Q.

How significant was industrialization to the development of the Soviet Union after
1928? Explain your answer.

During the period of the ‘Great Turn’, Joseph Stalin had set ambitious goals for
agriculture and industry in order to more readily develop the Soviet Union into a major
global contender. On one hand, the building of large industries was needed to boost the
economy as well as prevent future invasions, but on the other, policies such as
collectivization and dekulakalization got more output out of the peasantry and helped in
supporting the development of Russia. Albeit, it was the resilience of the workers and
peasant classes that put Russia in the race to be the most powerful.

Firstly, Stalin believed that by achieving industrialization, USSR’s military strength would
increase as a whole and come in handy while fighting another war, as well as create a
communist society and increase food supplies. This is why the purpose of the First Five
Year Plan was to build infrastructure in Russia in order to attain these goals.
Furthermore, catching up with Western Capitalist countries such as USA and Great
Britain were also on Stalin’s agenda as he wanted to prove to the world that even a
communist society could be as or even more powerful than these countries. He
succeeded in doing so as by 1931, Russia had control of nearly 20% of the world’s total
manufacturing output, more than Germany and Great Britain, only coming short to USA.
Historian J Scott wrote in his book behind the Urals “Half a billion cubic feet of
excavation work, 25,000 tons of structural steel. . . without sufficient labor, without
necessary quantities of the most rudimentary materials. Brigades of young enthusiasts
arrived in the summer of 1930 and did the groundwork of railroads and dams. . . Many
were completely unfamiliar with industrial tools and processes.” This shows the lengths
Comrade Stalin was going to for him to achieve industrialization as he thought that was
the only way to move forward. Moreover, the main focus of the first two Five Year Plans
was the Primary and Secondary industry. This included the retrieval of raw materials,
which then turned into products for the public to use, and this played a huge role in the
development of the Soviet Union as it increased their output and trade. This meant that
revenue and profits in the country increased making them better equipped to handle an
economic crisis or another World War. The refinement of industry in Russia created a
layer of protection in case of any global calamity, ensuring that the country would
remain safe which played a huge role in its development after 1928.

Thirdly, Stalin knew after Germany and Japan left the League of Nations, another war
was evident and he saw industrialization as a way to secure the Soviet Union of any
damage that the war was going to bring. He was right as the arsenal and machinery
produced in industries stopped Hitler from invading Russia in 1941. With the steady rise
of the coal and steel industries, USSR proved to be a powerful tool for the Allies and
was a decider in their victory over the Axis alliance. “We are fifty or a hundred years
behind the advanced countries. We must make good this difference in ten years. Either
we do it, or we shall be crushed” said Stalin in a speech at the time the Five Year Plans
were announced. Remarkably, by 1941 the Soviet Union had the resources and power
to fight a large scale war as well as protect itself from invading powers. Lastly, through
this revolution, Stalin managed to create a planned economy where the creation,
consumption, and allocation of resources was up to the Central Committee. For this
important job, he introduced Gosplan which acted as the central economic planning
department in Russia. This way, the government could decide exactly where the
resources of the country could go and most was directed into intensive industrialization.
With that being the case, USSR managed to increase output by building new industries
and improving old ones. The industrial growth rate originally laid down was 18–20
percent and later in the same year, Stalin insisted on nearly doubling this rate. It was
this consistent optimism that played a huge role in the development of the Soviet Union
after 1928.

However, industrialization was not the only reason the Soviet Union became the
powerful country it was at that time, there were other reasons for its development.
Firstly, the policy of collectivization set by Stalin increased the total output of agriculture
in the countryside while also forming a socialized community to support his changes.
This policy changed the face of agriculture in Russia and acted as a new and modern
way to gather supplies from the countryside, disregarding the old-fashioned method
used during the Tsarist period. Moreover, it laid the groundwork for the high production
of food during the 1970s and 1980s. E. H. Carr wrote in the 1960s, wrote that
collectivization and the mechanization of farming would allow and increase productivity
as well as marketing in USSR. In 1980, Mark Harrison also claimed that the regime
imposed collectivization in order to increase the share of marketed grain and facilitate
procurement. By 1934, 75% of Russian farms had been collectivized meaning that
Stalin had achieved his goal and formed a socialist society in the countryside. The
increase in production as well as productivity in the Soviet Union by collectivization
directly contributed to its development after 1928. Secondly, Stalin believed that the
kulaks or the richer peasants were essentially keeping all resources for themselves
which was against his policy of collectivization. In light of this, he set about a new
movement known as ‘dekulakalization’ in which he proposed to “liquidate the kulaks as
a class.” He argued that with the end of the kulaks, there would be more grain and
money for collectivization for increasing the total output coming out of the countryside.
The kulaks consisted only of about 4% of all Russian peasants and often rivaled the
policies of the government. After this campaign was put in motion, most kulaks were
had been arrested or deported, with their land confiscated. The government used their
vast amounts of land and resources for collectivization to increase the total output in the
countryside which led to the development of the Soviet Union after 1928.
Thirdly, with the creation of Stalin’s cult of personality, everybody wanted to work in
factories and villages to do their part in order to further develop the Soviet Union. The
use of propaganda to do so essentially turned Russia into a totalitarian state where
Stalin was the one and only leader. He was included in every aspect of a normal
Russian’s daily life with the use of the Soviet propaganda machine. Posters, statues,
and portraits of him were everywhere, and there were regular meetings held in cities
praising him. In the eyes of a normal Russian, Stalin was pictured to be part-god, who
helped them when situations looked dire, their ultimate savior, only because of the cult
of personality. He himself had history books rewritten where only him and Lenin were
seen as the real revolutionists and other such as Trotsky were cut out. In fact, Nikita
Khrushchev said in a speech in 1937, “ Stalin is our hope, Stalin is the beacon which
guides all progressive mankind. Stalin is our banner. Stalin is our will. Stalin is our
victory.” With more people getting behind the idea of the ‘Great Turn’, more started to
work in factories and farms to help the universal cause which ultimately led to the
development of the Soviet Union. Moreover, propaganda wasn’t the only thing the
government used to convince people to help in any way they could; with the control of
the media and education, the state encouraged people to do their bit. In schools,
children under 15 joined the pioneers where they were indoctrinated with the
Communist way of looking at things, urged them to be committed and be good citizens.
History textbooks only presented Stalin’s view of history. By drumming up the support of
the youth and millennials, as well as the older generation, Stalin had finally gathered the
support he needed to move his country forward and it was this push that led to the
development of the Soviet Union after 1928.

In conclusion, industrialization was a large factor in the development of the Soviet Union
after 1928 as it helped the country catch up with Western capitalist economies such as
the USA and Great Britain, as well as stop an invasion from another country during the
war. Furthermore, with industrialization, a planned economy was created in which the
primary and secondary sectors increased the total output of Russian goods, in turn,
leading Stalin to achieve his aims for modernization. However, industrialization was not
the only factor as policies such as collectivization and dekulakization got more out of the
peasants and increased output in the countryside. With the control of education and the
media, as well as the creation of the cult of personality, more people were willing to
work for Stalin’s cause leading the country’s development after 1928.