Methods of post-war recovery of the economy of the USSR. Economic recovery after World War II

The victory gave rise to the people's hopes for a better life, the weakening of the pressure of the totalitarian state on the individual, the elimination of its most odious costs. The potential for change in the political regime, economy, and culture was opened up.

The "democratic impulse" of the war, however, was opposed by the full force of the System created by Stalin. Its positions not only were not weakened during the war years, but seemed to be even stronger in the post-war period. Even the very victory in the war was identified in the mass consciousness with the victory of the totalitarian regime.

Under these conditions, the struggle between democratic and totalitarian tendencies became the leitmotif of social development.

State of the economy of the USSR after the end of the war. The war turned out to be huge human and material losses for the USSR. It claimed almost 27 million human lives. 1,710 cities and urban-type settlements were destroyed, 70,000 villages and villages were destroyed, 31,850 plants and factories, 1,135 mines, and 65,000 km of railway lines were blown up and put out of action. The sown areas decreased by 36.8 million hectares. The country has lost about one third of its national wealth.

The country began to restore the economy even during the war years, when in 1943 a special party and government decree “On urgent measures to restore the economy in areas liberated from German occupation” was adopted. By the end of the war, the colossal efforts of the Soviet people in these areas managed to restore industrial production to a third of the level of 1940. The liberated areas in 1944 produced more than half of the national grain procurements, a quarter of livestock and poultry, and about a third of dairy products.

However, as the central task of restoration, the country faced it only after the end of the war.

Industry development. The restoration of industry took place in very difficult conditions. In the first post-war years, the work of the Soviet people was not much different from the military emergency. The constant shortage of food (the card system was canceled only in 1947), the most difficult working and living conditions, the high level of morbidity and mortality explained to the population that the long-awaited peace had just come and life was about to get better. However, this did not happen.

However, some wartime restrictions were lifted: the 8-hour working day and annual leave were reintroduced, and forced overtime was abolished. The restoration took place in the context of a sharp increase in migration processes caused by the demobilization of the army (its number decreased from 11.4 million people in 1945 to 2.9 million in 1948), the repatriation of Soviet citizens from Europe, the return of refugees and evacuees from eastern regions of the country. Another difficulty in the development of industry was its conversion, which was completed mainly by 1947. Considerable funds were also spent on supporting the allied Eastern European countries.

Huge losses in the war turned into a shortage of labor, which, in turn, led to an increase in the turnover of personnel who were looking for more favorable working conditions.

To compensate for these costs, as before, it was necessary to increase the transfer of funds from the countryside to the city and the development of the labor activity of workers.

For the first time in many years after the war, there was a trend towards a wider use of scientific and technical developments in production. However, it manifested itself mainly only at the enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC), where, in the conditions of the beginning of the Cold War, the process of developing nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, new missile systems, and new types of tank and aircraft equipment was going on.

Along with the priority development of the military-industrial complex, preference was also given to machine building, metallurgy, the fuel and energy industries, the development of which accounted for 88% of capital investments in industry. The light and food industries, as before, were financed on a residual basis (12%) and, naturally, did not satisfy even the minimum needs of the population.

In total, during the years of the 4th five-year plan (1946-1950), 6,200 large enterprises were restored and rebuilt. In 1950, according to official data, industrial production exceeded pre-war figures by 73% (and in the new union republics - Estonia and Moldova - 2-3 times). True, this also included reparations and production of joint Soviet-East German enterprises.

Agriculture. The country's agriculture came out of the war even more weakened, the gross output of which in 1945 did not exceed 60% of the pre-war level. The situation in it worsened even more in connection with the drought of 1946, which caused a severe famine.

However, the unequal trade between town and country continued after this. Through state purchases, collective farms compensated only a fifth of the costs of milk production, a tenth of grain, and a twentieth of meat. The peasants, working on the collective farm, received practically nothing. Saved only subsidiary farming. However, the state also dealt a significant blow to it. For the period 1946-1949. 10.6 million hectares were cut in favor of the collective farms. land from peasant household plots. Taxes on income from sales in the market have been significantly increased. Market trade itself was allowed only to those peasants whose collective farms had fulfilled state deliveries. Each peasant farm was obliged to hand over to the state meat, milk, eggs, and wool as a tax for a land plot. 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 mass slaughter of pigs, sheep, and goats throughout the country (up to 2 million heads).

