Soviet Industrialization :: essays research papers fc

When wizard looks at the history of the USSR, one of the most important aspects to look at is the massive industrialization that took patch under the Soviet regime. This industrialization, like so many other things, is a complicated issue, with many arguments circling around it. The process was marked both by tremendous progress and expansion, as sound as gross inefficiency and waste.To dampen understand the Soviet industrialization, it is necessary for us to briefly look at the history that preceded it. When the Bolsheviks came to power, they inherited a country with economic conditions that were far from favorable. It was a country devastated by World War I as well as the civil war that followed it. For all intents and purposes, one can evidence that the economy of the country was in ruins, and drastic steps were necessary in order to feed the hungry population, and for the country to survive.To answer this problem, a newly Economic Policy (NEP) was implemented. In essence, this policy went away from communist political orientation to a large degree. It allowed farmers to go out and sell what they have affirmd, and brought in many elements of the free market. At the same time, the Soviet regime restored the exertion which existed but was devastated by war.To a large degree, this policy was successful. By 1920s, the USSR managed to kick the bucket industrial return levels of roughly 1913. (Suny 233) Furthermore, the population was no longer starving, and breathing conditions improved throughout the country. However, NEP also brought in several problems. One of them, in the eyes of the Soviet leadership, was that it naturally brought polarization into society, producing whatever rich and some poor peasants, whereas ideologically there were supposed to be no classes in the new society (Suny 171) A more serious problem, however, was the fact that fast industrial advance was incompatible with NEP. It was necessary to shift countrys resources from ag riculture towards the production of heavy industry. Instead of producing consumption goods, it was necessary to produce capital goods. (Suny 234)The peasants, however, had little incentive to sell their product, since there were few things of mapping that they could get in return (since the economy concentrated on production of capital goods instead of consumption goods). This, naturally, brought tension between the city which had to be fed, and the peasants who would not give up or sell their product, unless compelled to do so by the state.