Stalin in the Soviet Union
Stalin in the USSR
With the assassination of the Romanov family, the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (U.S.S.R. or sometimes known as the Soviet Union) was established by Vladimir Lenin on the 30th of December, 1922. The Russian Revolution, as it was called, was the first successful "Communist Revolution" in history.
Power soon passed to Joseph Stalin, who turned the Soviet Union from an absolute monarchy into a totalitarian state. That means the government controlled all aspects of people's public and private lives.
Stalin's economic plan called for a collective economy, a system in which the government made all economic decisions. Under this system political leaders identify the country's economic needs and determine how to fulfill them. As always, economic reforms start with agriculture. If Stalin wants to vastly industrialize Russia, then agricultural production must increase in order to feed all the urban workers. Through a process called collectivization, Stalin created large government-owned Collective Farms that produced agriculture for the Soviets. Collectivization was not very successful since it lead to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in what was called the Holodomor.
The Soviet Union lacked the industrial strength of the Western powers. Joseph Stalin recognized this (just like Peter the Great and other Czars before him) and implemented extensive economic reforms to industrialize the Soviet Union in order to defend itself from Western intrusion. Stalin's plan called for 5 Year Plans. In order to catch up to the West, Stalin set really high numerical goals (or quotas) for steel, coal, oil and electricity production over the course of 5 years. To reach these targets the government limited the production of consumer/luxury goods. While these quotas led to a dramatic increase in steel, coal, and petroleum production, it led to shortages in food, clothing, and other commonly used goods. The Five Year Plans made Russia an economic power that rivaled the United States and other Western nations. The Five Year Plans were so successful that Time Magazine named Stalin "Man of the Year" in 1943. See below
With the assassination of the Romanov family, the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (U.S.S.R. or sometimes known as the Soviet Union) was established by Vladimir Lenin on the 30th of December, 1922. The Russian Revolution, as it was called, was the first successful "Communist Revolution" in history.
Power soon passed to Joseph Stalin, who turned the Soviet Union from an absolute monarchy into a totalitarian state. That means the government controlled all aspects of people's public and private lives.
Stalin's economic plan called for a collective economy, a system in which the government made all economic decisions. Under this system political leaders identify the country's economic needs and determine how to fulfill them. As always, economic reforms start with agriculture. If Stalin wants to vastly industrialize Russia, then agricultural production must increase in order to feed all the urban workers. Through a process called collectivization, Stalin created large government-owned Collective Farms that produced agriculture for the Soviets. Collectivization was not very successful since it lead to the starvation of millions of Ukrainians in what was called the Holodomor.
The Soviet Union lacked the industrial strength of the Western powers. Joseph Stalin recognized this (just like Peter the Great and other Czars before him) and implemented extensive economic reforms to industrialize the Soviet Union in order to defend itself from Western intrusion. Stalin's plan called for 5 Year Plans. In order to catch up to the West, Stalin set really high numerical goals (or quotas) for steel, coal, oil and electricity production over the course of 5 years. To reach these targets the government limited the production of consumer/luxury goods. While these quotas led to a dramatic increase in steel, coal, and petroleum production, it led to shortages in food, clothing, and other commonly used goods. The Five Year Plans made Russia an economic power that rivaled the United States and other Western nations. The Five Year Plans were so successful that Time Magazine named Stalin "Man of the Year" in 1943. See below