Pre-war level of industrial production. Stalin's economy of the USSR after the war
...
During the 4th Five-Year Plan, 6,200 large industrial enterprises were restored, built and put into operation (the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Station, metallurgy, factories in the South, Donbass mines were restored). By the end of 1948, industry throughout the country had reached pre-war levels. Gross industrial output by 1950 had increased 13 times compared to 1913, and by 72% compared to pre-war 1940 (against the planned 48%). Capital investments in the national economy amounted to 48 billion rubles. Cities were reborn from the ashes, new towns and villages were built [over the five-year period it was restored and built in cities, urban-type settlements and in rural areas 201 million m2 of total (useful) area].
...
Gross industrial output in 1955 increased 24.6 times compared to 1913, 3.2 times compared to 1940. The volume of production in 1955 compared to 1950 increased by 85% (plan target 70%). Capital investments in the national economy amounted to 91.1 billion rubles. 3,200 new industrial enterprises were put into operation. ... As a result of the implementation of the 4th and 5th five-year plans, the value of all production fixed assets by 1955 increased by 2 times compared to 1940, and national income by 2.8 times
Source:
USSR. The era of socialism
Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd edition
http://enc.lib.rus.ec/bse/008/106/977.htm
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Material damage caused Soviet country fascist invaders, amounted to 679 billion rubles. (in 1941 prices). Of these, state enterprises and institutions account for 287 billion rubles, collective farms - 181 billion rubles, rural and urban residents - 192 billion rubles, cooperatives, trade unions and others public organizations- 19 billion rubles. This amount, equal to 1/3 of the country’s total social wealth, does not include losses such as a decrease in national income from the cessation or reduction of the work of state enterprises, cooperatives, collective farms, the cost of food and supplies confiscated by the German occupation forces, military expenses of the USSR, as well as losses from slowdown economic development countries as a result of enemy actions during 1941-1945.
...
During the war years, the size of the consumption sphere decreased the most, primarily the volume of production of group “B”, which in 1945 amounted to 59% of the pre-war level, production agriculture and retail turnover, which decreased to 60% and 45%, respectively.
...
The production of capital goods in industry in 1945 was 12% higher than the pre-war level. This allowed during the post-war perestroika, in solving the problems of the fastest restoration and development of everything national economy rely on the priority development of the production of means of production, using the capacities for peaceful needs military industry.
...
During the Great Patriotic War The structure of social production and national income changed radically. As part of national income during the war specific gravity consumption decreased from 74% in 1940 to 67% in 1942, savings - from 19 to 4%, and the share of military expenditures (not counting personal consumption of military personnel) increased from 7% in 1940 to 29% in 1942 . As a result of the post-war economic restructuring, pre-war ratios in the distribution of national income were quickly restored. In 1950, 74% of the national income was allocated to satisfy the material and cultural needs of the population, and 26% was used to expand production and for other national and public needs.
...
Tasks of the Fourth Five-Year Plan for the production of national income, the volume of capital investments, gross industrial output, mechanical engineering, main products of other branches of heavy industry, freight turnover railways were significantly overfulfilled.
Successful implementation of the program for the restoration of former occupied areas, and exceeding pre-war levels industrial production made it possible to increase national income in 1950 by 64% compared to 1940, while according to the five-year plan it was planned to exceed the pre-war level by 38%. The significant increase in the production of national income and its distribution in these years made it possible to direct a significantly larger mass of national income for the purposes of accumulation and consumption than was provided for by the five-year plan. As a result of the rapid growth of national income in expenditures state budget allocations for financing the national economy and social and cultural construction increased. The state budget was carried out year after year with revenues exceeding expenses.
The achievement and significant excess in 1950 of the pre-war level in terms of the main indicators of the national economy were the result of the high rates of expanded reproduction achieved as a result of the Fourth Five-Year Plan. Thus, the production of national income increased by the end of the five-year plan almost 2 times compared to 1945, gross output industry - 1.9 times, gross agricultural output - 1.6 times, freight turnover of all types of transport - 1.9 times.
