Historical Analysis of Stalin's Five-Year Plan

Introduction
After the death of Vladimir Lenin, the demise of New Economic Policy also followed to the grave. And
the same period saw the rise of the socialism in one country concept which was the rainchild of
!oseph "talin, the #eneral "ecretary of the $ommunist Party of the "oviet %nion. $entral to this
concept is the industriali&ation and collectivi&ation of %""', which mar(ed the shift from a solely
agriculture)dependent society to uniting "oviet agriculture and some fifty ma*or "oviet industries
+'appaport, ,---, p. -./ ma(ing %""' an industrial power.
0ith the economic command policy of "talin, "oviet aimed to moili&e the country, ringing more
women into the wor(force, to comat the ac(wardness of 'ussia1s economy. 2his economic policy
wor(s on high and improved production, whatever the cost or sacrifice, which further strengthened
"talin1s despotic role in the vast %""'. 3n essence, the "talin1s economic policy was a contradiction to
the communists1 core 4ar5ist thin(ing which relies mainly on socialism than capitalism as a motivation
for growth.
"talin1s draconian economic policy was enveloped in a series of 6ive)7ear Plan, the first ran from
8ctoer ,-9: to ;ecemer ,-<9. 0ith the intent to provide strength and evidence of the effectiveness
and reali&ation of the plan, "talin planned to fulfill it in three years in all asic, decisive ranches of
industry... +=ooyer, 9.../ 2he mindset of "talin was focused on creating a society that was superior
and at part with superpower nations at that period, such as the %nited "tates and %nited >ingdom, to
avoid inferior treatment from the rest of the world.
6rom ,-9: to the dissolution of the "oviet %nion in ,--9, there were a total of thirteen five)year plans
that served the rapid industriali&ation and focused on heavy industry. "ome of the five)year periods
were completed earlier and successfully, ut there were periods that failed and were totally aandoned
during the process.
Benefits of the Five-Year Plan
2he socialist concept wor(ed on the past achievements of the country to foster growth and
development. Prior to the achievements of "talin1s policy, the development of te5tiles in the 4oscow
area, heavy industrial plant around Petrograd, coalfields in the ;onets region, iron and steel in the
%(raine and oil at =a(u +Lee, ,---/, and many other industries were already estalished as the result
of the administration of local leaders including Peter the #reat.
7et, the achievements of the first 6ive)7ear Plan were impressive, in spite of the difficulty of precisely
measuring production. 2he direct enefits of the plan resulted to increased production of steel +from <
million to ? million tons/, oil +from ,9 million to 9, million/, and coal +from <@ million to ?A million /.
2he succeeding five)year plan cycles also helped to further increase the production figures of the %""'
ma(ing it a gloal industrial leader efore the 0orld 0ar 33 erupted +iid/.
3n terms of indirect results, the economic policy spurred the economic growth of %""' as the result of
the amitious endeavor on heavy industries. 2he period saw a massive cut of unemployment, giving the
people a etter chance to get involved in the economic cycle of the country. As heavy industries
increased their production units, the %""' wor(force was strengthened and empowered. 3n a roader
perspective, "talin1s 6ive)7ear Plan was ale to develop the laor industry through capital motivation,
which was the core of replacing agriculture with industriali&ation.
As a result of the wor(force empowerment and the increased economic activity, urani&ation grew.
4ore people left the rural agricultural environment to venture in the ig city, which served as the center
of commerce and economy. 3n fact, the same period estalished the legacy of "talin on villages, towns,
and cities that were named after him. %""' ecame a modern civili&ation, a Buic( turn from its
countryside outloo(.
2he stirring of the coal and mining industry provided a new source of strength for %""' to rearm
itself as gloal military superpower. 3n various parts of %""', "talin was ale to put industries that
could easily hold the core of his military o*ectives. 3n the same manner, the economic achievements of
%""' gave them capaility to increase udget for defense and military. 6rom A percent in ,-<<, %""'
was ale to pull << percent of its industrial udget for the defense.
As mentioned earlier, the "talin1s concept stro(e on the chords of industriali&ation and collectivi&ation.
2hrough collectivi&ation, "talin aimed to foster the growth of agriculture, with the agenda of increasing
the necessary resource for industriali&ation. 2he government graed land of farmers and the governent
ecame the de)facto owner of these agricultural lands, forcing farmers to wor( on these lands +2aylor,
9..,/.
2he principle ehind this agrarian change was that farmers did not have modern ideas and tools to
further increase agricultural yields, which was still in line with the goal of increased production on all
industries mindset. 8f course, this moved enaled the government to control the production of
agriculture providing the country enough supply of grains and other asic needs without importing
from other countries. #overnment figures were affirmative, however, situations across the "oviet were
not really commendale.
