Let us consider the features of the industrialization models of Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries and the USSR from 1928 to 1941.

Since the 80s of the 19th century in Russia, the industrial revolution entered the final, intensive stage of development, the most important feature of which was the creation of the industrial and technical base of Russian capitalism. This stage coincided with profound shifts in the economic structure of world capitalism, where heavy industry with its inherent gigantic concentration of production and centralization of capital took on a dominant role. The industrial revolution in Russia reached its highest development during the period of economic growth in the 90s of the 19th century, which was associated with the rapid growth of railways and the factory industry on the outskirts of the country, which testified to the all-Russian scale of this historical process. At this stage of development of the country’s economy, the industrialization process had the following features:

Formation of capitalist (market) forms of management. An internal market was created and bourgeois reforms were carried out. Thus, in the capitalist enterprises of the cotton industry, civilian labor dominated.

State investment in the development of heavy industry. Active government intervention in the economy. Being a large independent economic entity, the state carried out entrepreneurship within the framework of public sector economy. Its basis was ownership of land, means of production, monetary resources, securities. The state acted as a regulatory force, a partner, a major creditor and a shareholder receiving its share of the profits.

Use of private, including foreign capital. Russian industrialists tried to invest capital in industries of group “B”, where the rate of capital turnover was high and the return was faster. Foreign capital was directed to heavy industry and energy. Foreign capital also participated in the creation of monopoly-type associations.

The most important factor was large-scale railway construction, which connected the main centers of large machine industry with domestic and foreign markets through a network of railways. In 1915, the length of Russian railways reached 70 thousand km.

Development of domestic mechanical engineering. Of exceptional importance for the establishment of a large machine industry was the formation of a new fuel and metallurgical base in the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog region and the oil industry in the Caucasus. The technical revolution in heavy industry caused a sudden rise in productive forces in leading sectors of the economy. The rapid growth of energy supply and labor productivity in leading, basic industries reached world record levels.

Concentration of production in heavy and light industries. Deep qualitative transformations took place in the structure of industrial production, which led to the predominant growth of heavy industry and the production of means of production, the growth rates of which were almost twice as high as in the light and food industries.

Formation of monopolistic associations in industry. There was a process of concentration of production in the main industries. The methods of corporate behavior at the beginning of the 20th century were to contain production volumes and increase sales prices in product markets.

Higher growth rates of production of products of group “A” compared to group “B”. A higher share of production of products of group “B” compared to group “A” in the cost of industrial products. Before the war, machine-building enterprises began to produce technologically complex products that required deep scientific study.

A small share of people employed in industry. During the period from 1909 to 1913, the number of workers increased by only 24%, while the number of enterprises increased by 31%, and there was a trend toward increased labor productivity in industry.

10. High share Agriculture and industries of group “B” industries in the structure of national income.

As a result of the victory of the industrial revolution, large-scale capitalist machine production was established in the leading sectors of industry and transport, and according to its main indicators, the world average level of development of capitalism was achieved. In terms of absolute volume of industrial production, Russia has come close to France, ahead of it in electricity production and coal mining. But it lagged behind Germany, England, and the USA. The indicators of industrial production per capita looked much worse. Russia lagged behind everyone developed countries and was at the level of Japan, Italy, Spain.

On the eve of the First World War, domestic industry produced a variety of products. It satisfied the country's needs for ferrous metals and rolled products, locomotives, wagons, river boats and petroleum products, construction materials and rubber products, cotton fabrics and sugar.

And yet, Russia took a huge step forward on the path to a developed economy and industry, while still remaining an agricultural country, since capitalist industrialization was not completed.

After the October Revolution, the country's leaders began to implement the idea of ​​a highly industrial society with a planned economy. Tight monetary policy has lost its independent force, and the process of developing long-term plans has taken center stage. Suppressed private capital from all sectors of the economy, and the state form of ownership becomes the only one. Let us consider the features of the economic industrialization model in the USSR during the first five-year plans.

Formation of a planning and distribution system. Directive planned distribution of resources and products has finally supplanted market relations in the country.

High share of savings in national income. During the first five-year plans, there was a sharp redistribution of national income in favor of accumulation, which led to a change in the basic structural proportions in the economy. All income from agriculture and light industry was redistributed for the needs of industrialization.

Accelerated development of heavy industries. Creation of completely new heavy industries. During the period from October 1, 1928 to January 1, 1933, production fixed assets of large industry increased by 2.2 times, including for group “A” - by 2.7, and for metalworking and engineering industries– more than 2.7 times

Decrease in the pace and absolute size of production of consumer goods. Due to the reduction in agricultural production (as a result of forced collectivization and loss of livestock), food consumption decreased and shortages increased. consumer goods, there was a shortage of raw materials for light industry.

Short period of industrialization. In just 10 years, the USSR transformed from a peasant country into a powerful industrial power.

Construction of giant enterprises: Magnitogorsk plant, Volzhskaya hydroelectric power station. Ust-Kamenogorsk hydroelectric power station, Zaporizhstal, Azovstal.

Active industrial development of the eastern regions of the country. New industrial regions have emerged - Kazakhstan, Siberia, Central Asia

Carrying out mass collectivization. By 1936 90% peasant farms were merged. There was a decline in the rate of agricultural production. Forced collectivization led to a decrease in the efficiency of agricultural production, since forced labor turned out to be less productive than it was in private farms, and peasants lost interest in effective work on the land.

Significant increase in the number of workers. In 1931, the labor exchange was closed, and the absence of unemployment in the USSR was solemnly proclaimed. During the industrial transformation of the country, which covered all republics and regions, the working class in 1939 accounted for a third of the population, and together with office workers, workers already accounted for over half of the workforce. Creation of the Gulag system. Prisoner labor was actively used and began to be included in five-year plans.