As a result of the implementation of the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the material and technical base of the national economy was significantly expanded through restoration, reconstruction and construction of new enterprises. Five-year plan for capital construction in the national economy was fulfilled with an excess of 22%. Capital investments of state, cooperative enterprises and organizations, collective farms and the population for the restoration and development of the national economy in 1946-1950. were 2.3 times higher than the investments of the pre-war years of the third five-year plan.
During the Fourth Five-Year Plan, 6,200 large industrial enterprises were built, restored and put into operation. The fixed assets of the national economy as a whole increased in 1950 by 23% compared to 1940, including production fixed assets - by 34%, of which the fixed production assets of industry - by 58%. The average annual growth rate of gross industrial output in the fourth five-year plan was 13.6% compared to 13.2% in the three pre-war years. At the same time, the production of means of production (group "A") increased annually by 12.8%, and the production of consumer goods (group "B") - by 15.7%. The average annual absolute gains and growth rates of the main types of industrial products have increased significantly. Thus, the average annual absolute increase in electricity in the fourth five-year plan amounted to 9.6 billion kWh instead of 4.0 billion in the three pre-war years, and the average annual growth rate of electricity increased from 10.1 to 16.1%. The average annual increase in coal production increased from 12.7 million tons to 22.4 million tons, and the average annual growth rate - from 9.1 to 11.8%. The average annual increase in steel production was 3.0 million tons versus 0.2 million tons, and the average annual growth rate was 17.4% versus 1.1%.
Decisive role in post-war reconstruction and further development Soviet economy belonged to mechanical engineering, the power of which increased sharply as a result of the switching of military industry enterprises to the production of civilian products. In 1950, mechanical engineering production exceeded the 1940 level by 2.3 times. Over the years of the Five-Year Plan, the mechanical engineering industry has mainly updated the range of products. This made it possible to provide the necessary basis for the further development of all sectors of the national economy on a new technical basis.
"History of the socialist economy of the USSR." T. 6
"Country of Soviets for 50 years." - M.: Statistics. 1967. P. 32.
"Country of Soviets for 50 years." P. 30
Voznesensky N.A. Military economy of the USSR during the Patriotic War. - M.: Gospoditizdat. 1947. P. 67.
Message from the USSR State Planning Committee and the USSR Central Statistical Office "On the results of the implementation of the fourth (first post-war) five-year plan of the USSR for 1946-1950." - M.: Gospolitizdat. 1951. P. 17.
"Country of Soviets for 50 years." P. 30.
"National Economy of the USSR". 1956. P. 29, 32; Message from the State Planning Committee and the Central Statistical Office of the USSR "On the results of the implementation of the fourth (first post-war) five-year plan of the USSR for 1946-1950." P. 10.
"Achievements of Soviet power over 40 years in numbers." - M.: Gosstatizdat. 1957. pp. 44-45.
Message from the State Planning Committee and the Central Statistical Office of the USSR "On the results of the implementation of the fourth (first post-war) five-year plan of the USSR for 1946-1950." pp. 7-8.
Source:
V. Ivanchenko N.A. Voznesensky: an experience that went down in history
http://institutiones.com/personalities/668-voznesenskiy.html
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As a result of military operations, the temporary occupation of part of the territory, the barbarity and atrocities of the German fascists, our state suffered economic and human resource damage unprecedented in history. The Soviet Union lost about 30% of its national wealth and 27 million people. 1,710 cities and towns, more than 70 thousand villages were destroyed. In industry alone, fixed assets worth 42 billion rubles were destroyed. The total economic damage caused to our state amounted to 2.6 trillion. rub. at pre-war prices.
After the end of the war, despite the efforts of the Soviet people to restore the national economy during the war, the destruction was so great that, according to the main indicators, the pre-war level of its development was not achieved and amounted to (in%): Volume of industrial output - 91 to the level of 1940. , coal mining - 90, oil - 62, iron smelting - 59, steel - 67, textile production - 41, freight turnover of all types of transport - 76, retail turnover - 43, average annual number of workers and employees - 87. Cultivated areas decreased by 37 million . ha, and the number of livestock decreased by 7 million heads. Under the influence of these factors, the country's national income in 1945 amounted to 83% of the 1940 level.