Pre-war norms were preserved that limited the freedom of movement of collective farmers: they were effectively deprived of the opportunity to have passports, they were not covered by temporary disability pay, they were deprived of pensions. The monetary reform of 1947 also hit hardest on the peasantry, who kept their savings at home.

states, the transformation of the occupied territories into a colonial and raw material appendage of the Reich, the physical extermination of tens of millions of people. The entire territory up to the Urals was subject to Germanization.

Initially, the war was scheduled to start on May 15, 1941, but the overthrow of the pro-German government in Yugoslavia and the failure of the Italian troops in the war with Greece forced Germany to withdraw part of the troops from the Soviet border and transfer them to the Balkans. And only after the occupation of Yugoslavia and Greece at the end of April, the date of the attack on the USSR was finally set - June 22. The moment for the attack on the USSR was not chosen by chance: the rearmament of the Red Army that had begun had not yet been completed; industry has not completely reorganized itself on a war footing; the new military command cadres were still too inexperienced.

Selected German troops were drawn to the borders of the Soviet Union, having gained rich combat experience in conducting a lightning war, and were armed with first-class equipment for those times. For the implementation of the "Plan Barbarossa" was allocated 153 divisions, including 19 armored and 14 motorized. The European allies of Germany (Finland, Romania, Hungary, Italy) fielded 37 divisions against the USSR. In total, thus, 190 fully mobilized divisions of ground forces with a total number of 5.5 million people, 4300 tanks, 5000 aircraft, 47 thousand guns and mortars were concentrated near the Soviet border.

Having subdued the economy of the captured and allied countries, Germany significantly increased its military and economic potential, which in 1940 allowed it to receive 348 million tons of coal and 43.6 million tons of steel. In the USSR this year 166 million tons of coal were mined and 18.3 million tons of steel were smelted. Accordingly, the output of other products, including military ones, was much less.

The German command received a huge amount of weapons, military equipment, stocks of military equipment from the occupied countries. All this created a significant superiority in manpower and means and strengthened the confidence of the Nazi leadership in the successful implementation of the "Plan Barbarossa".

The war unleashed by fascist Germany caused great damage to the Soviet Union. More than 25 million Soviet citizens died at the fronts, behind enemy lines, in concentration camps. Many hundreds of thousands of people were mutilated and could not return to a full-blooded human life. The country lost the best production personnel, the technical support of production was suspended, and the commodity-money turnover was sharply reduced.

On September 13, 1945, the Pravda newspaper published a report by the Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Atrocities of the Nazi Invaders. The occupiers plundered, destroyed and burned 1,700 cities, more than 70 thousand villages and villages on the territory of the USSR, and made 25 million people homeless. About 32,000 industrial enterprises, 65,000 km of railway track, 13,000 railway bridges, 16,000 steam locomotives, over 400,000 wagons were put out of action. The Nazis plundered and ruined 98 thousand collective farms, about 2 thousand state farms, 3 thousand machine and tractor stations, stole 17 million cattle, 47 million sheep, goats, pigs. During the war years, agriculture in the USSR lost 7 million horses, 137,000 tractors, and much more. The list of Hitler's atrocities occupied several newspaper pages.

The direct damage caused by the invaders amounted to 679 billion rubles, which is approximately equal to the total capital investments of the USSR for the first four five-year plans. If we take into account the expenses of our country on the restructuring of industry on a war footing, waging war and the loss of income from the areas captured by the Nazis, then the damage amounted to 2 trillion. 596 billion rubles For comparison, all state budget revenues in 1940 amounted to 180 billion rubles.

As a result of the losses incurred, the national economy was thrown back: in the production of cement and the processing of commercial timber to the level of 1928-1929, in the production of coal, steel, and ferrous metals, to the level of 1934-1938, i.e. not less than 10 years.

During the war years, a significant part of the equipment was badly worn out, and much was already unusable. The curtailment of military production affected primarily heavy industry enterprises, where the volume of output in 1946 was 27% less than in 1945. In the light and food industries, the transition to civilian production occurred much earlier. As early as 1946, the output of consumer goods increased by 13% compared with the previous year. However, as before, priority remained with heavy industry, which was fueled by income from the sale of consumer goods.

