How Successful Was The First Five Year Plan?

The First Five Year Plan was an economic policy created by Stalin in accordance with his theory of Socialism in One Country . It was a plan to transform the Soviet un ion from a weak agriculture state into an industrial power capable of competing with its European neighbours. This ambitious plan was centred around rapid industrialisation and the collectivization of agriculture. It was implemented in 1928, the state set targets on industrial growth, which were wildly optimistic given the short period of five years to meet the desired targets. The state collectivised agriculture in an effort to make it more efficient, and they opened up huge industrial centres, in areas which were rich in natural resources. Large industrial factories were built in cities, where people were encouraged to move and work. Stalin believed that the Soviet un ion was decades behind every other major power in Europe, and this forced revolution from above was a way of making up the difference. Stalin was adamant to catch up to other European powers because he feared an invasion from the West, and he believed rapid industrialization would prepare the Soviet un ion in case of war. The Soviet un ion was also experience economic problems since the introduction of Bolshevik rule, and this was an ambitious effort to turn things around. The Five-Year Plan is very controversial because it had its successes, yet it also had its failures. This essay will try to assess how successful the Five-Year Plan really was.

If the First Five-Year Plan is examined on its economic and industrial growth, then the plan was a huge success. The Soviet economy increased 14% each year during the Five-Year Plan and the Soviet, this is significantly more growth then before the First Five-Year plan was introduced. The biggest success of the First Five-Year plan was the rapid growth of heavy industry. During the 5 years, the Steel, Iron, Coal and Oil industries all witnessed significant growth. Steel production grew from 4 million tonnes to nearly 6 million tonnes, Iron production saw an even higher increase, it went from 3.3 million tonnes to over 6 million tonnes. Coal production increased from 35 million tonnes to nearly 65 million tonnes. Oil production grew from nearly 12 million tonnes to 21 million tonnes in the five years. Industrial output almost doubled in four years. Along with heavy industry, there were several other economic sectors which saw large increases to their output. Consumer goods increased by nearly 90% and capital goods saw an increase of around 160%. Although many of the set targets were not achieved within the five years, the growth of the industry and economy is certainly a huge success. Stalin s Five-Year plan looks even more impressive when the Soviet Union s industrial economy is compared the US and British economies in the same time period. Soviet industrial output grew by 118%, whereas both the US and Britain s industrial output took a massive downturn. The Soviet Union s industrial workforce doubled from 3 million to 6 million people by the end of the plan, it had a kind of a social revolutionary effect on society, millions of people left rural areas to pursue a new life in the city. The First Five-Year Plan was very successful in terms of industrialisation because the plan started the Soviet Union s journey to becoming an economic and industrial world power. Stalin himself declared the plan a success in 1933, stating the fact that here were no heavy industries before the start of the plan and after 5 years several were growing rapidly.

One of the biggest reasons for the creation of the First Five-Year plan was to prepare the Soviet un ion for an industrialised war against one of their European neighbours. The Soviet Union s victory over Germany in the Second World War is proof that the First Five-Year plan was indeed a massive success. The Soviet Union, previous to WW2, suffered heavy defeats in the Russo-Japanese War and in the First World War. they were a result of poor mobilisation of forces and the lack of technological weaponry. However, this was not the case in the Second World War. The Red Army s victory at the Battle of Moscow and on the Eastern Front were largely because the Germans underestimated the Soviet Union s ability to mobilise so quickly. Stalin ended Hitler s idea of a quick German victory in the USSR by successfully defending Moscow from German attack. Stalin then launched his own counterattack in which he moved 18 divisions, 1700 tanks and 1,500 aircrafts from Siberia to Moscow, which is over 2,500 miles. There is no doubt that without the rapid industrialisation, because of the First-Five Year Plan, the Soviet un ion would have stood no chance of stopping the German invasion. Mass Industrialisation in the Five-Year Plan allowed the Soviet un ion to have enough vehicles, munition and the necessary equipment to win the war. Preparing the Soviet un ion for a possible German invasion was one of the biggest reasons behind rapid industrialisation, so if the First Five-Year plan is analysed in that sense, it was a huge success because there is no doubt that the Soviet un ion would not have stood a chance against the German invasion had they not rapidly industrialised.