High share of industrial products in the structure of national income. There was a noticeable predominance of industrial output over gross agricultural output

It is indisputable that during the years of the first five-year plans, heavy industry developed at a very high pace. During the years 1928-1940, coal production increased 5 times, oil - almost 3 times, electricity production - almost 10 times, production of various types of machines, machine tools, equipment - tens and hundreds of times. Dozens of new cities were built in different parts of the country. Mass production of aircraft, trucks and cars, tractors, combines, synthetic rubber, various types weapons and military equipment. Between 1929 and 1941, 9 thousand large enterprises came into operation.

All this confirms the desire of the country’s leadership to take a “Great Leap Forward” to catch up with advanced countries in industrial development. As a result of industrialization, a powerful industry was created with a high technical level of production close to the world level.

Conclusion.

This work examined the progress and results of industrialization in Russia at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, carried out by the tsarist government, and industrialization in the USSR during the first five-year plans, carried out by the Communist Party within the framework of socialist ideology.

The structure of industrial production in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century was a certain interconnected composition of industries producing means of production and consumer goods. The state imposed capitalist (market) forms of economy from above and actively intervened in the economy. Russia's main focus in reforming the economic system was not on economic freedom and the establishment of private business, but on state intervention and the development of state entrepreneurship. Foreign capital was actively attracted to industry. On the eve of the First World War, Russian industry produced a variety of products that met the country's needs for ferrous metals and rolled products, locomotive cars, river boats and petroleum products, building materials, cotton fabrics and sugar. Thousands of kilometers of railways were built.

However, despite great successes in industrial development, Russia still remained an agricultural country. The insufficiently high level of its industrial development was indicated not only by the absolute and relative values ​​of industrial production, but even by such indicators as the distribution of the population by occupation. Only a small part of the population was employed in industry. And the share of gross industrial output in the total social product of Russia in 1913 was insignificant.

The First World War disrupted the dynamic process of industrial development. Industrial production of both civilian and military products was reduced.

In 1917, the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia, proclaiming the construction of a new social economic model, the establishment of the state as a single form of ownership. The government set the task of resuming the industrialization of the country.

The industrialization of the Soviet economy required enormous effort and the mobilization of all the country's resources. The transition to a command economy was combined with a sharp decline in the rate of economic growth. If the economy had continued to develop on the principles of self-financing (NEP policy), the country would have had, without strain or strain, no less output in all sectors, including those that worked for defense needs, since the potential of the market economy in the 1920s was used quite effectively when assistance from tax regulation. But the command levers in a short time crushed and destroyed this potential, as a result of which the rate of economic growth sharply decreased. The creation of large-scale industry at a record high pace occurred in conditions of declining living standards of the population and the general rate of development of the entire national economy as a whole. The plans were gigantic, but they were not fulfilled. The concentration of resources made it possible to create a powerful heavy industry, new sectors of the economy, and a military-industrial complex. There was a 2-fold acceleration in the growth rate of heavy engineering. Decrease in unemployment. A huge array of new industrial enterprises was created, new industrial regions emerged - Kazakhstan, Siberia, Central Asia. However, little attention was paid to light industry.

By the end of the first five-year plan, a super-centralized economy was fully formed, which, with minor modifications, existed in the USSR until the end of the 1980s.

Industrialization in the USSR was of a political nature, solving socio-political problems, and industrial problems themselves faded into the background. By implementing the policy of industrialization, the party and the Soviet people ensured that the once agrarian country, in terms of the structure of industrial production, reached the level of the most developed countries in the world, and retained its complete independence in relation to the surrounding capitalist world.

List of used literature.

Voshchanova G.P., Godzina G.S. Economic history. M.: Publishing house "INFRA-M", 2003.

Voshchanova G.P., Godzina G.S..History of savings. Workshop. M.: 2002

Kontopov M.V., Smetanin S.I. History of the Russian economy. M.: Logos Publishing House, 2003.

Timoshina T.M. Economic history of Russia. M.: Filin Publishing House, 2001.

Guseinov R. History of the Russian economy. M.: Publishing house "UKEA", 1999.

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Forced industrialization

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Basic knowledge

Dates/events

1925- XIV congress of the CPSU(b), who proclaimed a course towards industrialization in the USSR.
1928-1932- The first five-year plan.
1933-1937- Second five-year plan.
1930- Elimination of mass unemployment, closure of labor exchanges.
1934- The XVII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) approved the second five-year plan for the development of the national economy for 1933-1937.

Terminology

forced industrialization in the USSR- creation in the shortest possible time of a powerful heavy industry, on the basis of which the country’s defense capability (military-industrial complex), light industry and agriculture would be strengthened. Industrialization was also intended to solve social issues - to end unemployment and increase the size of the working class - the support of Soviet power.
Urbanization(from Latin urbanus - urban) - the historical process of increasing the role of cities in the development of society.
Stakhanov movement- movement of workers in the USSR for increasing labor productivity and better use of technology. It arose in 1935 in the coal industry of Donbass (named after its founder, miner A.G. Stakhanov), and spread to other industries, transport, and agriculture.
Socialist competition- competition in labor productivity between state enterprises, workshops, teams and individual workers, as well as educational institutions of the Labor reserves. Ideologically it was supposed to replace capitalist competition.
Drummers- workers demonstrating increased labor productivity. This concept originated in the Soviet Union during the first five-year plans. The word is associated with the expression “impact work,” that is, work with full effort, focused on exceeding established standards and deadlines. The expression “shock brigade” was also common. The shock movement was an important means of ideological influence. The names of the shock workers who achieved the most impressive results were widely used as role models (miner Alexei Stakhanov, locomotive driver Pyotr Krivonos, tractor driver Pasha Angelina, steelmaker Makar Mazai and many others), they received the highest government awards, they were nominated to elected bodies and etc.
Gulag(Main Directorate of Camps and Places of Detention) - a division of the NKVD of the USSR, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, the Ministry of Justice of the USSR, which managed places of mass forced confinement and detention in 1930-1960.

