with the bigger military force.
Such as in source 8 which claims the USA wanted a war with the USSR to help its economy, emphasising the impact of the Military Industrial Complex on aggressive foreign policy which played a huge role in the development of the Cold War. Furthermore it can be argued that it was the misunderstanding and confusion between the two nations which owed more to the development of the Cold War in the years 1945-8.
Essay Notes How far were the economic problems responsible for Stalin’s decision to replace the New Economic Policy in 1928 with the First Five Year Plan? Introduction –The question is focused on the economic policies pursued by the government in the 1920s and the reasons behind the dramatic changes in 1928. Were the reasons purely economic or must other factors be taken into account? Development • Why did Stalin stop supporting the NEP and start supporting rapid industrialisation? • Did the NEP really fail or did it suit Stalin to make it look as though it had?
In addition, World War II introduced change through industrialisation, which was key to Russia’s success in the war. These key reforming leaders and other factors of change saw Russia grow from a very deprived country in 1856 to an industrial superpower in 1964. Alexander II became known as ‘Alexander the Great Reformer’ and ‘the Tsar Liberator’ which suggests that his work and reforms changed the nature of Russian government and society to a large extent. The emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 initially appeared to have major benefits for the serfs. As Alexander II said: “We vowed in our hearts to fulfil the mission which is entrusted to Us and to surround with Our affection and Our Imperial solicitude all Our faithful subjects of every rank and condition”2.
However, throughout three sessions, Stalin also well adhered to some complete policies related to heavy industry and this had become the key principle in Soviet economic policy. The First Five Year Plan revealed so many drawbacks that many senior figures in Soviet government got to consider varioud modifications in its priorities. The transition from First to Second Five Plan was marked by a shift in communications sector. As a shortcoming of First Five Year Plan, the economy was unable to transport the vast quantities of raw materials produced and in response to this unexpected problem, improving infrastructure was a new priority for Soviet economics planners. Also during this period, there was an important historical event, Hitler was elected as German Chancellor and the moderates claimed this would pose a threat of war to Russia, suggesting priorities to be diverted to peasants.
The Five-Year Plan was set up to quickly industrialized the economy with the idea to build up the heavy industry, but it set up impractical goals. The plan was to increase the development of industry 250% with the heavy industry expanding over 300%. Stalin nationalized the industries and services in the Soviet Union with the trade unions converted into systems for increasing the productivities of the workers. The managers of the industries dealt with central planners who set up a predetermined quota for the
Stalin's five year plan concentrated on the development of iron and steel, machine-tools, electric power and transport. 5. what were the causes and effects of the great purge? The Great Purge is a term for a series of repressive measures in the Soviet Union in the late 1930s. 6. how did soviet foreign policy lead to difficult relations with the west? To heighten the urgency of his demands for modernization, Stalin portrayed the Western powers as warmongers eager to attack them.
How far did the First Five-Year Plan differ from the Second and Third Five-Year Plan? All three Plans were a series of targets, drawn up by government officials working for Gosplan and they were created by Stalin for the ideological reason of industrilsing Russia in order to bring socialism to Russia as he believed that socialism was only possible in a highly advanced industrialized nation. However, the First Five-Year Plan largely differed from the Second and Third Five-Year Plan as they all had distinct priorities however, their failures and successes were quite similar. The First Five-Year Plan explicitly favoured heavy industry over consumer goods as Stalin believed that if he was to take Russia down the path of industrialisation, he had to start with the development of heavy industries. This was an attempt to lay the foundation for future industrial development such as the mass production of raw materials and allowing peasants to gain the skills necessary to work in more sophisticated industries.