2.  The First Five-Year Plans (1928-1933)
 Industrialisation
 Agricultural Reform - Small farms into collective and
state agriculture.
 Elimination of private enterprise
 Education and Transport
 The Second and Third Five-Year Plan (1933-1938)
 Assessing the five-year plans

3. Objectives of this plan were:
 The rapid industrialisation of Russia.
 The introduction of socialised farming.
 Elimination of private enterprise.
 Development of education and transport.
 Target to keep Soviet Union on track
Stalin believed that attention to education was necessary in order to have a
skilled industrial labour force. Improvements in transport would help move raw
materials, manufactured products and agricultural produce. In order to reach the
required targets, new railway lines were built and the old ones upgraded.

4.  The First Five-Year Plans was used to speed up the
industrialisation of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had
3 Five-Year Plans from the 1920s to the end of the 1930s.
 First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) focus on heavy industries
especially iron and steel.
 Output was to be doubled in 5 years for iron and steel
production and in electricity, chemicals and engineering.
 After some early successes, targets were increased.
 It was then ordered to be completed in 4 years instead of 5.
 1932, Stalin announced that the plan was a great success. But this
was not completely true as some targets were not met despite the
early successes.

5.  Gave more attention to industries that produced goods
such as clothing.
 However, from 1934 onwards, the Soviet Union thought
than another war might occur, thus, priority was give to
industries related to military production.
 This emphasis continued under the 3rd Five Year-Plan.
Factories were built to the East of the Ural Mountains,
where they would be beyond the reach of Western
invaders.
 Third Five-Year Plan (1938-1942) was disrupted when
Germany invaded Soviet Union in 1941. All the country’s
resources were focused on defeating the Germans.

6.  Great increase in the amount of coal, iron, steel and oil
produced. More than 1500 factories and more than 100 new
cities were built.
 Transport and communication networks were also
improved greatly.
 Poor work conditions.
 Labour unrest, as workers protested against their
conditions. Government responded by taking strict
disciplinary action again workers who were
underperforming/who engaged in sabotage.
 System of rewards and training for workers were
introduced by the government to meet their targets.
 Government started a big campaign to teach the Russian
workers new skills. New colleges, schools and universities
were built. Primary education made compulsory.

7.  Changing living conditions.
 Initially industries that produced basic goods were neglected.
The Russians suffered in the bitterly cold winters because they
could not buy suitable clothing and their houses were poorly
heated. Basic goods were in short supply.
 These items had to be rationed. Between 1928-1933, the actual
value of the workers’ salaries fell by 50%.
 After 1935, situation began to improve. Rationing ended in 1936.
 Workers received cheap meals and free uniforms.
 Free education, subsidised health care and the provision of
extensive leisure facilities, such as cinemas, public parks.
 Life of Russians were improved.

8.  Collectivise Farms in Russia.
Stalin’s Reason:
1. If farming methods were improved, fewer people would
be needed to work the land. This meant that some of the
people in the countryside would be able to move to the
cities to work in the new factories.
2. The farmers would also be able to grow more crops. The
Soviet Union would be able to sell the extra crops to other
countries. The profit it earned could be used to pay for
the building of new factories.
Stalin thought that farms would be more productive if they
had bigger plots of land and used modern farming
machinery such as tractors and harvesters.

9.  Forced Collectivisation
 Farmers did not want to change their traditional way of life.
Collectivisation during the civil war years had led to food
shortages.
 Stalin ordered communist officials to force farmers to hand
over their crops.
 Farmers assassinate officials.
 Fewer crops harvested.
 Stalin blamed the richer land-owning farmers, kulaks and
ordered their elimination. Resistance from land-owners.

10.  Riots & Resistance
 Farmers rioted and engaged in armed resistance.
 Stalin ordered 17million horses be killed so that farmers would
be forced to use tractors. However, there’s not enough tractors to
replace the horses that had been killed.
 Villagers who did not co-operate were sent to gulags (labour
camps).
 Severe food shortages occurred  Farmers burnt crops and grew
less food rather sending them to communist officials. + Natural
disasters such as droughts and floods.
 Severe famines. Worst  Ukraine 1931 (affected whole soviet
union)
 USA offered food but Stalin rejected. He suppressed info about
famine, ordered officials and secret police to take whatever crops
left. Stalin even sold some crops to raise money to buy machines
from other countries. Estimated more than 10million peasants
and their families died.

11.  Stalin’s power grew stronger in the 1930s. He managed to
exercise such tight control over the people that most were
afraid of opposing him.
 Ruling with terror  Purges
 Sergei Kirov’s murder marked the beginning of Stalin’s
purges.
 Stalin used his death as excuse to attack his opponents in
the communist party. Arrested followers of Zinoviev.
 NKVD was given a quota, which meant that they had to
arrest a minimum number of ‘enemies of the people’.
Arrested people were usually intellectuals because they
were seen as a threat to Stalin’s rule. They were forced to
sign confessions and implicate others, who were also
arrested.

12.  Fear and Suspicion.
 People were encouraged to inform on their fellow workers,
neighbours and family members if they made any
comments against Stalin or Soviet Union.
 No evidence was needed for an arrrest, anyone who had a
grudge could get rid of another person by denouncing him
to the NKVD.
 More than 20million Russians were victims of purges.
 No religion practice allowed.
 Tight control over culture.

13.  During the 1930s, paintings shows the leaders of the
October Revolution. Stalin is not there, as he did not
play an active role in the Revolution. But in many of
the paintings, Stalin was portraited as one of the
leaders of the October Revolution.

14.  Stalin used education as a way to control what people were
taught.
 History lesson was changed to focus on the importance of
Lenin and Stalin.
Stalin was shown as having played a key and heroic role
during the October Revolution.
 Trotsky was presented unfairly or ignored.
 Strict discipline in schools- teachers and pupils.
 Many teachers became victims of Stalin’s purges as it was
felt that they had taught the pupils to be anti-Stalin.
 Arts, Only writer, artists and musicians who made art
praising Stalin and his programs could remain in their jobs.

15.  Stalin forced authors and artists to depict him in a
good light. Paintings were also expected to act as
propaganda.
 As a result of these restrictions, there was a lack of a
variety in the arts in Communist Russia.

16.  Yes, to a certain extend. Soviet Union had been fighting wars and people were
tired. Stalin was the one who stood up and wanted ‘Socialism in one country’.
His 5-Year Plan Policies were extremely harsh, but nonetheless, they were
effective. The people under his rule had high discipline and fought hard for
their own country, thus, Soviet Union was able to achieve such great success
and become one of the World Super Power in such a short time. I think some of
the sacrifices are necessary in order for communist Russia to rise up. After the
period of suffering, the standard of living did improve. People who obeyed
Stalin, their needs were met. And it was Stalin’s harsh policies and anticipation
of war that saved Russia from German invaders.
 However, Stalin also did much harm to the citizens of Soviet Union. His 5 Year
Plans were unrealistic and the people really suffered greatly. They had little
food but was tasked to do work that are beyond their limits. The Policy of
collectivisation farms also had many negative impacts. They were widespread
famines which caused so many people to die. Those who did not die had also
suffered badly to survive. Stalin’s purges also made the russian citizens to live in
terror everyday. The society was not fair actually, not like Karl Marx’s ideology
of communism. Stalin was power hungry and killed so many intellectuals. The
people had little freedom of speech and was in constant fear.
 If I really have to choose one, I’ll choose yes. Because I think Stalin was a great
leader afterall. He was a visionary leader. Many people did benefitted from his
rule..
 Thank you :D