3.2.2

Five Year Plans

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Five Year Plans

After the apparent failure of the NEP and its reliance on capitalist principles, Stalin’s economic plan switched to Five Year Plans. This involved targets that aimed to generate very fast industrial growth.

Agricultural and economic targets

Agricultural and economic targets

  • In farming, collectivisation was supposed to improve agricultural output. But it actually led to starvation for millions of Russians. It was introduced because in theory:
    • Economically, selling excess grain abroad could be used for industrialisation. Russia could then modernise their farming methods.
    • Collectivisation would produce more grain to feed the industrial workers.
Political and ideological targets

Political and ideological targets

  • Politically, Stalin wanted more control of the countryside.
  • Ideologically, Stalin did not like the idea of capitalism which he believed was supported by the NEP.
    • Industrial workers felt that peasants were benefiting from the revolution in a way that they were not.
  • Stalin believed in Marxist principles.
Marxist principles

Marxist principles

  • Karl Marx said that in a developed human society, countries would be industrialised and factories made efficient and productive.
  • There would be a move towards urbanisation, and fewer people would be needed to work the land.
  • Private property would be abolished and wealth would be redistributed to the poor.
    • Collectivisation was part of this process.
Problems with the NEP

Problems with the NEP

  • Under the NEP, more successful farmers could buy land from poorer ones, and employ other people. This was essentially a form of capitalism. This made it unpopular with Politburo members like Stalin.
  • Ideologically, Stalin needed to get rid of the kulaks (wealthy peasants) who had benefited from the NEP.
  • Moreover, his rival Bukharin supported the NEP, which gave Stalin even greater motivation to end the policy.
Jump to other topics
1

The End of Tsardom

1.1

Russia's Economy & Society

1.1.1Industrialisation1.1.2Living & Working Conditions
1.2

Nicholas II's Autocracy & the Court

1.2.1Growth of Revolutionary Opposition1.2.2The 1905 Revolution & the October Manifesto1.2.3Reforming Russia Before 1914 - Stolypin1.2.4The Duma & Political Stalemate
1.3

The First World War

1.3.1The Impact of Military Defeats1.3.2Social & Economic Effects of WW11.3.3Romanov Unpopularity1.3.4The Tsar's Abdication1.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - The End of Tsardom
2

Lenin's New Society

2.1

The Provisional Government

2.1.1The Failure of the Government2.1.2Social & Economic Problems2.1.3Lenin & Trotsky2.1.4The Growth of the Bolsheviks2.1.5The October / November Revolution2.1.6Top Grade AO2/3 - The Provisional Government
2.2

The Impact of Lenin's Dictatorship

2.2.1The End of the First World War2.2.2The Cheka2.2.3Red Terror & Centralisation2.2.4The Civil War & The Red Army2.2.5Propaganda2.2.6Top Grade AO2/3 - Early Bolshevism & the Civil War
2.3

Social & Economic Developments

2.3.1War Communism2.3.2The Kronstadt Rising2.3.3The New Economic Policy (NEP)2.3.4The Achievements of Lenin & Trotsky2.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - Social & Economic Developments
3

Stalin's USSR

3.1

Stalin the Dictator

3.1.1The Power Struggle to Succeed Lenin3.1.2The Communist Party & Government3.1.3The Terror & the Purges3.1.4The Secret Police3.1.5Cult of Personality3.1.6Propaganda & Censorship under Stalin3.1.7Top Grade AO2/3 - Stalin's Dictatorship
3.2

Stalin's Modernisation of the USSR

3.2.1Collectivisation3.2.2Five Year Plans3.2.3Social & Economic Consequences3.2.4Social & Economic Consequences 23.2.5The Extent of Modernisation
3.3

Impact of the Second World War

3.3.1Stalin's Wartime Leadership3.3.2Political, Economic & Social Consequences of War3.3.3Top Grade AO2/3 - Modernisation of the USSR

Practice questions on Five Year Plans

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  1. 1
    How long were Stalin's plans?Multiple choice
  2. 2
    Which of the following about agricultural changes under Stalin are correct?True / false
  3. 3
    What group did Stalin want to get rid of?Multiple choice
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Collectivisation

Social & Economic Consequences