Personalities

Stakhanov A.G.- Soviet miner, innovator of the coal industry, founder of the Stakhanov movement, Hero of Socialist Labor (1970). In 1935, a group of miner Stakhanov and two fasteners produced 14 times more coal in one shift than was prescribed per miner.
Trotsky L.D.- (1879-1940), politician and statesman. He advocated forced industrialization at the expense of the peasant majority. The main provisions of the economic platform of the left wing, which in addition to Trotsky also included Zinoviev, Kamenev, Radek, Preobrazhensky, were presented at the plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Bolsheviks) held in April 1927.
Bukharin N.I.- (1888-1938), politician, academician. At the end of the 1920s. opposed the use of emergency measures during collectivization and industrialization, which was declared “a right-wing deviation in the CPSU (b).” A supporter of “soft” transformations and the development of a market economy. As an economist, Bukharin pointed out the growing imbalance between various industries economy, at the risk of a continuous increase in capital expenditures, objected to the redistribution of national wealth from agriculture to industry. Criticizing Stalin’s course, Bukharin wrote: “Crazy people dream of gigantic, gluttonous construction projects that for years give nothing and take too much.” In the article “Lenin's Political Testament,” Bukharin criticized the “general line” of the party, contrasting it with Lenin’s views set forth in his last works. Representatives of the “right” faction (N.I. Bukharin, A.I. Rykov, M.P. Tomsky) spoke out for the development of small-scale production and the continuation of the NEP, the intensification of agricultural production without consolidation of agricultural production, in a natural (with an emphasis on private owners) way , for the construction of an industrial industry as commodity production (primarily grain) in agriculture grows (industrialization according to the Bunge-Witte method at the expense of income from grain exports).
Stalin I.V.- (1878-1953), Soviet politician and statesman. Headed in 1920-40. party majority, which included such prominent party figures as L.M. Kaganovich, G.K. Ordzhonikidze, A.I. Mikoyan, M.I. Kalinin, M.M. Litvinov, S.V. Kosior, V. M.Molotov, N.M.Shvernik, A.A.Zhdanov, V.V.Kuibyshev, K.E.Voroshilov, A.V.Lunacharsky, S.M.Kirov. This majority, having defeated the Trotskyists, also advocated intensive industrialization as part of Lenin’s triune approach to building socialism in the USSR (industrialization, collectivization, cultural revolution).

