Second Five-Year Plan

Second Five-Year Plan. The Second Five-Year Plan was the central economic directive of the Soviet Union from 1933 to 1937, following the tumultuous industrialization drive of the First Five-Year Plan. Initiated under the leadership of Joseph Stalin and formulated by the state planning committee Gosplan, it aimed to consolidate the gains in heavy industry while addressing severe consumer goods shortages and improving living standards. The plan placed a renewed emphasis on technological modernization, infrastructure development, and enhancing the nation's military-industrial capacity in a period of growing international tensions.

Background and objectives

The launch of the Second Five-Year Plan occurred against a backdrop of significant social and economic dislocation caused by the preceding plan. The First Five-Year Plan had achieved rapid expansion of sectors like coal mining, steel production, and heavy machinery, but at a catastrophic human cost during collectivization and the Holodomor. With the global economy reeling from the Great Depression, the Politburo sought to move from what Stalin termed the "period of reconstruction" to the "period of mastering new technology and completing construction." Primary objectives included mastering the complex new industrial enterprises, drastically improving labor productivity, and developing a modern transportation network, notably the Moscow Metro and expansions to the Trans-Siberian Railway. A stated, though often secondary, goal was to increase the production of consumer goods to alleviate widespread shortages.

Key features and strategies

A defining feature was the slogan "Cadres decide everything," shifting focus from brute-force construction to technical proficiency and skilled labor management. This involved massive investments in technical education, exemplified by the expansion of institutes like the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and the widespread deployment of foreign engineers, particularly from the United States and Germany, under contracts like those with the Ford Motor Company. The plan continued prioritizing heavy industry, with monumental projects such as the Uralmash plant in Sverdlovsk and the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. The Stakhanovite movement, named for miner Aleksei Stakhanov, was promoted to spur productivity through socialist competition. Significant resources were also allocated to the chemical industry, rail transport, and early development in regions like the Kuznetsk Basin.

Implementation and outcomes

Officially, the Second Five-Year Plan declared most of its heavy industry targets met or exceeded, with dramatic increases in output of pig iron, electric power, and machine tools. The Moscow Metro opened its first line in 1935, becoming a symbol of Soviet achievement. Industrial complexes in Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk reached full capacity. However, implementation was uneven; consumer goods sectors and agriculture consistently lagged behind targets, and the quality of many industrial goods remained poor. The plan period saw the consolidation of the Gulag system as a source of forced labor for projects like the Belomor Canal and forestry in Siberia. Internationally, the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany prompted a covert but significant acceleration in military production within the plan's framework, preparing facilities for tank and aircraft manufacturing.

Criticisms and challenges

The plan faced severe internal criticisms and logistical challenges. The focus on heavy industry continued to come at the direct expense of Soviet citizens' living standards, with persistent housing crises and food rationing. The Stakhanovite movement often led to workplace disruptions, resentment among workers, and falsified production records. Agricultural recovery from collectivization was slow, and the 1936 Soviet Constitution did little to alleviate rural hardship. Bureaucratic inefficiency within Gosplan and the industrial ministries, known as People's Commissariats, led to bottlenecks and poor coordination. Furthermore, the Great Purge, which intensified in 1936–1938, decimated the very technical and managerial "cadres" the plan relied upon, with countless engineers, directors, and planners, including some within Gosplan, being executed or sent to the Gulag.

Legacy and impact

The legacy of the Second Five-Year Plan is multifaceted. It solidified the Soviet Union as a major industrial power, creating the essential foundation for its eventual victory in the Great Patriotic War by dispersing industrial capacity eastward to the Ural Mountains and beyond. The infrastructure built, from railways to power plants, defined the Soviet economic landscape for decades. However, it entrenched the systemic imbalances of the command economy, permanently privileging heavy and military industry over consumer needs. The model of extensive growth, reliant on massive inputs of labor and capital rather than innovation or efficiency, became a lasting characteristic. The plan's combination of proclaimed success and underlying failure influenced subsequent Soviet economic strategies, including the Third Five-Year Plan, and served as a template for other states, such as the People's Republic of China under Mao Zedong. Category:Five-Year Plans of the Soviet Union Category:Economic history of the Soviet Union Category:1933 in the Soviet Union Category:1937 in the Soviet Union