The war had the most serious impact on the state labor resources countries. The number of workers and employees decreased by 5.3 million people, including in industry - by 2.4 million people. In rural areas, the number of working-age population decreased by 1/3, working-age men - by 60%.
...
The Nazis destroyed and plundered more than 40% of all collective and state farms. The working-age population in rural areas decreased from 35.4 million to 23.9 million people. The number of tractors in agriculture was 59% of the pre-war level, and the number of horses decreased from 14.5 million to 6.5 million heads. The volume of gross agricultural output decreased by 40%. After the Great Patriotic War, the level of agricultural production compared to the pre-war level turned out to be lower than the level after the First World War and the Civil War.
In the first year of the post-war Five-Year Plan, natural disasters added to the enormous damage caused to agriculture by the war. In 1946, Ukraine, Moldova, the regions of the Central Chernozem zone, the Lower and part of the Middle Volga region were gripped by drought. This was the worst drought to hit our country in fifty years. This year, collective and state farms harvested grain 2.6 times less than before the war. The drought also had a hard impact on livestock farming. In drought-stricken areas, the number of cattle alone decreased by 1.5 million heads.
...
During the years of the first post-war five-year plan, as a result of the restoration of industrial and agricultural production, the quickly carried out conversion of military production, the volume of industrial production increased by 73% compared to 1940, capital investments - three times, labor productivity - by 37%, and national income generated - by 64%.
In the 50s, the country's economy developed dynamically. Over 10 years, the average annual growth rate of gross industrial output amounted to 11.7%, gross agricultural output - 5.0%, main production assets- 9.9%, produced national income 10.27%, trade turnover - 11.4%.
The war destroyed Part economic potential, which was about one one third of the country's total national wealth . A huge number of factories and factories, mines, railways and other industrial facilities were destroyed.
Restoration work began during the Great Patriotic War, immediately after the liberation of part of the occupied territories.
In August 1943 a special resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation.” By the end of the war, as a result of the titanic efforts of our workers, it was possible to recreate part of industrial production.
However the main restoration processes took place after the victorious end of the war, during the fourth five-year plan (1946-1950).
It was believed that the Soviet economic model withstood the harsh and difficult test during the hard times of war and therefore not only justified itself, but was also very promising.
As in the years of the first five-year plans, the emphasis in industrial development was placed on the production of means of production (group “A”), i.e. for heavy industry, and The share of production in this area in the total volume of industry was higher than before the war:
- in 1940 it was 61.2%,
- in 1945 - 74.9%,
- in 1946 - 65.9%,
- in 1950 - 70%.
Restoration and development of the national economy:
Fourth Five-Year Plan (1946-1950) - restoration and development of the USSR economy
- restoration and construction of 6,200 industrial enterprises.
The largest industrial facilities:
restored: built:
1) Dneproges; Kolomna Heavy Transport Engineering Plant;
2) “Zaporizhstal”; Kaluga Turbine Plant;
3) Donetsk coal gas pipeline Saratov - Moscow
Achieving the pre-war level of industrial production ( 1948 ).
Emphasis on increasing indicators for the production of metal, fuel and industrial raw materials to the detriment of the production of consumer goods.
Currency reform and abolition of the card system for basic consumer goods ( December 1947).
Agriculture is seriously lagging behind. The pre-war level of agricultural production was reached only in the early 1950s.
Industry was being rebuilt in a peaceful manner, and the output of civilian products was increasing. The level of pre-war industrial production was achieved, according to official data, by 1948. In total, 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt, including such giants as the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant and Zaporizhstal, the Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead-Zinc Plant, the Kolomna Heavy Transport Engineering Plant, the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline, etc.
Agriculture in the fourth five-year plan did not have time to reach pre-war levels. This was only achieved in the next five-year period.
At the same time, the country faced enormous difficulties and problems. In 1946, famine broke out in a number of regions as a result of:
- drought,
- traditional state policy regarding agriculture
Farms.
