The German invasion of Soviet Russia in June 1941 was an unwelcome interruption to the ‘Stalin Revolution’. Stalin had hoped to avoid war, or at least to postpone it far into the future, so that the transformation of society and the economy could be completed.
By June 1941, there had been a massive expansion of industrial capacity, but there was also huge inefficiencies and failures. Agriculture had been revolutionised but at the cost of enormous hardship on terror as much as on persuasion. The extent of the success of the Stalin revolution was about to be tested by four years of a war for survival.
Economical strengths:
By 1941 – FYP – transformed USSR – highly industrialised nation. By 1940 the USSR had overtaken Britain in iron and steel production and was not far behind Germany.
Collectivisation and the FYps had increased urbanisation, leading to a much larger potential workforce for industries to draw on. In 1926, 17% of the population lived in urban areas. By 1930 this had increased to 100% by 1941.
Military spending increased quickly over the 1930s, and Stalin’s push for heavy industry meant the USSR could rapidly develop its military strength. Military spending increased rom 3% of the total budget in 1933 to 34% in 1940.
Economic weaknesses:
Economic development was uneven. Heavy industry grew rapidly during the FYPs while consumer production was cut back, leading to severe shortages of consumer products. In 1928, the USSR produced 4 million tonnes of steel, while by 1940 it was producing 18 million tonnes. In contrast, there were lengthy waits and ques for basic consumer goods.
The quality of products was often poor, as FYPs, targets emphasised quantity over quality. Meat targets were set by weight. Fatty meals are heavier that lean meat. So, farmers produced fatty meat even though consumer did not like it.
The central planning system struggled to deal with an increasingly complex economy, and organisation at a local level was often poor. In the early 1930s there were 300 planning targets for Gosplan to set and monitor. By 1940, there were 2500.
Social strengths:
By 1941, state ownership had been achieved over industry and agriculture. The Soviet regime claimed that state ownership was essentially the same as ownership was essentially the same as ownership by the Soviet people, and therefore socialist.
Stalin had achieved much greater state control over society, notably in the countryside. From 1929, peasants were supervised by Party officials attached to each kolkhoz and secret police units were stationed at each Motor Tractor Station.
Food rationing ended in 1934. Kolkhozniks were allowed to have their own private plots to farm from 1934, which helped food production to recover.
There were significant benefits available to workers who consistently beat their target, such as improved wages and living conditions. The state provision of childcare allowed more women to enter the workplace, and training programmes allowed some women to acquire well-paid skilled positions.
Social weakness:
Around 6-8 million people died in the famine of 1932-34, and another 10 million peasants died from the effects of dekulakisation and deportation. Conditions on the collective farms were miserable. Rapid urbanisation took place without sufficient explanation of housing. This made living conditions for workers very poor. Shanty towns developed on the outskirts of big cities with no facilities for washing or sanitation.
Working conditions were harsh and discipline was strict. In 1940, a decree was issued making poor-quality production a criminal offence, adding further to the pressure put n mangers. The benefits available to Party bureaucrats began to produce social inequalities. Around 50,000, Senior Party officials were rewarded with fa better living conditions, better foo and better clothes than ordinary workers, while industrial workers had access to better pay, opportunities and leisure activities than kolkhozniks.
The situation on the outbreak of war in 1941:
Central control of the ‘command economy’ helped the USSR to organise its war effort In 1941.
Rapid industrialisation, especially of heavy industry, gave the USSR the basis for its victory against Germany.
It is possible that the harsh labour laws and severe working. Conditions helped to build among the Soviet workforce, enabling them to cope with the hardship of war.
However, by 1941 the economy was still producing less grain under the NEP. Enforced collectivisation had wakened the USSR’s food production. The advent of war left Stalin in a state of panic.