Industrialization in the Soviet Union: a weaker version of perestroika

In the Chinese-speaking world, there is such a legend. The Soviets relied on their own strength and succeeded in building an industrialized country. However, people with a little basic common sense know that any kind of systematic thing must be "master". Martial arts need a reliable martial arts instructor; painting needs a reliable art teacher; and industry needs a matching engineering instructor. We turn to the dusty archives of history to watch the Soviets build their industrial empire step by step. Where exactly were the origins of Soviet industrialization? A Strong Foundation Many uninformed people believe that the Soviet Union, like China, "had nothing" in the old days. However, industrial data tell us that Russia was by no means penniless before the First World War. Quite the contrary, Imperial Russia was a top-five world industrial power at the time. It is true that Russia could not compete with the old powers like Britain, France and Germany, and even less with the emerging United States. But when you look at the world, there were only a handful of countries that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia. Of course, World War I and the Civil War hurt Russian industry, but that's not the whole truth. Russia's success was directly related to Prime Minister Stolypin. During Stolypin's tenure as prime minister, he initiated visionary land reforms that were expected to contribute to Russia's economic and political stability by improving the legal and economic status of the peasantry. Under Stolypin's reforms, Russia's food production increased, a new class of wealthy peasants was added to the middle class, and the educated population increased. Russians considered him to be even greater than Stalin The main thrust of Stolypin's agrarian reforms, the privatization of land, gave land to the peasants from the landowners or aristocrats. Under the former village-commune system, the peasants lacked the enthusiasm to engage in agricultural production because they were not producing on their own land and more than half of the fruits of their labor had to be transferred to others. And the peasant could only renew his enthusiasm for production and invest in the land when he knew for certain that the fruits of his labor would belong to him. Under the old agrarian system, the distribution of the fruits of labor did not help to reward hard work and punish laziness, because the result was the same whether the person was lazy or industrious. Comparisons were made with each other, enthusiasm canceled out, and the result was inevitably a lowering of the overall level of productivity and a lowering of the standard of living of the peasants. And Russia needs the peasants to be rich, because the well-being of the country also depends on the wealth of its citizens, "knowing that the wealth of the people creates the strength of the nation." Under the reforms of Premier Stolypin, the last Tsar of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, the following results were achieved: grain harvest increased by 30% by 1913, agricultural output increased by 2%, the highest rate of growth in the world; industrial output increased by 5%, the highest rate of growth in the world; population growth rate of 1.5%, the highest rate of growth in Europe; the value of gross national income was 16.4 billion rubles, the fourth highest rate of growth in the world; the gross national income was 16.4 billion rubles, the highest rate of growth in the world; the gross national income was 16.4 billion rubles, the fourth highest rate of growth in the world. Gross National Income (GNI) of 16.4 billion rubles, the fourth highest growth rate in the world; Gross National Product (GNP) of 6.521 billion rubles, the fifth highest growth rate in the world. Statue of Stolypin in Kiev Although, most of these achievements were destroyed by World War I and the Civil War. However, industry can be destroyed, but the trained engineers and skilled workers remain; agriculture can be destroyed, but the organization of production may not. The future Soviet Russia owes much to Stolypin's achievements. Investment from Capitalism Lenin famously said, "The capitalists will sell us the rope with which to hang themselves." This quote is an apt description of the Soviet Union's economic model in the 1920s and 1930s. The process of introducing advanced technology and equipment and absorbing foreign capital in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 1930s can be roughly divided into two phases, namely, the period of recovery of the national economy (1921-1926) and the period of technological transformation of industry and the national economy (1927-1937) Of course, the Soviets certainly did not publicize it so openly After the end of the civil war in 1921, the Party of the USSR and the political boat carried out a strategic shift in the center of attention, from wartime **** production to the development of the Soviet Union. that transitioned from wartime ****productivism to the New Economic Policy. One of the important elements of the new economic policy was the implementation of the policy of opening up the foreign economy and strengthening economic ties with the capitalist countries. During this period, the absorption of foreign capital and the introduction of advanced