Since the period of collectivization, he has used the village as a segment from which resources and funds were taken for:
Industrial development;
Ensuring foreign policy objectives ( in particular, in 1946-1947. The Soviet Union exported 2.5 million tons of grain to Europe at preferential prices).
The famine, as usual, was not recognized at the official level, and the authorities only intensified administrative and repressive measures. In the summer and autumn of 1946, two party and state resolutions were adopted:
- “On measures to ensure the safety of bread, preventing its squandering, theft and damage” and
- “On ensuring the safety of state grain.”
They declared accounting and control, rather than grain production, to be the main means of solving the food problem. The consequence of these decisions was massive repressions against collective farm chairmen and other agricultural leaders.
The war and its consequence - the rationing system of supplying the population - upset financial system countries. The critical situation in the consumer market, the expansion of natural exchange, and inflationary processes threatened to disrupt the program for restoring the national economy, so the the question of monetary reform.
As the then People's Commissar of Finance A.G. Zverev recalled, it was prepared carefully and top secret. It was also proposed to combine it with the abolition of the card system, which was supposed to demonstrate the overall success of the Soviet economy not only for the population of the country, but also in the international arena.
J.V. Stalin believed that this action must be carried out earlier than it happens in others European countries, who were also forced during the war to resort to rationing the supply of the population (England, France, Italy, Austria). In the end, that’s what happened. On December 16, 1947, the USSR began:
- implementation of monetary reform,
- cards for food and industrial goods were cancelled.
Money was put into circulation and exchanged within a week (until December 22, 1947) for existing old cash in a ratio of 1:10 (i.e. 10 old rubles were equal to one new ruble).
Deposits and current accounts in savings banks were revalued as follows: 1:1 (up to 3 thousand rubles); 2:3 (from 3 thousand to 10 thousand rubles) and 1:2 (over 10 thousand rubles).
Everywhere:
Prices for bread, flour, pasta, cereals, and beer decreased;
Prices for meat, fish, sugar, salt, vodka, milk, eggs, vegetables, fabrics, shoes, and knitwear were not changed.
Overstocked Moscow counters were shown in documentary newsreels in all corners of the country, so that every worker thought about how the people's well-being was steadily growing. But it is quite obvious that the reform pursued confiscation goals and “ate up” part of the savings of the Soviet people.
The life of the people in the first post-war period was not easy in terms of material and living conditions, although it was attractive in terms of emotional and psychological intensity:
The war ended victoriously,
Peaceful construction began
There was hope for a better future.
Average wages in the country:
In 1947 it was 5 thousand rubles per month,
In 1950 - 700 rubles (after monetary reform). This corresponded approximately to the level of 1928 and 1940.
Basic retail prices of food products (in rubles) in 1950 .:
1 kg of premium bread cost 6-7;
1 kg of sugar - 13-16;
1 kg of butter - 62-66;
1 kg of meat - 28-32;
A dozen eggs - 10-11.
Industrial goods were much more expensive. For example, the cost of men's shoes was 260-290 rubles, and a suit - 1,500 rubles.
Since 1949, a constant decline in prices began, but the purchasing power of the population was extremely low, which created the illusion of abundance and improved life.
Financial situation population was aggravated by forced loans from the state from the people through subscription and purchase of various bonds. But nevertheless, due to the peculiarities of human memory, all this is a pleasant memory of people of the older generation.
Country development plan for 1946-1950. provided for the restoration of the pre-war level of industry and agriculture. Then it was supposed to be surpassed “by a significant amount.”
The volume of industrial production was supposed to increase by 48% compared to pre-war, agricultural production - by 27%. It was planned to build 2,700 and restore 3,200 only medium and large industrial enterprises. Main focus five year plan contributed to the development of heavy industry (primarily mechanical engineering) and railway transport. Finally, it was planned to increase the average annual salary by 48% compared to the pre-war and abolish the card system.
Internal difficulties were aggravated by the difficult international situation. The foreign policy situation dictated the need to take decisive measures for the economic development of the country. To strengthen defense capability and reduce the technical gap, it was necessary to create entire industrial sectors from scratch.