The problem of personnel was also exceptionally acute. Thus, compared with the pre-war period, the total number of workers and employees in the national economy decreased by more than 5 million people (from 33.9 million in 1940 to 28.6 million in 1945), including . in industry - by 14%, in transport - by 9%, in agriculture - by 15%. The bulk of the labor force was made up of women, the elderly and teenagers. The composition of those employed in production also deteriorated sharply. Thus, the number of engineers in industry in 1945 was 126 thousand less than in 1940.

It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the Soviet people were in dire need of literally everything. The cities maintained a rationing system for the distribution of food and many consumer goods. On a regular card, about 2 kg of meat and fish, 400 g of fat, 1.5 kg of cereals and pasta were issued monthly.

At the same time, a significant part of the funds went to the defense of the USSR and international assistance to the countries of people's democracy.

Country Recovery Program

The restoration of the national economy and its partial restructuring in a peaceful way began in the summer of 1943 - the moment of the mass expulsion of the Nazis from the occupied territories of the country.

The main provisions of the program for the restoration and further development of the national economy were outlined in Stalin's speech to the voters of the first post-war elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on February 9, 1946.

Five-year plan for the restoration and development of the economy of the USSR for 1946-1950. provided for the accelerated development of the Soviet economy, the rise in the living standards of the people, and the strengthening of the country's defense might. Industry was supposed to reach the pre-war level already in 1948, and by the end of the five-year plan to exceed it by 48%. Two times more funds were allocated for capital construction than for all the pre-war five-year plans combined. The total investment amounted to 250.3 billion rubles. 157.7 billion rubles were allocated for industry, and 19.9 billion rubles for agriculture. The plan also provided for an increase in the production of consumer goods, the replacement of the rationing system with an expanded state trade. It was envisaged to reduce prices for all goods, increase wages, large housing and cultural construction, expand the healthcare system, public education, etc. Although the already meager funds were devoured by the military-nuclear moloch. In accordance with the five-year plan for the restoration and development of the national economy of the USSR, similar plans were adopted in all 16 union and 20 autonomous republics.

The Soviet people steadfastly bore the burden of the post-war devastation. The idealized pre-war life, and most importantly, the victory over fascism, nourished the people's confidence in a wonderful future, their readiness to endure all difficulties and hardships, and the desire to work hard.

Already in 1945, about 5 million people returned to the USSR, forcibly taken to work in Germany, 2.5 million Soviet prisoners of war, most of whom ended up in the Gulag camps. Until 1948, the Soviet Army was reduced by almost 8.5 million people.

The victory over fascism caused a great political and labor upsurge of the entire Soviet people. Forms of labor activity were different. The enthusiasm of the working people was actively supported by the party and trade union bodies, the Komsomol and the administration. However, most organizational measures were reduced not to the analysis of economic phenomena, but to the requirements of the political situation. Without discussing the fundamental issues of reality, a simple, traditional and still trouble-free technique was used - “push or attribute”.

At the end of the 40s, the struggle between two lines of development of the economic mechanism continued: one - aimed at strict centralization, comprehensive control, command methods, and the other - at expanding the economic independence of production, introducing self-financing, the material interest of the workers.

People began to appear in the leadership of the country and in the localities who, in the practice of state and economic management, were convinced that emergency management measures suppress economic independence, the initiative of the workers, which leads to social apathy, economic stagnation, increased command and bureaucratic actions and political repression. Already at the end of the 1940s, society did not accept the command methods of managing and organizing the war period, as well as production dictates, neglect of the social and spiritual needs of a person. The war ended, but the difficulties and disorder of life remained.

Although the public consciousness was ready to accept the new "enemies of the people", it increasingly felt the need for reforms. However, the trend of reform significantly diverged from the interests of the administrative system. The logic of reform would eventually lead to the realization of the need not for private, but for fundamental changes in public life, which would in practice show the perniciousness of the administrative-command apparatus and the socio-political system. Realizing the danger of the collapse of the established system of government, the party-bureaucratic apparatus strengthened the tried and tested methods of work - promises, lies, diktat.

The transition of industry to a peaceful course

In the field of industrial production in the postwar years, a number of complex tasks were simultaneously solved: the transition from military production to the production of civilian products; restoration of destroyed enterprises; expansion of production and product range; construction of new enterprises; technical re-equipment and development of advanced technologies. During the years of the Fourth Five-Year Plan, it was necessary not only to restore the pre-war level of industrial production, but also to surpass it by almost half.