Presentations

Industrialization in the USSR

Lectures

"Industrialization

By the mid-20s, the economy was approaching 1913 levels. The restoration policy was quickly ending. The task arose not so much of re-equipment operating factories, mines, oil fields, how many new enterprises are being built. After all, the country still remained predominantly agrarian, peasant, in which the bulk of the workers were engaged in manual labor; Unemployment grew in the city, the village became overpopulated. The need to expand the scale of industrialization and turn to new construction was obvious by 1925. The XIV Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), held in December 1925, appears in Russian historiography as a congress of industrialization. Indeed, at the congress, Stalin spoke for the first time about the course towards industrialization as the general line of the party; the main task of industrialization was formulated: to transform the USSR from a country importing machinery and equipment into a country producing machinery and equipment, so that in a situation of capitalist encirclement the USSR would represent an economic an independent state built in a socialist manner.
In the fall of 1926, the XV Party Conference considered it possible to put forward a slogan calling on the Soviet people to catch up and surpass the capitalist world in the shortest possible time. On October 1, 1928, the implementation of the first five-year plan, scheduled for 1928/29-1932/33, officially began, although its main tasks were approved in April 1929 by the XVI Conference of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, and then in May approved by the V Congress of Soviets. Industrialization was considered as the leading beginning of socialist construction throughout the country and in all spheres of the national economy. With the rapid growth of industry, the highest rates were envisaged for the industries of group “A”, i.e., the production of means of production. 78% of all capital investments in industry were directed here. The gross output of large industry should have increased more than 2 times, and in the industries of group “A” - more than 3 times.
In December 1929, Stalin put forward the slogan: “Five-year plan in four years!” All were revised upward by almost 2 times planned indicators. Stalin's call was enthusiastically received by almost all segments of the population. Millions of people with great enthusiasm, almost for free, worked on the construction sites of the Five-Year Plan. Socialist competition unfolded throughout the country. The scale of the tasks and the extreme limitation of material resources financial resources contributed to a sharp increase in central planning. Tasks, resources and forms of remuneration are strictly regulated. There was only one goal - to concentrate maximum forces and resources in heavy industry.
During the years of the first five-year plan, the following were built: Dneproges, Magnitogorsk and Kuznetsk metallurgical plants, Ural copper plant, Ridder polymetallic plant, Volkhov aluminum plant, Stalingrad and Kharkov tractor plants, Moscow and Gorky automobile plants, Minsk machine tool plant, Turkestan-Siberian Railway(Turksib), new coal mines of Kuzbass and Donbass, new oil fields of Baku. There are about 1,500 industrial facilities in total. Mechanical engineering has made significant progress. Entire industries appeared that did not exist in pre-revolutionary Russia: aviation, tractor, electric power, chemical industries, etc. The USSR was turning from a country importing industrial equipment into a country producing equipment.
The Soviet Union experienced a shortage of engineering and technical personnel. In order to solve this problem, the network of technical universities was rebuilt and expanded, their funding funds were increased, industrial academies were opened, evening departments were established in institutes, and at the same time the number of workers' faculties was increased. It became a practice to send advanced workers to study on vouchers from party, Komsomol and trade union organizations. As a result, in the first five-year period the country received 128.5 thousand specialists with higher and secondary education, and 45% of the replenishment were yesterday's workers.
The achievements are impressive, but no less impressive were the failures of the Great Leap Forward in industrialization. The planned tasks of the “first five-year plan” were essentially thwarted, and the real results lagged far behind not only the target figures of the inflated plan, but also the original “optimal” plan. The rate of industrial development fell from 23.7% in 1928-1929 to 5% in 1933, and lack of funds led to the cessation of appropriations for 613 of the 1,659 major heavy industrial projects under construction. In connection with the issue, inflationary processes intensified. Social tension grew in the cities, where millions of rural residents driven by collectivization from their homes rushed. The cheap labor of yesterday's peasants was widely used on the construction sites of the Five-Year Plan, many of which were built by hand, and industrial growth did not occur by increasing labor productivity, but by attracting new workers. It took a long time and with great difficulty for newly built enterprises to reach their designed capacity. Due to the low qualifications of the new workers, the technology was slowly mastered. Expensive imported machines fell into disrepair or could not produce performance standards that met the standard for a long time.
The communications system lagged behind the pace of industrialization. Rail, sea and river transport remained vulnerable. Of the new transport routes envisaged in the construction plan, only a third were implemented. Serious imbalances developed in the national economy: light industry was sacrificed to heavy industry and began to seriously lag behind it; agricultural production was in decline. It was during the years of the “Great Leap Forward” that deep economic imbalances were formed, which for decades to come would characterize the entire development of the economy and society in the USSR.
Historians agree that failures in the implementation of the first five-year plan forced the Stalinist leadership to announce its early implementation (four years and three months) in order to make adjustments to the planning. At the January 1933 plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Stalin stated that there was now no need to “spur and urge the country on” and the pace of industrial construction should be slowed down. In January - February 1934, the XVII Congress of the CPSU (b) approved the second five-year plan for the development of the national economy for 1933-1937. In it, the average annual growth rate of industrial output decreased to 16.5% (versus 30% in the first five-year plan). Miscalculations in the development of light industry were taken into account, which was now expected to outstrip heavy industry (14.5%) in terms of average annual production growth (18.5%).
During the years of the second five-year plan, the following were built: the Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (Uralmash) and the Kramatorsk Machine-Building Plant, the Ural Carriage Plant, the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ), the Novotulsky Metallurgical Plant, Voskresensky, Nevsky, Aktobe, Gorlovsky, Bobrikovsky and other chemical plants, Moscow metro There are about 4,500 industrial facilities in total.
At the beginning of 1929, a campaign began to launch mass socialist competition in production and construction. Press and public organizations intensively promoted various labor initiatives, many of which were taken up by the workers. The most widespread forms of competition are the movement of shock workers, the movement for the adoption of counter plans, the “continuity”, the movement to “catch up and overtake” capitalist countries in terms of production volumes and labor productivity. Socialist competition was proclaimed one of the main conditions for fulfilling the tasks of the Five-Year Plan.
A bright page in the history of industrialization was the Stakhanov movement, which embraced wide layers of workers. The beginning and name of this movement was given by the miner Alexei Stakhanov, who set a record in September 1935 by fulfilling 14 labor standards during a shift. Stakhanov's successes gained all-Union fame, and the movement quickly spread to all sectors of industry. In fact, the national heroes, along with Stakhanov, were the miner N. Izotov, the blacksmith A. Busygin, the metallurgist A. Mazai, the textile workers, the Vinogradov sisters, and others. At the same time, the desire to set records also had reverse side. Insufficient preparedness of newly appointed economic managers and the inability of the majority of workers to master new technology sometimes led to its damage and disruption of production.
By the end of the 30s, in terms of absolute volumes of industrial production, the USSR took 2nd place in the world after the USA. The gap with the leading powers in industrial production per capita has narrowed. The USSR became one of three or four countries in the world capable of producing any type of industrial product. The Great Patriotic War staged a merciless test of the Soviet economy. And on the whole she withstood it. The basis of military success was the powerful industrial potential created in the 30s.
Based on materials from the lecture course “National History” of the Ryazan State University named after S.A. Yesenina. The lecture materials were published under the "open content" right

Industrialization- the process of accelerated development of industry, primarily heavy industry, the transformation of the country's economy into an industrial one. In the USSR in the late 1920s and 1930s, industrialization was carried out at an accelerated pace due to excessive exploitation of the population.

Industrialization is a set of measures for the accelerated development of industry adopted by the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) during the second half of the 20s to the end of the 30s. Proclaimed as a party course by the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b) (1925). Carried out mainly through the transfer of funds from agriculture: first thanks to “price scissors” for industrial and agricultural products, and after the proclamation of a course to accelerate industrialization (1929) - through surplus appropriation. Feature Soviet industrialization Priority was given to the development of heavy industry and the military-industrial complex. In total, 35 industrial giants were built in the USSR, a third of which were built in Ukraine. Among them are Zaporizhstal, Azovstal, Krammashstroy, Krivorizhbud, Dneprostroy, Dnipaluminbud, Kharkov Tractor, Kiev Machine Tool, etc.

Proclamation of a course towards industrialization

The industrial development of the USSR in the mid-1920s reached pre-war levels (1913), but the country lagged significantly behind leading Western countries: significantly less electricity, steel, cast iron, coal and oil were produced. The economy as a whole was at the pre-industrial stage of development. Therefore, the XIV Congress of the CPSU (b), held in December 1925, proclaimed a course towards industrialization.

Goals of industrialization in the USSR

The main goals of industrialization in the USSR were proclaimed:

• ensuring economic independence and independence of the USSR;
• elimination of the country's technical and economic backwardness, industrial modernization;
• Creation technical base for modernization of agriculture;
• development of new industries;
• strengthening the country's defense capability, creating a military-industrial complex;
• stimulating the steady growth of labor productivity and, on this basis, increasing the material well-being and cultural level of workers.