Expenditures on science in 1946 tripled the level of 1945. The task was set to ensure that industry could annually produce up to 50 million tons of iron, up to 60 million tons of steel, up to 500 million tons of coal, and up to 60 million tons of oil. Only under this condition could it be considered that the state would ensure the pace of economic development.
Industrial recovery
The transfer of industry to peaceful lines took place mainly in 1946. There was a reorientation of entire industries towards the production of peaceful products. On the basis of the People's Commissariats: ammunition, mortar weapons, tank industry, medium-sized mechanical engineering, the ministries of the automobile industry, instrument making, construction and road, transport and agricultural engineering were created. Already in 1948, industrial production reached its cumulative pre-war level. It was possible to restore power plants, metallurgical, engineering, and mining plants destroyed during the war.
In the fourth five-year plan, a real breakthrough was made in the production of metal-cutting equipment. Compared to the pre-war level, the total production of machine tools increased by 60% in quantity (before the war they were forced to import them), and in the total weight of machine tools and their total power - by 136%, which already indicates enormous progress. The production of the most complex precision machines increased from 17 units. in 1940 to 2744 - in 1950, large heavy and unique ones - from 42 to 1537 units, modular machines - from 25 to 400.
The development of radio electronics was also noted. If before the war in the radio engineering industry, the main core of the industry, there were only 13 factories employing 21.6 thousand people, then already in 1950 there were 98 factories in the entire industry, employing 250 thousand people. For comparison: in the USA in 1947, 500 thousand workers were employed in this industry. That is, in terms of numbers, these industries are already of the same order in both countries, but, of course, not in terms of production volume, and not in terms of quality, and not in terms of production costs.
The industry of the western regions of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus began to work again. The general plan for increasing industrial production was fulfilled and even exceeded. According to official data, in 1950 its level exceeded the pre-war level by 73%. True, this result was mainly achieved due to the growth of heavy industry. Light industry developed much more slowly. The production of consumer goods did not seem to the country's leadership a task as urgent as building up defense capabilities and resources. In a number of areas light industry(for example, in the textile industry) not only was the plan not fulfilled, but post-war reconstruction was not even completed. Coal mining, which is now not so important for defense purposes, remained in the recovery stage.
Pipeline transport became a developing mode of transport: main gas pipelines were built. The White Sea-Baltic and Dnieper-Bug water systems were restored. After the war, a modern highway was built - Simferopol Highway. The machine park was replenished with equipment received from East Germany as part of reparations. In particular, on the basis of the exported Opel plant in Moscow, the production of small cars "Moskvich" began, in Krasnogorsk near Moscow, on the basis of the Carl Zeiss plant - cameras and other optical equipment.
The main source of labor and resources in general for the revival of industry again, as at the time of industrialization, turned out to be the village. In the villages, a constant “organized recruitment of labor” was carried out, which was then centrally distributed among industrial enterprises. Thus, labor productivity in industry significantly exceeded the pre-war level in the electric power industry (by 42%), ferrous metallurgy (more than 20%), mechanical engineering, the chemical and rubber-asbestos industries, and in railway transport it increased by about 10%.
Agricultural restoration
The country's agriculture emerged from the war weakened, whose production in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. The fourth five-year plan planned to increase agricultural production by 27%.
But the situation worsened further due to the drought of 1946, which caused severe famine. The state, purchasing agricultural products at fixed prices, compensated collective farms for only a fifth of the costs of producing milk, a tenth for grain, and a twentieth for meat. Collective farmers received practically nothing. Their subsidiary farming saved them. However, the state also dealt a blow to him. In 1946–1949 10.6 million hectares of land from peasant plots were cut off in favor of collective farms. Taxes on income from market sales were significantly increased. Only peasants whose collective farms fulfilled state supplies were allowed to trade on the market. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over to the state as a tax for land plot meat, milk, eggs, wool. In 1948, collective farmers were “recommended” to sell small livestock to the state (which was allowed to be kept by the collective farm charter), which caused a massive slaughter of pigs, sheep, and goats throughout the country (up to 2 million heads).