technology and equipment were mainly carried out by means of the concession system, joint ventures between the Soviet Union and foreign countries, international loans and the recruitment of foreign technicians. The resolution of the Tenth Congress of the USSR stated: "The concession system itself is a form of economic contract between the socialist * * * and the foreign countries and other industrially developed capitalist countries." In November, 1920, a decree on the concession system was issued in the U.S.S.R. In 1921-1926, the Soviet * * * concluded 144 concession contracts with capitalists, and a year later the number of concessions reached 73 enterprises. By 1927, the USSR *** had received 16.11 million rubles from the concessions. Through the system of concessions the USSR *** succeeded in obtaining a considerable amount of income. Thus, in 1927 it was possible to import equipment, technology, and personnel from the West in large quantities. Perhaps it was God's good fortune that the capitalist world was hit by a once-in-a-century financial crisis at this time. The overheating of production left a large number of employees unemployed, and a great deal of equipment was discarded as unprofitable. The Soviet Union *** skillfully seized this opportunity and bought these surplus products and talents in large quantities. The Great Depression would not starve Americans to death, but it would put Americans out of work In 1929, the Central Bureau of Foreign Consultation was set up under the Supreme Council of the National Economy of the USSR, which was specially responsible for leading the introduction and utilization of foreign technological forces By the end of 1929, the USSR had already signed more than 70 agreements on technological assistance and consulting with foreign countries, covering a number of important sectors of the economy, such as machinery, metallurgy, petroleum chemicals, and transportation. By the beginning of 1931, the number of projects for which the USSR received technical assistance had increased to 124, and the total value of investments amounted to 83 million rubles. The Great Depression was a nightmare for the West but a boon for the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was extremely fanatical about importing equipment. According to export reports, the Soviets purchased the largest amount of industrial equipment in the world. Certain equipment was even "underwritten" by the Soviets. in 1928-1931, the Soviets purchased 67.1% of the West's cutting machine tools, 52.6% of its turbines, and 69% of its tractors. These equipment played a vital role in the Soviet Union during the industrialization phase. It is well known that power generation is an important indicator of industry. And the generators imported from the West accounted for 89% of the Soviet engines, in addition to which steam-powered machines accounted for 87% of the Soviet power machines. While the Soviets were proud of their construction, they perhaps forgot that the complete production line came from the West It is worth mentioning that the military industry, of which the Soviets as well as the Soviet fans were so proud, was also "launched" by foreign investment. The Soviet Union also signed technical assistance agreements with U.S., British, German, and Italian companies in the sectors of military industry such as airplanes, warships, and submarines. For example, since the early thirties, more than 20 American companies provided the Soviet Union with designs, equipment, patents or sent engineers to help the Soviet Union to manufacture aircraft engines, bombers, fighters and commercial transport planes, making the aviation industry, which was originally a blank spot, jump to the forefront of the world in the early forties. Much of the Soviets' military buildup was accomplished in cooperation with the West It is worth noting that two of their later enemies, Germany and the United States, were the largest investors in the Soviet Union at this time. A large number of modern backbone enterprises established in the Soviet Union during the first Five-Year Plan were built almost exclusively with the help of the West. The three major Soviet steel plants, the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, the Kuznetsk Iron and Steel Works, and the Zaporozhye Iron and Steel Works, were all built with the assistance of the United States and Germany. The three major Soviet automobile plants were all upgraded and equipped with Western equipment with the help of Western specialists. Most of the four major tractor factories were new factories built with the aid of the U.S. and Germany, and the famous Stalingrad Tractor Factory was built with the help of nearly 80 factories in the U.S. The Dnepr Power Station, the largest in the 1930s, and other large power stations were built with the help of equipment supplied by the U.K., Germany and the U.S.A. Stalin gushed about this, "About 2/3 of the large industrial enterprises in the USSR were built or assisted by American help." No one expected that the earliest masters would become later enemies But capitalists are not philanthropists. They also need to pay back for what they give, and this price has cost the Soviet Union a thousand years of fame and added many variables to the situation in Eastern Europe today. What price was so heavy? We will find out next time!