The main features of Soviet industrialization:

• the main sources of accumulation of funds for industrialization were: “pumping” funds from villages to cities; from light and food industry to heavy industry, an increase in direct and indirect taxes; domestic loans; issue of paper money not backed by gold; expansion of vodka sales; an increase in the export of oil, timber, furs and grain abroad;
• the sources of industrialization were actually the unpaid labor of workers and especially peasants; exploitation of many millions of Gulag prisoners;
• ultra-high rates of industrialization, which were explained by the leadership of the USSR by the need to strengthen the country's defense capability against a growing external threat;
• priority was given to the development of military enterprises and the militarization of the economy;
• attempts by the Soviet leadership led by I. Stalin to demonstrate to the whole world the advantages of socialism over capitalism;
• huge-scale transformations were carried out over a gigantic territory, and this raised with extraordinary urgency the question of the development of infrastructure (roads, bridges, etc.), the condition of which largely did not meet the needs;
• the development of production of means of production significantly outstripped the production of consumer goods,
• during industrialization, an anti-religious campaign was carried out, churches were robbed for the needs of the Soviet economy;
• exploitation of people's labor enthusiasm was carried out; introduction of “socialist competition” to the masses.

First Five Year Plan

The initial project of Stalin's war-communist assault was the first five-year plan adopted by the PKP (b) in 1928. In the same year, the five-year plan began (1928/1929-1932/1933 pp.). its main task was to “catch up and overtake Western countries” in their economies. The development of heavy industry was recognized as the most important plan, which envisaged its growth by 330%.

In 1928-1929 pp. The volume of gross output of Ukrainian industry increased by 20%. At that time, the Soviet economy still felt the impulses of the NEP, which ensured high growth rates. The successes of the first year of the Five-Year Plan in the USSR against the backdrop of the deep economic crisis that gripped the capitalist world in 1929 created in the leadership of the USSR the illusion of the possibility of a sharp leap from economic backwardness to the ranks of industrialized states. Such a jerk required extreme exertion of strength.

The November plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1929 made the decision “to accelerate the development of mechanical engineering and other branches of large-scale industry at any cost.” Plans for 1930-1931 pp. a 45% increase in industry was envisaged, which meant “storming”. It was an adventure doomed to failure.

It was quite natural that the First Five-Year Plan was not fulfilled. Therefore, when its results were summed up, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (would) prohibited all departments from publishing statistical data on this matter.

Industrialization is a process of radical restructuring of the country's economy, aimed at creating and increasing industrial potential. Industrialization is an inevitable condition for the transformation of an agricultural country into a powerful, industrialized power.
In the Soviet Union, this process took place in the shortest possible time - from 1929 to 1940.

Reasons for industrialization in the USSR.
The crisis of the "New economic policy"(NEP). The NEP, proclaimed by the Bolsheviks immediately after the end of the Civil War, contributed to the revival of the economy in the post-war years. But by the end of the 1920s, the NEP, having completed its tasks, turned out to be unable to bring the country's economy to a new level. In 1928, by majority economic indicators The Soviet Union has reached the pre-war 1913 levels of the Russian Empire, and has surpassed it in some industries. For example, production volumes in mechanical engineering in 1928 were 80% higher than in 1913, electricity production amounted to 5 billion kW versus 1.9 billion kW, and 1.8 thousand tractors were produced, which were not produced in the Russian Empire at all. However, even such growth rates did not meet the country's needs.
Economic security of the USSR. At the end of the 1920s, the Soviet Union continued to be under political and economic blockade. There was an urgent question about economic security a country based on self-sufficiency in industrial goods. But the USSR continued to remain a country with a predominant agricultural sector of the economy, and was forced to turn to the foreign market to purchase industrial goods.
Military security of the USSR. First World War did not resolve the contradictions between the powers, but only postponed them for a short period. A new world war was inevitable. And the USSR, included in the sphere of world politics, would be its participant. But the new war required developed industry, which simply did not exist in the USSR during the NEP period. The historically important issue that had already faced the Russian Empire was not resolved - the industrial development of the country, the creation modern economy corresponding to the status of a world power. The rate of industrial growth in pre-revolutionary Russia was not enough to wage a modern war. For example, during the three years of the war, 28 thousand machine guns were produced in Russia, 280 thousand in Germany, and 326 thousand in France. Aviation engines were not produced in Russia at all and 3.5 thousand aircraft were built on foreign-made engines, while 48 thousand aircraft were produced in France during the same period. The situation with weapons was not the best in Soviet Russia in the 1920s, which was a direct consequence of undeveloped industry.

Progress of industrialization.
Industrialization in the USSR was carried out on the basis of five-year plans (five-year plans). The plan of the first five-year plan, 1929 - 1932, was completed in 4 years and 3 months. The Second Five-Year Plan, 1932–1937, was not implemented. The third five-year plan remained unfinished due to the outbreak of war. Therefore, when summing up the results of industrialization in the USSR, it is customary to operate with indicators for 1940.
Industrialization in the USSR was not aimed at making a profit, but at creating conditions, a base, for stable industrial growth in the coming years. For this purpose, first of all, enterprises of group “A” were created - production of means of production: energy, metallurgy, mining industry, transport and machine tool building. This laid the foundation for the development of industry in the USSR for decades to come.
Another feature of the transformation of the Soviet Union into an industrial superpower was the lack of foreign loans and investment. In conditions of foreign policy isolation, they simply had nowhere to come from. The USSR carried out industrialization at the expense of internal reserves. But this does not mean that there was no cooperation with industrialized countries. On the contrary, the USSR actively attracted foreign specialists, bought means of production, and, most importantly, technology. Helped him with this economic crisis, which happened in Western countries in the early 1930s. In times of crisis, Western companies willingly cooperated with the USSR. With the involvement of foreign specialists and technologies, such large industrial enterprises as the DneproGES, MMK, tractor factories in Stalingrad and Chelyabinsk, the Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant and others were built.