The monetary reform of 1947 hit hardest the peasantry, who kept their savings at home. Pre-war norms that limited the freedom of movement of collective farmers were preserved: they were actually deprived of a passport, they were not paid for days when they did not work due to illness, and they were not paid old-age pensions. By the end of the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the disastrous economic situation of collective farms required their reform. However, the authorities saw its essence not in material incentives for the manufacturer, but in yet another structural restructuring. Instead of a unit (a small agricultural unit, usually consisting of members of one family, and therefore often more efficient), it was recommended to develop a team form of work. This caused discontent among the peasants and disorganization of agricultural work. The subsequent consolidation of collective farms led to a further reduction in peasant plots.
Nevertheless, with the help of coercive measures and at the cost of enormous efforts of the peasantry in the early 50s. managed to bring the country's agriculture to the pre-war level. However, depriving the peasants of the remaining incentives to work brought the country's agriculture to a crisis and forced the government to take emergency measures to supply food to the cities and army.
Chronicle of the Day. Seventh post-war decline prices in the USSR:
This law became the basis for the activities of all communist parties building socialism and even the governments of some capitalist countries seeking to mitigate the consequences economic crises. This will be discussed further.
Stalin's annual price reduction and wage increase is nothing more than an increase in the investment of workers and employees, pensioners and students of the entire huge country in its economy. For example, if a citizen increases purchasing power, he spends more money on food and, by investing in agriculture and the food industry, increases their sales volume and, naturally, the profit of these industries.
If his income has increased, he spends more money on clothes and shoes - the light industry helps out. If he has enough money, he builds himself a new or improves existing housing, purchases building materials, and makes the industry more profitable building materials And construction organizations, and so on.
If a citizen has money left over from necessary purchases or there was a need to raise money for a large purchase, he invested money in a savings bank and from this the savings bank developed. The depositor received interest, and the bank guaranteed him the safety of his money. Such an economy ensured the constant development of all sectors of the country's economy without crises.
Post-war annual decline in retail prices.
Already two and a half years after the end of the Great Patriotic War, in December 1947, a monetary reform was carried out in the USSR, cards for food and industrial goods were abolished, and uniform reduced state retail prices for consumer goods were introduced.
At this, the first stage of price reduction, the reduction in prices of consumer goods under the government alone retail trade amounted to 57 billion rubles during the year. In addition to the reduction in prices on the collective farm and cooperative markets, prices were reduced by 29 billion rubles. In total, budget losses in 1947 from lower retail prices amounted to 86 billion rubles.
This amount was a net loss for the state budget, which was covered due to increased labor productivity, increased production of consumer goods and reduced production costs.
On March 1, 1949, the second stage of reducing prices for consumer goods in state trade in the amount of 48 billion rubles was completed, in addition, in cooperative and collective farm trade - in the amount of 23 billion rubles.
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks stated that “as a result of a new reduction in prices, the purchasing power of the ruble will again significantly increase and the exchange rate of the ruble will improve compared to the exchange rate foreign currencies, real wages of workers and intellectuals will again increase, and peasants’ expenses for the purchase of industrial goods will again significantly decrease.”
“In this event, the Bolshevik Party and the Soviet government showed with renewed vigor a great concern for the working people, for their prosperity, for the growth of well-being and culture,” reported in the editorial of the Pravda newspaper on March 1, 1949.
By the indicated Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, prices were reduced in the following amounts:
- bread, flour and bakery products, cereals and pasta, meat and sausages, fish and fish products, butter and ghee, wool and silk fabrics, furs, hardware and electrical goods, cameras and binoculars, and a number of other goods - for 10 %;
- coats, suits, dresses and other garments made of woolen fabrics - by 12%;
- dresses, shirts, blouses and other garments made of silk fabrics, shoes, hats - by 15%;
- cheese and cheese, perfumes, hardware and saddlery, individual tailoring, dishes and household appliances made of plastic, motorcycles and bicycles, radios, pianos, accordions, button accordions, gramophone records, jewelry, typewriters - by 20%;
- TVs, vodka - by 25%;
- salt, cement, gramophones, watches, hay - by 30%.
