Did the benefits of Stalin’s economic policies justify their implementation?
In 1928, Russia was poor and her industry was smaller than many countries. Stalin aimed to transform this and turn Russia into a powerful and strong nation. He wanted to create a modern industry so Russia was less dependent on the western world and could catch up with America. He also wanted to protect Russia so the were military strong in case of war and they had a strong industry capable of producing good armaments so they had defence in case of attack. Stalin aimed to re-organise agriculture to produce food so Russia could trade with Europe and America so they could get money to buy raw materials and machinery. He wanted to feed Russia’s population. Stalin also aimed for Russia to become self-sufficient.
In order to develop Russia’s industry rapidly, Stalin organised this planning with the ‘Five-Year Plans’. There were three plans which determined how and when things were produced and how prices and wages were determined. The benefits of these plans were that the production of coal and iron increased quickly. Huge new industrial complexes were built like the Magnitogorsk, the Belomor Canal, railways and motorways. These all were showpieces of Soviet achievement. They had great facilities and steel and iron production was increasing. Defence and armaments grew rapidly also. Transport and communications grew and electricity production expanded. Overall industrial output went up by over 50% and Russia became the second in gross industrial output worldwide. By 1937, Russia was virtually self-sufficient.