Krushchev, 1954-1964 Flashcards

1
Q

When did the soviet economy start to slow?

A

1959

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2
Q

What were Krushchev’s 3 main agricultural reforms?

A
  1. Incentives
  2. Virgin Lands Scheme
  3. Investment
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3
Q

What were Krushchev’s views on collectivisation?

A
  • inefficient
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4
Q

Agricultural Reform - Incentives

What were incentives?

A
  • paid farmers higher prices for their produce
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5
Q

Agricultural Reform - Incentives

Give evidence of incentives boosting rural income?

A

farm incomes increased by 250% between 1952 and 1956

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6
Q

Agricultural Reform - VLS

What were the virgin lands schemes?

A
  • Khrushchev wanted to increase the amount of land farmed

- therefore he launched the VLS, creating new farms in the northern Caucasus, Kazakhstan and Western Siberia.

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7
Q

Agricultural Reform - Investment

How did Khrushchev try to make farming more efficient through investment?

A
  1. artificial fertilisers - boosted production by 40%

2. tractors - boosting production by 30%

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8
Q

Agricultural Reform - Investment

Evidence of Khrushchev increasing investment in agriculture

A

Agriculture = 3% of budget in 1954 –> 12.8% of budget in 1959

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9
Q

How successful were Khrushchev’s agricultural reforms?

A
  • initially successful

- still fundamental problems with soviet agriculture that he struggled to solve

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10
Q

Give evidence of Khrushchev’s agricultural policy being initially successful.

A

Overall, agricultural production increased by around 35.3% from 1954-1958

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11
Q

What were Khrushchev’s aims for agriculture?

A
  1. increase production

2. in 1956, he set the target of taking over US farm production by 1960

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12
Q

Name three agricultural problems that emerged from 1954-64.

A
  1. Inefficiency
  2. Slow growth
  3. Bureaucratic failings
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13
Q

How was Khrushchev’s agricultural policy inefficient?

A
  1. Location of Virgin Lands made them infertile. This meant they needed complex irrigation systems that made the cost of production high.
  2. Agriculture = labour intensive
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14
Q

Give evidence of Khrushchev’s farms being labour intensive.

A

In the 50s and 60s, 50% of the Soviet population worked in agriculture, compared to 5% in the US.

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15
Q

Describe agricultural growth between 1959 and 1964.

A
  • growth slowed

- still grew by around 15%

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16
Q

How did bureaucratic failings reduce the success of Khrushchev’s agricultural policy?

A
  1. Fertilisers - Central planning meant that farmers did not always get the right fertiliser at the right time, so it often went to waste.
  2. Contradictory reforms led to administrative confusion.
  3. Inadequate storage facilities = waste
17
Q

What were Khrushchev’s overall aims?

A
  1. modernise industry

2. increased production of consumer goods through light industry

18
Q

Summarise Khrushchev’s impact the economy.

A
  • some modernisation

- long-term, the soviet economy went into decline

19
Q

Which 3 factors strongly restricted economic growth?

A
  1. military spending (arms race)
  2. the command economy
  3. inefficiency
20
Q

When did Khrushchev launch his 7 year plan?

A

1959

21
Q

What were the aims of Khrushchev’s 7 year plan?

A
  1. increase production of consumer goods

2. increased production of fertilisers to aid agricultural production

22
Q

How successful was Khrushchev’s 7 year plan?

A
  • plan delivered growth
  • plan was under target
  • soviet union still lagged behind other nations
23
Q

Give an example of the 7 year plans producing below target.

A

Production of consumer goods was 5% below target.

24
Q

Give 2 reasons why the 7 year plan underperformed.

A
  1. Contradictory reform.

2. Overambitious goals

25
Q

Give an example of Khrushchev’s contradictory economic reform.

A

In 1957, he decentralised economic planning.

BUT from 1958-64 his reforms re-asserted central control.

26
Q

Describe Khrushchev’s military spending

A

initially decreased and then rose again