The biggest (and most positive) impact Stalin had, however, was to industrialise Russia and create a superpower from a destitute nation. This was a result of Stalin’s three five-year plans. This was a long-term impact, which later enabled Stalin to conquer the surrounding countries in Eastern Europe.
Once Stalin had established dictatorship (after 4 years), he abolished the When Stalin put an end to the NEP so abruptly there was mixed feelings. The Bolsheviks and extreme communists were pleased to see the NEP go, as it did not conform to communist ideology. Conversely, the peasants and factory owners were not. Even with the NEP in full flow 27 million people had been queuing up on the bread line, more people– those who depended on the policy- were now to join them. There quickly followed mass famine across Russia, yet Stalin still made the decision to collectivise. Collectivisation was Stalin’s solution to the appalling state of Russia’s agriculture. He believed that Russia had to be self-sufficient. Indeed his Five Year Plans were dependent upon the peasant farmers providing food for the workers in the factories.
In 1928 Stalin had said, “Agriculture is developing slowly, comrades. This is because we have about 25 million individually owned farms. They are the most primitive and undeveloped form of economy. We must do our utmost to develop large farms and to convert them into grain factories for the country organised on a modern scientific basis”.
Such rapid industrialisation could only be achieved if agriculture was made more efficient, as sufficient food had to be produced to feed the workforce. Surplus food could then be sold for money to boost the industrial sector. This was where collectivisation came in. Collectivisation was implemented in 1928 and was initially on a purely voluntary basis- at a moderate and achievable pace. In practice this wasn’t the case. In a bid to increase collective membership, peasants were granted incentives to join the collectives in 1930. Stalin introduced the machine tractor station in Russia, where collectives could borrow machinery and increase their productivity in return for payment in the form of crops. Collectivisation consisted of grouping small, scattered farms in a given locality into a collective farm (Kolkhozy). The peasants would hand over their grain, animals, tools and labour for the utility of the entire community. The collectives had to sell most of their produce at low prices to the government. In 1929 Stalin took serious austere action, speeding up the process and making it compulsory to join collectives. Some Peasants were refusing to share their labour, whilst others took to burning their crops and animals rather than sell them to the state. As a consequence, Stalin applied force and those who did not comply were dealt with severely. This coincided with Stalin’s elimination of the Kulaks, a rich class of peasants and a contradiction of basic communist beliefs of equality. He ordered them to hand over their land, homes and property to the government to be distributed amongst collectives. The Kulaks were not permitted to join the collectives and were instead sent to labour camps or executed (dekulakisation). Most Kulaks resisted and destroyed their property, machinery, crops and animals so that the government would not be able to use it, spreading negativity not only amongst the farm workers but also for Stalin and the Bolsheviks.
Collectivisation had been introduced as part of Stalin’s first five-year plan in a bid to improve agriculture. These five-year plans were proposed almost as soon as Stalin came into power and were created by an organisation called Gosplan.
The first five-year plan was from 1928 to 1932 and was aimed at raising agricultural output by 130%. Each collective had a set date by which the produce was to be delivered to the state.
The second five year plan was from 1933 to 1937, with the same focus as the first, i.e. continuing to emphasise the heavy industries e.g. coal, oil. It also focused on communication systems such as railways, and the chemical industry (which was relatively new to Russia).
The table below represents the industrial figures from the produce in 1927 (before the five-year plans) and later, once Russia is industrialising rapidly, despite unrealistic targets (in brackets).
mt = millions of tons
This upsurge in industrial resources was a great achievement for Stalin. However, these were marginal figures in comparison with Western-European standards and Stalin knew he had a great deal more to achieve.
The third five year plan was from 1938 to 1941 and was interrupted by the long anticipated war. Stalin emphasised the production of military needs, especially as Russia was so far behind huge powers such as the USA.
For each five-year plan Stalin brought in experts from other countries to help him run the factories across Russia, ensuring a sufficient turnout and increase in speed of industry. Managers who met their targets were rewarded whereas unsuccessful managers paid a severe price - usually their lives.