Results of industrialization in the USSR.
General results. Over the course of ten years, the Soviet Union made an unprecedented breakthrough in industrial development. From 1929 to 1940, more than 8.5 thousand large enterprises were built. Among them are such giants as: DneproGES, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Stalingrad, Chelyabinsk and Kharkov Tractor Plants, Nizhny Novgorod Automobile Plant, Zaporizhstal, Azovstal, Uralmash, Krivoy Rog and Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plants and many others. The Moscow and Leningrad metro systems were put into operation.
The growth rate of industrial production was three times higher than in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the century.
This allowed the USSR to become not only an industrial power, but also to become a leader among industrialized countries. Thus, in 1937, in terms of absolute volumes of industrial production, the Soviet Union ranked second in the world, second only to the United States. True, it lagged behind Germany, Great Britain and France in terms of production per capita. In the same 1937, the share of imports of industrial goods was only 1% of consumption volumes. Thus, the problem of economic independence was solved. The country provided for itself necessary goods. Moreover, the USSR itself exported the products of its factories. For example, having abandoned the import of tractors in 1932, in 1934 the Soviet Union itself began exporting tractors of its own production.
One of the results of industrialization in the USSR was the creation of new industries - machine tool building, aircraft manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, production of tractors, bearings, and instrument making.
GDP growth during the first five-year plans was 6% annually. And industrial production grew every year by 11–16%.
Results of industrialization in the USSR for the defense industry. One of the objectives of industrialization was to ensure the country's defense capability. In fact, the defense industry was created anew. This made it possible to begin large-scale rearmament of the army in 1939. Unfortunately, it was not completed by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War- did not have enough time. But during the war itself, it was the industrial potential of the USSR that made it possible to establish mass production of weapons and ammunition and, in the shortest possible time, to rebuild industry for military production.
Results of industrialization in the USSR for agriculture. The main results of industrialization for agriculture were:
- mechanization of agricultural production. With the start of mass production of tractors and other agricultural machinery in the early 1930s, agriculture received a powerful boost through mechanization. From 1929 to 1940, more than 700 thousand tractors were produced in the USSR (40% of their world production). In the village, an infrastructure was created for the use and maintenance of this equipment - Machine and Tractor Stations (MTS). Accordingly, mass training of specialists was organized - tractor drivers, mechanics, drivers, etc.
- mass relocation rural population to the cities. It was a consequence of both collectivization and industrialization. Actually, a massive influx of free work force from the village, and only during the years of the first five-year plan such population migration amounted to about 12 million people, created favorable conditions for successful industrial construction. The mechanization of rural production freed up a lot of workers, who found employment during industrialization. In total, from 1928 to 1940, from rural areas About 35 million people moved to the city. However, until the early 1960s, the share of rural residents was more than 50% of the total population.
The results of industrialization in the USSR in social sphere. Industrialization in the USSR directly influenced public life:
- science and education. During industrialization, education was faced with completely different tasks than in the 1920s - not only the elimination of illiteracy (the ability to read and write), but the training of qualified specialists. For this purpose, in 1930, universal primary education was introduced for rural residents, and compulsory seven-year education for the urban population (in rural schools, compulsory “seven-year education” was introduced in 1934). In 1932, a ten-year system of secondary education was introduced. In 10 years, from 1929 to 1939, the number of secondary school students tripled - from 13.5 million to 31.5 million.
At the same time, a system was created higher education, its goal was to train domestic engineering personnel. So, by 1937 the number of higher educational institutions increased 7.7 times compared to 1914.
It was in the 1930s that the foundations of Soviet science were laid, which very soon became one of the most advanced in the world.
- standards of living. At the end of the 1920s, due to the winding down of the NEP and the restructuring of the economy, the standard of living of the population decreased and a shortage of consumer goods arose. In 1929, a card system for the distribution of goods was introduced, which extended not only to food. But by the mid-1930s, there were already quite enough goods and products, and rising wages, especially in industry, made these goods accessible to the population. In 1936, the card system was abolished. By the end of the 1930s, the population's level of consumption of goods and services was more than 20% higher than 10 years earlier.

In general, industrialization in the USSR achieved its goals.
Without industrialization in such a short time, the political and economic independence of the USSR would not have been achieved. Soviet Union managed to close the gap with world powers in just 11 years, which, without exaggeration, is an economic miracle.

Industrialization is the period from 1928 to 1941 (interrupted by war), during which the Soviet government implemented the plans of the first three five-year plans, which made it possible to strengthen the industry of the USSR, as well as ensure the independence of the military-industrial complex and the main elements of the economy from Western countries. The beginning of industrialization should be sought in the twenties of the last century, which led to the introduction of the NEP. The first talk about a course towards industrialization (although it was emphasized that the USSR would still remain an agricultural country for some time) occurred in 1925.

To properly understand the essence of what is happening, it is necessary to highlight 2 main tasks facing industrialization:

• To put the USSR economically and industrially on par with the advanced countries of the world.
• Complete modernization of the military-industrial complex and its independence from other countries.

Preparation for industrialization (period from 1925 to 1928)

In general, the path to industrialization was opened at the 14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1925 and the 16th Party Conference in April 1929, as a result of which the basic principles of development were created. There were 2 industrialization plans on the agenda:

• "starting" Indicators with the required minimum.
• "optimal". Inflated figures, on average by 20%.

We know that the Soviet government always attempted the impossible. Therefore, we chose the “Optimal” plan, which had inflated interest rates. The next important event occurred in April 1926. For the first time, the idea of ​​building socialism in the USSR, without regard to other countries, won in the Bolshevik Party. Let me remind you that Lenin and Trotsky were supporters of the world revolution. They believed that first it was necessary to overthrow the bourgeoisie wherever possible, and only then engage in socialism. Stalin said that the USSR is a unique product, it needs to be treasured and socialism built here and now. Ultimately, Stalin's approach won. But I want to note that the new path was fundamentally contrary to the ideology of Marxism. Here important point is that industrialization itself has become not just an economic means, but also a political one.