Negative Implications of the Five Year Plan
0ith all the remar(ale figures provided y the government during that period, and perhaps the
oservale impact of the 6ive)7ear Plan, negative implications of the plan were also undenialy
enormous. 2he ultimate goal of the 6ive)7ear Plan was to ma(e %""' the leading gloal industrial and
military superpower that did not need to depend on other nations for growth and survival. 2his meant
that %""' could do whatever it wanted without fear of economic emargo, food sanctioning, and other
international sanctions. 2he plan wrote the ruthlessness of "talin without any fear of eing erased y
other superpowers that acted last 0orld 0ar 33.
2he rise of %""' ecame very significant to 0orld 0ar 33. "talingrad and the entire "oviet %nion had
een the *ewel of industrial power when the war ro(en out. 2he ultimate goal of Cilter was to ta(e the
%nion to capture and use its vast resource to foster his military endeavors. 2he 6ive)7ear Plan of "talin
made %""' a favorite prey, and Citler was ale to ma(e it his own. Cistory proved that had Citler een
ale to harvest %""'1s industrial power, 0orld 0ar 33 could have another turn and twist +"harp, 6e.
9., 9..?/.
Nonetheless, the industrial power of %""' made it a constant threat to democracy around the world.
0ith its capaility to create nuclear oms, and history tells that 'ussia was ale to create the 3nter)
$ontinental =allistic 4issile, the 0est was in great danger. Perhaps, "talin wanted to scare off the 0est
and ma(e %""' a hermit nation, the sort of North >orea today.
As "talin aimed to promote collectivi&ation, it ac(fired and created a downhill movement for
agriculture. 2he government resorted to all forms of hostilities to ta(e control of the agrarian, however,
"talin still failed to stir the entire agricultural industry +Lacey, 9..9D 2aylor, 9..,/. 2he first 6ive)7ear
Plan was orchestrated during the (ic( off of 'ussia1s #reat 6amine. As a result of "talin1s hostilities, the
peasant revolted and forced to participate in "talin1s programs, which worsened the famine situation. As
production slowed down, %""' suffered the most severe famine the country ever faced, and the
situation *ust made it harder for "talin to promote etter agrarian.
8pposite to its figures and statistics, the 6ive)7ear Plan strained %""' more than it helped the country.
As "talin placed figures that should e reached at all cost, the industry is forced to reach its limitations.
=ecause good production units were e5pected to increase their productivity, they were forced to get
more resources than possile. 3n fact, hoarding ecame a way to ensure that sufficient supply would e
availale to reach the target and avoid "talin1s anger. 8f course, the strained created an unparallel
pattern across the country.
%nli(e its contemporary superpowers li(e the %nited "tates, %""' failed to wor( on a alanced
growth. 3nstead, %""' *ust focused on heavy industries leaving au5iliary industries to suffer. 0hile it
increased production of coals and oil, the country suffered from low production of food through its
agriculture. 2he imalance of %""'1s economy also resulted to an isolated economy. 2he increased
production of a single industry cannot support the entire nation growth. And this is where "talin failed )
and the %""' failed.
As legendary as the cities and towns named after him, "talin1s 6ive)7ear Plan also left some legendary
mar(s on the now)defunct %""'. 0hile 'ussia was ale to harvest the impact of %""'1s industrial
strength, 2a*i(istan suffered from lac( of industrial resources. 0hile Lithuania en*oyed economic and
political freedom, 2ur(menistan remained sic( with its civil unrest and a looming ?.E unemployment
rate. "imply, "talin1s 6ive)7ear Plan shared its positive and negative implications, and the history of
post)"oviet %nion nations tells the final verdict of the socialism in one country concept. 2he long
narration of figures could e rendered nothing when compared to the reality of the "oviet F and post)
"oviet nations today.
References:
=ooyer, P. 9.... The Stalin Era. 'outledge.
Lacey, #. 9..9. Revise Modern World History for OCR Specification 1937. Ceinemann.
Lee, ". ,---. Stalin and the Soviet nion. 'outledge.
'appaport, C. ,---. !oseph Stalin" # $io%raphical Co&panion. Annotated ed. A=$)$L38.
"harp, 4. 6eruary 9., 9..?. What 'f #dolf Hitler (efeated the Soviet nion in World War '').
GAccessed on 6e. .A, 9..? at httpHIIvoices.yahoo.comIwhat)if)adolf)hitler)defeated)soviet)union)in)
,?:?-.htmlJcatK<LM
2aylor, ;. 9..,. Modern World History for OCR Specification 1937" *o+ndation. Ceinemann.