The “Second Five Year Plan” (1932-37) and the “Third Five Year Plan” (1937-42) focused on heavy heavy industry goods. The industrial plants which had been set up during the “First Five Year Plan” produced rapidly and by 1940 produced 48.3 bllion kWh. In 1941 just before the end of the “Third Five Year Plan” Hitler invaded the USSR and interrupted the industrial output. During the years 1934-36 Stalin relinquished his grip upon the poppulation of the USSR slightly, he ended food rationing and the pressure on the peasants and workers was lowered. These years came to be known as the “Three good Years”. A weakness of the “Second Five Year Plan” and “Third Five Year Plan” was that the Oil production did not acheive the expected output. From 1932-40 the crude oil output only went up from 21.4 to 31.1 (million tons) which seeing the USSR's great oil reserves is little. The dissapiontment in oil was also a major setback for Stalin's aim to set up a military force that could match countries such as Germany's, as the military highly relied on oil. On the other hand though the USSR's heavy industry rapidly grew and by 1937 the amount of Steel had more than doubled since 1932. Also the transportation systems that were derived during first two “Five Year Plans” were further broadened, by 1937 there 136,000 and had more than pentupled since 1932. In contrast the amount of luxury commodities decreased such as vodka where 72 million decalitres where produced in 1932 and only 44.3 md in 1940. This shows that Stalin's grip on the poppulation tightened because he made them work harder for less luxury, which shows him as a totalitarian leader.
After the second World War was over in May 1945 Stalin introduced the “Fourth Five Year Plan” (1946-1950) and “Fifth Five Year Plan” (1951-1955). They were mainly established to build up the USSR again and re-industrialise and although the USSR had been devastated during World War 2 Stalin promised that the USSR would lead the world in industrial development by 1960. Colossal losses were borne by the industrial sector, the manpower, railways, infrastructure and agrarian sector. Stalin and the USSR had no alternative but to ask the USA for a reconstruction aid. The disagreement upon this aid later led to the start of the cold war. In 1953 halfway through the “Fifth Five Year Plan” Stalin died which marked a radical change in the USSR's domestic policies.
Stalin's social policies began with “The Great Retreat” in 1930, in which he restored conservative ideas and made it harder for women to be employed as doctors or engineers which was possible after the revolution. After the revolution abortion was normal and so was divorce. This though hindered population growth at the rate Stalin wanted it, and so in 1936 Stalin made abortion illegal and discouraged divorce.
Stalin's political policies illustrate his totaletarian leadership best. Between 1932 and 1934 Stalin exprelled 22 percent of the members from the party, and although he exprelled them he did this without force. In July 1934 however Sergei Kirov was murdered and although it is clear who murdered him, it is unclear what the motives were. One option is that it could have been Stalin, the other that the secret Police, “OGPU” which had been replaced by the “NKVD” had murdered Kirov thinking they would do Stalin a favour. The last option would be that Leonid Nikolayev murdered Kirov at his own accord. For each of the options there is sufficient evidence but is unclear which is true. In “The Great Terror: A Reassessment” Robert Conquest argues that this was a major turning point. The murder of Kirov marked the beginning of violent purges in the USSR. After 1935 myriads of people were killed, many of which were innocently acussed of being spies and most of which were high ranking in the party which shows Stalin being paranoid. This also best illustrates Stalin as a totalitarian leader because he undoubtedly knew about the killings and systematically eliminated his opennents. In January 1935 Zinoviev and Kamenev were arrested and acussed of terrist activities. They were sent to the first “show trial” in August 1936. “Show trials” were held publically so that the acussed was under so much pychological pressure that he had to give in. The purges carried on and further high party members were sent to the second and third show trials. In May 1937 Stalin went as far as to purge his own military “The Red Army”, he focused on army officers eliminating them from the army. This was one of his worst moves because this meant he could not defend himself against Hitler in 1941 as he had purged his army four years before. In March 1939 Stalin declared the “mass purges” to be over on the eighteenth party congress. Millions had, mostly innocently, been sent to the gulags, killed or been imprisoned. This shows that Stalin was brutal, dictatorial and totalitarian as he murdered whoever was in his way even if it was a close ally such as Yezhov who has assisted Stalin in “The Great Purges” was shot. To conclude the the era of “The Great Purges” Stalin ordered for Trotsky's death which meant that all old Bolshevicks were dead.
On the 5th December 1936 the USSR adopted “The Stalin Costitution of 1936” which was one of the most democratic constitutions of all times and which for example included,
“the right to demonstrate”,
“freedom of speech and press” and
“freedom from arbitrary arrest” to just name a few.
The consitution was of course made up and absolutely untrue. It's purpose was for one to show the world how democratic the USSR was and also to act as propaganda to the people. Ironically Bukharin and Radek who wrote this false constitution and said that there was “freedom from arbitrary arrest” were murdered shortly after it was published.
Stalin's policies between 1928 and 1953 had a few primary aims which included to industrialise and create a strong military force. Nearly all his domestic policies aimed at controlling the people and eliminating those in his way, the most prominent example of this were “The Great Purges” between 1932 and 1940 in which he killed and imprisoned anyone he found threatening towards his position as leader of the USSR. While doing this he created a communist state which was brutal, dictatorial and totaliarian.