The same Resolution reduced prices accordingly: in restaurants, canteens, tea houses and other enterprises catering. (Pravda newspaper, March 1, 1949)
All over the country, meetings and rallies were held at enterprises, at which the workers were informed of the Resolution “On a new reduction in prices...”
Reductions in retail prices in the USSR, especially after the Great Patriotic War, during Stalin’s lifetime, were carried out annually. The first post-war five-year plan for the restoration and development of the national economy of the USSR was completed ahead of schedule - in four years and three months. The production of grain, meat, oil, cotton, flax, and wool increased significantly.
National income in the last year of the five-year plan increased by 64% compared to 1940, and by 12% over the last year. An editorial in the Pravda newspaper on April 1, 1952 noted:
“Comrade Stalin teaches that the essential features of the basic economic law of socialism is to ensure maximum satisfaction of the ever-growing material and cultural needs of the entire society through the continuous growth and improvement of socialist production on the basis of higher technology.”
This Stalinist policy ensured the development of the USSR economy without crises for many decades.
On April 1, 1952, based on the powerful growth of industry and agriculture, the fifth post-war price reduction was carried out totaling 53 billion rubles, which caused general jubilation among the population.
How high the growth rates of industry were during the years of Stalin’s five-year plans is shown by the following data:
“Produced national income in 1950, compared to 1913, increased 8.8 times, all industrial output - 13 times, production of means of production (group A) - 27 times, productivity social labor- 8.4 times." (National Economy of the USSR for 60 years. P.12. M. 1977)
After Stalin's death, and even after the condemnation of his personality cult, a policy of regular salary increases was implemented, prices remained unchanged.
With the cessation of the decline in retail prices, the growth rate of national income began to decline. In 1980-85 it averaged only 3% per year. The XXV11th Congress of the CPSU set the task of increasing the growth rate of national income in 1986-90 to 5% on average per year. (Materials of the XXV11th Congress of the CPSU. P. 228, M. 1987) Let us recall that during the Stalin period the growth rate of national income was 9-12% per year.
Fragment from the book of the Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Association “ZUBR” Elena Mazur and Nikolai Lativok “1932-1933: famine in Europe and America. 1992-2009: genocide in Ukraine. Facts and documents. Analysis. Series “For the Union of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.”
Elena Mazur, Nikolay Lativok
The Soviet Union emerged from the war with enormous human and material losses. 1,710 cities, over 70 thousand villages and villages, 32 thousand industrial enterprises were destroyed. Direct damage caused by the war exceeded 30% of national wealth.
In March 1946, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the fourth five-year plan. It was planned not only to restore the national economy, but also to exceed the pre-war level of industrial production by 48%. It was planned to invest 250 billion rubles in the national economy. As in the years of industrialization, these funds were received at the expense of the country's population, mainly the peasantry.
During the war, the entire economy was rebuilt on a war footing, and the production of goods was virtually stopped. A huge amount of money, not backed by goods, was deposited in the hands of the population. To relieve the pressure of this mass on the market, a confiscatory monetary reform was carried out in 1947. Money in the hands of the population was exchanged at a ratio of 10:1. A more lenient regime was provided for funds kept in personal accounts in savings banks. But this benefit affected only a few, because the amount of deposits was 15 times less than the annual salary fund of workers and employees, in other words, the meager savings of citizens were then kept in “little jars” at home. And yet, the reform helped in a short time to stop inflation and stabilize the financial system upset by the war. Of even greater importance was the simultaneous monetary reform abolition of the rationing distribution of goods, which had become a kind of symbol of the hard times of war. After this, the government began a gradual increase in wages for workers and employees, as well as a regular reduction in retail prices for consumer goods: this was carried out annually from 1948 to 1954. However, at the same time, a program was being implemented for the forced distribution of government bonds, for the purchase of which It took an average of 1-1.5 months' salary per year. This significantly devalued the population's gains from price reductions. Nevertheless, the real wages of workers and office workers slowly increased. If in 1944 it was 64% of the level of 1928, in 1948 - 59%, then in 1952 - already 94%, and in 1954 - 119%. Vacations and an 8-hour working day were restored, and medical and sanatorium services for workers were improved. In 1948 - 1950 about 5.5 million workers and employees received vouchers at the expense of trade unions in sanatoriums, dispensaries and rest homes.