In the fall of 1926, the Bolsheviks put forward a new slogan (they loved this business): “Catch up and overtake the capitalist countries!” It was impossible to do this under the conditions of the NEP, which was already rotting in its liberalism and petty trade. Therefore, more and more people supported the idea of ​​​​starting industrialization in the USSR, as the only means to catch up with the countries of Europe and the USA.

In April 1929, the next party congress approved the “optimal” plan for the first five-year plan. We already talked above about what this plan is. The main thing in this regard is the construction of new industrial facilities (factories and factories). In total, it was planned to build 1,200 new large facilities. I’ll say right away that later this plan was revised 2 times in the direction of reducing volumes, but more on that later. The priority was production facilities and heavy industry. 78% of all budget revenues were allocated for the implementation of this idea.

Sources of industrialization

Industrialization required enormous amounts of money. This is logical because building an industry requires big money and does not give every minute return. But this was the only way to save the economy of the USSR. And the party leadership began to seek means to create industry by all accessible ways:

• International trade. The Soviet government sold oil, timber, flax, gold, and grain to Europe. The greatest demand was for grain, timber and oil. In total, they brought in more than 2 billion rubles annually.
• Collectivization actively worked for industrialization. Agricultural products were taken for almost nothing and transferred to the needs of industry.
• Complete cancellation private (retail and wholesale) trade. All NEP privileges were cancelled. This happened in 1933. Let me remind you that the share of NEPmans in the retail market was 75%.
• Creation of "deficits". The population was purposefully limited in everything in order to invest as much as possible into industry. As a result, the standard of living of people in the USSR in 1933 fell by 2 times compared to the indicators in 1928!
• Ideological alignment of citizens. All party organizations instilled in people a sense of patriotism and duty in order for them to work better. Which is exactly what happened.
• Special equipment.

What are special means for industrialization

What do you mean by “special means”? In 1917, the Bolsheviks carried out massive expropriation. The funds went to Swiss banks (the financial center of Europe), from where they could be used for the needs of the revolution in other countries. These funds were allocated to specific accounts and to specific people. These were representatives of the Lenin Guard.

During the NEP period, money was also received, and it also went into accounts in Swiss banks. There were only about 100 members of the Lenin Guard who had accounts in foreign banks. I repeat, it was not their personal money, but it was in personal accounts. Since there is no world revolution, they lay there like dead weight. And the amounts were huge - an average of 800 million dollars (you just need to remember that the dollar then, compared to today, needs to be multiplied by 20-25). That is, these were huge sums, and in the 1930s Stalin received this money and, largely thanks to it, industrialization took place in the USSR.

Stalin's personal reconnaissance went through Western banks and, bribing employees, she took out those people who had money in their accounts. Because Stalin simply could not know this. He wasn't in the game at that point. This was done along other lines, for example, along the Kommentern. Then the so-called Stalinist terror began, when representatives of the Leninist Guard began to be arrested. At first they were given very moderate sentences. But few people know that these terms (5-7 years) were exchanged for their funds in Swiss banks. These are the very special equipment that solved many problems.

At the same time, a terrible crisis was raging in the world, which went down in history as the “Great Depression.” Thanks to this crisis, the Soviet government was able to literally buy the industrial facilities they needed for next to nothing. There is one more point that stories very rarely talk about. At the same time, the US lost the UK market and was forced to look for new ones. One of them was the USSR market. So, part of the industrialization in the USSR was carried out with the money of American billionaires.

Progress of industrialization

Period before the start of work on the first five-year plan

In fact, by 1928, a situation had developed in which the USSR devoted all available resources to creating industry. Stalin already said then that without industry the USSR would be destroyed and crushed, most likely by war (surprisingly, Stalin was almost never wrong in his forecasts).

Three five-year plans were allocated for industrialization. Let's look at each five-year plan in detail.

First Five-Year Plan (Implemented from 1928 to 1932)

Technology is everything!

Slogan of the first five-year plan

The first five-year plan was supposed to produce up to 60 large enterprises. In total, let me remind you, it was initially planned to build 1,200 objects. Then it turned out that there was no money for 1200. They allocated 50-60 objects, but then it turned out again that 50-60 objects was also a lot. Ultimately, a list of 14 industrial facilities was compiled that were to be built. But these were really large and necessary objects: Magnitka, TurkSib, Uralmash, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, DneproGES and others, no less significant and complex. 50% of all money was spent on their construction.

In total, the following indicators were identified as optimal:

• Industrial output = +136%;
• Labor productivity = +110%.

The first 2 years of the first five-year plan showed exceeding the plan, industrialization was in full swing, as a result of which tasks were increased by 32%, and then by another 45%! The leaders of the USSR assumed that an endless increase in the plan would lead to increasingly greater labor efficiency. Somewhere this happened, but most often people began to engage in “additions” when indicators were given that were deliberately false. True, if this was discovered, then the person was immediately accused of sabotage, and in the best case, prison followed.

The first five-year plan ended with the leadership of the USSR proudly reporting that the plan had been exceeded. In fact, it didn't even remotely resemble reality. For example, labor productivity increased by 5%. On the one hand, it’s not bad and there is progress, but on the other hand, they said something about 110%! BUT here I want to warn everyone against hasty conclusions. Despite the fact that almost all the indicators announced before the five-year plan were not met, the country made a giant leap. The USSR received industry and an excellent base for further work and growth. And this is the most important thing. Therefore, the result of the first five-year industrialization plan in the USSR should be assessed positively.

Second Five-Year Plan (Implemented from 1933 to 1937)

Personnel decides everything!

Slogan of the second five-year plan

The first five-year plan laid the foundation and created a quantitative indicator. Now quality was required. And it is no coincidence that the construction projects of the first five-year plan are immediately remembered, but the construction projects of the second five-year plan are not. The point is not that construction has become worse or ambitions have disappeared, but that industrialization has moved to the next level. That is why in these years it is no longer enterprises that are popular, but personalities - Stakhanov, Chkalov, Busygin and others. And this emphasis on quality yielded results. If from 1928 to 1933 labor productivity increased by 5%, then from 1933 to 1938 by 65%!

