"Examine the Effects of the Second World War on the USSR by 1945".

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Andy Parslow

Mr Edge

“Examine the Effects of the Second World War on the USSR by 1945”

The effects of the Second World War on the USSR can be, to some extent, categorised into four main groups; effects on the economy, impact on the military, impact on creating the goal of communism and the impact these had looking from the social perspective.

The effect that World War II had on the USSR’s economy was that of devastation. The early vast advancements made by the Nazis meant that the Soviet Union suffered a serious lack of resources; most notably grain, as an estimated 40% of ‘grained’ land was lost within the first months. This impacted most greatly on the common Soviet civilians. Consumption plummeted with the introduction of rationing and it was not uncommon to be living on one ‘meal’ a day. Even through this period of regular shortage of essential goods, the demands on the work force ceased to stop. Any holidays were cancelled and the seven-day week introduced, each day consisting of eleven hours work with very few breaks. However these extreme demands were needed if the USSR was to continue fighting the war against Nazism for any amount of time.

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These hard times were only added to due to the vast amounts that was being spent on armaments, over 50% if the nations income. This left very little else that could be spent on other essential resources for the common population.

However that level of spending was still not adequate as the Red Army suffered a serious lack of weapons and ammo, leading to methods such as pairing up with one weapon between the two. Soviet leadership became increasingly desperate as other great cities such as Kiev fell, or besieged in the case of Leningrad. As the Nazis closed ...

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