After the reform, the card system introduced during the war was abolished. However, prices for food and consumer goods were on average 3 times higher than pre-war. As in the years of industrialization, forced government loans were carried out from the population. These tough measures helped to improve the economy.
The restoration of the destroyed industry proceeded at an extremely rapid pace. In 1946, there was a certain decline associated with conversion, and from 1947 a steady rise began. In 1948, the pre-war level of industrial production was surpassed, and by the end of the Five-Year Plan it exceeded the 1940 level by 70%, instead of the planned 48%. This was achieved by updating production in territories liberated from fascist occupation. The restored factories were equipped with equipment produced in German factories and supplied as reparations. Total in western regions 3,200 enterprises were restored and restarted. They produced civilian products, while defense enterprises remained where they were evacuated - in the Urals and Siberia.
The development of the post-war economy was one-sided. The main emphasis was on the development of heavy industry, to the detriment of light industry and agriculture. 88% of capital investments in industry were directed to mechanical engineering. The production of consumer goods increased extremely slowly, and there was a shortage of essentials. Transport lagged behind sharply, especially road construction. In essence, there was no construction of public housing - in fact, the government shifted these concerns onto the shoulders of the citizens themselves.
Things have been especially difficult in agriculture. Only 7% of the total allocations were allocated for its development in the Fourth Five-Year Plan. They went mainly to the construction of tractor factories. Machines were used only to plow fields and harvest grain - everything else was done by hand. The village was not electrified. In 1953, only 15% of collective farms received electricity.
The main burden of restoration fell on the village. The state seized over 50% of the products of collective and state farms in the form of taxes and compulsory deliveries. Purchase prices for agricultural products have not changed since 1928, while industrial products increased 20 times during this time. Based on workdays, a collective farmer received less per year than a worker earned per month. In practice, collective farmers worked on the collective farm for free and lived off their plots.
At the end of the 40s. were subject to high taxes and personal plots. The peasants began to get rid of livestock and cut down fruit trees, since they could not afford to pay taxes. The peasants could not leave the village because they did not have passports. Nevertheless rural population was declining - peasants were recruited to work on construction sites, factories, and logging. In 1950, the rural population was halved compared to 1940.
The last independence of collective farms was eliminated. District party committees removed and appointed chairmen, dictated what, where and when to sow. Their main task was to confiscate the maximum amount of agricultural products.
By the end of the Fourth Five-Year Plan, there was a slight rise in living standards in cities. Annual price reductions began to be practiced. By 1950, real wages had reached the level of 1940, but it should be remembered that this level was only equal to 1928, that is, there was actually no increase.
After the death of I.V. Stalin, the new leaders of the country inherited an extremely difficult inheritance. The village was destroyed, and the threat of famine loomed over the country. The new Chairman of the Council of Ministers G.M. Malenkov stated that it is now necessary to increase the production of consumer goods, direct more capital investments to the development of light industry, and provide the population with a sufficient amount of food in the shortest possible time. First of all, it was necessary to stop the degradation of the village.
In 1953, a tax reform was carried out, taxes on personal plots were halved. Now the tax was levied only on land, and not on livestock and trees. In September 1953, a plenum of the Central Committee was held dedicated to the development of agriculture. Purchasing prices for agricultural products were increased significantly (3-6 times), and taxes on collective farmers were reduced by 2.5 times. The independence of collective and state farms was expanded, they got rid of the petty tutelage of district party committees. 1953 was a turning point in the history of the Soviet village. It is no longer seen only as a source of funds and resources for industry.
The grain problem in the country was acute; immediate emergency solutions were required. The idea arose to sharply increase grain production by introducing additional land into circulation in the east of the country (in Siberia, Kazakhstan). The country had an excess of labor resources and uncultivated fertile lands.