For all the apparent success of Stalin’s five-year plans there were serious flaws. Industrial machinery parts were not always readily available and as a consequence left some factories idle for weeks on end. To compensate for the lack of skilled workers many ex-peasants were used, many machines were damaged as a consequence and there were no parts to repair the damage. Factories began to inflate their production figures. The products were so frequently poor that they were unusable even if the factory appeared to be meeting its target. However, any condemnation of the five-year plans resulted in murder or exile to prison camps. The impact of these high demands was a harsh one for the workers. Pay was minimal, barely enough to make ends meet for the average worker, and consumer goods were not being produced besides. Working conditions were perilous and hours long. However the workers continued to exert themselves labouring for several reasons. The younger generation of workers still held ideals of the Promised Land and of a better society, even if it meant a few years of hardship. Bonuses were awarded to the most efficient workers, who were referred to as Stakhanovites. This name derived from the most famous worker in Russia, Alexei Stakhanov who was said to have mined 102 tonnes of coal in just one shift. This was fourteen times the amount expected from one person and according to Stalin if Stakhanov could achieve this so could others. Stalin intensified the expectations of Russian workers, which had a very negative impact on workers who were struggling to meet even half of the set figures with the threat of labour camps constantly playing on their minds.
Despite the difficulties caused by the five-year plans and hugely negative impact induced, by 1941 Russia had been transformed from an impoverished state to an industrial superpower. Stalin had achieved this just in time for the next five-year plan, which was to militarise Russia in anticipation of war.
By 1941 Russia was effectively had superpower status and proved the five-year plans to be a long-term, gradual impact.
Stalin was a paranoid leader, to say the least, and had 20 million of his own people (including Bolshevik party members, army generals and secret police) purged, exiled or sent to labour camps.
These purges were part of the ‘Great Terror’. Untold numbers of persons were arrested during the great terror that swept the Soviet Union beginning in the late 30's. No one was safe, especially those in the higher branches, as they posed a threat to Stalin. For example the Bolshevik party member, the government, the military and even the NKVD, Stalin’s own police. The purges inspired a fear of Stalin for every Russian, regardless of their status. All were targeted. Two months after the first purge liquidated many officials in those institutions another one swept through and eliminated those who took their places. These purges inspired a fear of Stalin in every branch, all owing to his immense paranoia. When Stalin delivered speeches the applause would last hours, until someone stopped clapping. This person was seen as a traitor and arrested or shot. Those who had seen the prosperity of the west, military POW's (Soviet) freed from Germany, anyone reported to be anti-Stalin or a threat to Stalin were purged. This had an immensely negative impact on Russia- no one was safe from the threat of the NKVD arriving in the middle of the night to arrest without explanation, and it is said that everybody knew someone who had been purged or exiled by Stalin. So many people were eradicated during Stalin’s rule that he was faced with a problem when Germany invaded Russia in 1941. Stalin had devastated army leadership and even resorted to using imprisoned criminals in an attempt to boost army numbers. The Russian army, the communist party and Russian society in general had lost their creativity- the only people left were those who agreed with everything Stalin had to say. There was nowhere to generate ideas from as everybody thought in the same way and the Nazis hit the industrial cities first. Although this had a devastating effect on Russia, Stalin had cleverly devised a plan whilst industrialising Russia. He had created his own artificial ‘Magic Towns’. These were industrial cities hidden behind the Ural Mountains, away from Nazi view. Whilst under invasion, though Stalin faced many military problems, industrially he was relatively safe as these magic towns operated throughout the war and continued to do so long after. These magic towns saved Russia from collapsing during a crucial time in Russian history. This had a long-term positive impact on Russia, who benefited a great deal from Stalin’s actions.
Obviously, Stalin had a huge impact on Russian’s during his time in power. The industrialisation of Russia is a perfect example of a long-term positive affect his five-year plans had, and the purges-although short-term- an example of negative impact on a mass scale for Russia. It is fair to say that, whether positive or negative, Stalin had a huge impact on Russian life.