Third Five-Year Plan (Implemented from 1938 to 1941)

The Third Five-Year Plan began in 1938, but was interrupted in 1941 due to the outbreak of war.

The Third Five-Year Plan began in 1938, and the plan for it was approved at the 18th Party Congress in 1939. The main slogan of this stage of development of the USSR was - Catch up and overtake Western countries in production per capita. It was assumed that this should be achieved without reducing the costs of the military-industrial complex. But since war began in Europe literally less than a year later, spending was more focused on the military-industrial complex. The main emphasis of the third five-year plan was on the chemical and electrical industries. The measure of the Five-Year Plan's activities was that the national gross income was to double. This was not achieved, but the reason for this was the war. After all, the five-year plan was interrupted 2.5 years before its completion. But the main thing was what was achieved Soviet power– The military-industrial complex has become completely independent from other countries, and industrial growth has reached a stable +5/6% annually. And this is a direct result of industrialization in the Soviet Union.

What the Five-Year Plans gave the country and their significance for Industrialization

Since the task was to create industrial society, then the results should be assessed based on the answer to main question. And it sounds like this: “Has the USSR become a fully industrial country or not?” This question cannot be answered unambiguously. Yes and no, but on the whole, the problem was solved. I'll prove it with an example. Official figures say that 70% of the national income came from industry! Even if we assume that these figures are inflated (the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee liked to do this) and the share of industry in the national income was 50% - these are, in any case, colossal figures, which many of the modern powers are far from achieving. But the USSR passed this path in just 12 years.

I will also give some figures for the development of the USSR in the period from 1922 to 1937:

• Up to 700 factories and factories were put into operation annually (the lower figure is 600).
• By 1937, industrial growth was 2.5 times faster than in 1913.
• Industrial volumes have grown significantly, and according to their indicators, the USSR has taken 2nd place in the world. Let me remind you that in 1913 Russian empire ranked 5th in the world in this indicator.
• The USSR became a completely independent state in terms of military and economic from other countries. Without this it was impossible to win the war.
• Complete absence of unemployment. It is noteworthy that in 1928 it was 12%, but thanks to industrialization, everyone worked in the USSR.

The working class and its life

The main idea of ​​industrialization was to provide every person with a job and ensure strict control over him. In principle, this was achieved, although even Stalin’s rule did not have complete control over the minds of the workers.

Beginning in 1932, the USSR introduced compulsory passports for everyone. In addition, penalties for violation of discipline in the workplace were tightened. For example, if a person does not show up for work without a good reason, immediate dismissal occurs. At first glance it seems cruel, but the fact is that the Soviet worker of that time was a former peasant who was accustomed to being watched in the village, controlled and told what to do. In the city he received freedom, after which many “blown their heads.” Therefore, it was necessary to impose social discipline. It must be truthfully said that even the Stalinist regime failed to completely solve social discipline in Soviet society.

In 1940 (this was due to preparations for war), the worker lost the right to move to another place of work without permission from the administration. This decision was only reversed in 1955.

In general, the life of the common man was extremely difficult. The card system was abolished in 1935. Now everything was bought for money, but the prices were high, to put it mildly. Judge for yourself. Average monthly salary worker in 1933 was 125 rubles. Wherein:

• 1 kilogram of bread cost 4 rubles.
• 1 kilogram of meat cost 16-18 rubles.
• 1 kilogram of butter cost 40-45 rubles.

Now think about what a worker could afford in 1933? By the end of the 30s financial situation workers improved somewhat, however, they still felt a number of problems.

Intelligentsia under Industrialization

As for the intelligentsia and engineers, the 1930s were certainly a period when the intelligentsia and engineers lived very well. Almost everyone had housekeepers; they received a good salary. The authorities tried to provide conditions comparable to those of 1913 for that part of the intelligentsia that joined the regime. Let me remind you that, for example, in 1913, a professor received the same salary as a minister.

Specialty and its features

Since very often plans were not carried out, they decided to introduce such a concept as pests, or people who interfere with the formation of Soviet power. In 1928-1931, the Spetsiedstvo company developed. During this company, up to 1000 old specialists from various areas. They were also accused of not understanding the tasks of socialism. And this became one of the hallmarks of industrialization.

What is a specialty? I'll explain on specific example. For example, they tell an engineer that 200% productivity is needed. He says that this is impossible, the technology will not stand it. The conclusion of the Soviet official is that the specialist thinks in bourgeois categories and is against socialist construction, which means he needs to be expelled from the country.

In parallel with this, there was a process of creating new workers and promoting new personnel. They were called “Promoters”. Their number at the end of the first five-year plan was 1 million people. But by mid-1931 it became clear that these new personnel were one of the main brakes on industrialization. And Stalin solved this problem - he returned old specialists to their positions, gave them good salaries, and forbade promoters from conducting negative campaigning against these specialists. So the Specialty was discontinued, and the nominees were practically gone.

The economy of the USSR towards the end of industrialization

It is very interesting how administrative methods and cost accounting methods were combined. In 1934, self-financing was introduced everywhere. Everything was fine for 2 years. Then in 1936 - again strict administrative control. And so on in a cycle. That is, there was a constant combination of administrative methods and cost accounting methods.

The first five-year plans did the main thing - they created industry and created new economy. Thanks to this, the USSR had a future. But this is where the main obstacle begins - many departments and ministries. In total, 21 of them were created. Industry was divided between monopolies, and while there were few of them, the State Planning Committee managed to grind them into each other. However, over time this became more difficult, and the creation of the plan gradually turned into administrative arbitrariness. And already in the 50s, the planned economy in the USSR was very, very conditional.

In any case, industrialization in the USSR was an extremely important step that provided the country with industry and real economy, which had an effective orientation, and which was able to live independently of other countries.