If the First Five-Year Plan is judged by its targets, then it cannot be regarded as a total success. Majority of the large construction projects that had been started remained unfinished when the plan was declared as completed. Although there were increases in industrial production, majority of the targets were also not completed consumption was predicted to rise by 66% but instead it collapsed. The targets for overall Industrial output were also not completed, the major industries (steel, coal, iron and oil) output fell short by 5.5 million tonnes. The plan did not hit its targets because the quotas were unrealistic for such a short period of time, some of these quotas were not met for years to come. There were no goals set for the plan, even if a quota was met, it was increased giving the plan no chance to succeed. Many sectors were in Crisis, but the state carried on demanding more quick results. This affected the quality of the products, although there was an increase in production, the quality of the products and materials was sub-par. The inability to reach its predicted targets means the plan cannot be seen as a resounding success that Stalin had labelled it.

Undoubtedly, the First Five-Year Plan transformed the Soviet un ion from an agricultural state to an industrial power. But the transformation came at a great cost for the Russian people. By the end of the Five-Year plan in 1932, the country was in the midst of a large-scale famine. The famine is one of the worst in history and it was caused by the policies of rapid industrialisation. Historians predict that up to 7 million people died between 1932 and 1933 as a result of the famine. Aside from the starvation, some people even froze to death while waiting in long queues to get their rations. Ukraine and the Crimea were hit the hardest by the famine, suffering the most deaths. The Soviet regime could have helped fix the famine, but the regime sacrificed its people for political and economic ambitions. The regime demanded the grain collection not be stopped, they sent grain from rural areas suffering famine to cities to feed the industrial workforce. The states inactivity in response to the disaster created lasting divisions between Russians and ethnic minorities. Stalin s collectivization also led to the elimination of a whole social class, the Kulaks. The Kulaks were accused of being the enemy of the people, some were massacred, and millions were imprisoned and placed in labour camps. They were eliminated because they opposed collectivization, and by eliminating them, the State was able to take their land for collectivization. Those who were placed in the Gulags were forced to work on engineering projects, tens of thousands of people died while working in these forced labour camps. This showed the complete disregard for human life from the Soviet State. The few successes of the First Five-Year Plan came at a horrific cost for the Russian people.

The First Five-Year Plan has to be considered a significant failure when analyzing the human and social impact of the policy. Thousands of people were moving to cities and towns daily, looking for work in the factories. Cities and town started to grow at an astounding rate, and these cities were not prepared for the sudden overgrowth in population, this put a lot of pressure on housing and social services. The demand for consumer had gone way past the capacity. Families were forced to live in small apartments with other families, who also faced the tragic horrors of starvation. Living conditions were bad enough in cities, but working conditions were even worse. People were dying in factories from frostbites, starvation and accidents. The Soviet state did not have any regard for its people s lives, they were only interested in the economic and political gains. The horrific living and working conditions went totally against the ideals of a Marxist society where the proletariat were meant to be empowered. In the Soviet Union, it was the proletariat who suffered the most.

To conclude, the First Five-Year plan was indeed successful. The Soviet economy grew bigger, while industrial production increased in all four of the major industries and comparing this growth in industry and economy to that of the US and Britain s downturn economies in the same time period, it is fair to say that the First Five-Year plan was an economic success. In five years, the Soviet un ion had created a large heavy industry, when none had existed before the plan in 1928. The main aim of the Plan was to rapidly industrialise the state, so that the Soviet un ion would be able to defend itself against its western neighbours in case of a potential invasion. The USSR s victory over Germany in the Second World War showed that the plan had been successful. The Soviet un ion had successfully industrialised and defended an invasion, defeating Germany without going through the First Five-Year plan would have been impossible. The Plan was successful, but it wasn t a resounding success, this is because although the industry and economy grew, the USSR did not complete the targets they had aimed for in the First Five-Year plan. The successes of the First Five-Year are all long-term successes. However, in the short term the plan was a failure, almost 7 million people died from famine, which was a direct consequence of the policies of rapid industrialisation and collectivisation. People were being forced to work in labour camps, a lot people died working in these camps. There was a disregard of Russian lives as long as the economic gains were met. The plan also created huge housing problems in cities, quality of life was very bad, along with working conditions. The human and social costs of the Five-Year plan should definitely be counted as failures of the plan.