The successful fulfillment of the tasks set was due to: a unified state plan covering all sectors of the national economy, which made it possible to centrally distribute the country's budget; the industry of the eastern regions of the USSR, which, after reconversion, became a powerful base for the speedy restoration of the western and central regions affected by the war; additional funds received from government loans, high prices for food and consumer goods, low wages.

In the course of the restoration and further development of the national economy, with the technical re-equipment of production, the growth of the cultural and technical level of the working class, and the improvement of production processes, close and constant cooperation between engineers and scientists was a vital necessity. Without such an alliance, it became impossible to solve complex economic problems and further technical progress.

In March-April 1947, a competition began between engineering and technical workers of industry for increasing labor productivity and reducing the labor intensity of products based on the improvement of technologies and the introduction of advanced work methods. The initiator of the competition, the Ural technologist of the third mechanical workshop of the Kirov Tractor Plant A. Ivanov, by updating the production technology, improving the skills of workers and using the experience of innovators, achieved an outstanding result in his area: the productivity of machine operators increased by 2 times, 30% of workers were released, 11 metal-cutting machines , the cost of manufacturing parts has sharply decreased. On May 17, 1947, Pravda wrote: “If each technologist in his area acts as creatively as A. Ivanov, then industry will achieve a significant increase in labor productivity, better use of machines and available equipment, and an increase in output ... It is necessary to support in every possible way this new manifestation of creative activity and Soviet patriotism of engineering and technical workers. On May 30, 1947, the Presidium of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions adopted a resolution on the organization of the All-Union Competition for Technologists. Thus, it was no longer single specialists, but entire groups of engineers who took on obligations aimed at improving technology, introducing mechanization and reducing the labor intensity of production operations, further increasing labor productivity, and ensuring savings in raw materials and materials.

During 1946, industrial production was restructured to produce civilian products, and in 1948 the pre-war level of production was already surpassed by 18%, including in heavy industry by 30%.

During the recovery period, special attention was paid to ferrous metallurgy enterprises and coal mines in Donbass. In honor of their restoration, special award medals were established. However, the pre-war level of coal production in the Donbass was reached only in 1950, and the metallurgical industry of the Ukrainian SSR, which before the war provided 75% of the country's total metal, was restored only in 1951.

Along with the restoration of the old ones, the construction of new industrial facilities was going on. Power stations were built: Farkhad (Uzbek SSR), Sevan (Armenian SSR), Kramskaya and Sukhumskaya (Georgian SSR), Rybinskaya (on the Volga), Shchekinskaya (Moscow region), etc. Metallurgical complexes were laid in Rustavi (Transcaucasia), Bogovat (Uzbekistan ), Ust-Kamenogorsk lead-zinc plant, pipe-rolling plants in Sumgayit (Azerbaijan) and Nikopol (Ukrainian SSR), etc.

Between the Volga and the Urals, a new oil field was intensively developed. The so-called Second Baku already in 1950 provided 44% of all oil production in the country, although another 80% of the country's fuel was allocated to coal.

In total, during the years of the five-year plan, 6,200 large enterprises were built and restored. However, the five-year task to commission new production capacities in the iron and steel industry, the coal industry and the construction of power plants was not fulfilled.

On the whole, however, the tasks were exceeded for the production of metals, coal and oil production, electricity generation, etc. However, a number of industries, and especially the production of consumer goods, did not reach the pre-war level.

The state of agriculture after the Great Patriotic War

One of the most important tasks of the Fourth Five-Year Plan was to restore agriculture and ensure the further development of agricultural production in general. Without a general upsurge in agriculture, it was impossible to improve the material situation of the working people, to abolish the rationing system for the distribution of foodstuffs and consumer goods, and to provide industry with raw materials.

Meanwhile, the damage inflicted by the Nazi occupiers only on collective farms amounted to 181 billion rubles. In terms of sown area, the country was at the level of 1913. Gross agricultural output in 1945 was 60% of the level of 1940. During the war years, the machine and tractor fleet was reduced by an average of one third, the number of horses was halved. There were farms where they plowed on their own traction, and sowed by hand from a basket. The loss of life was especially noticeable. The difficulties of the recovery period were exacerbated by the severe drought of 1946. In addition, spending on agriculture during the years of the Fourth Five-Year Plan was almost 4 times less than on industry.

In the most difficult conditions, in a short time, collective farms and state farms, MTS were mainly restored. Industrial enterprises and townspeople provided great assistance to the collective farms. In 1946, 3/4 of the sown areas of the occupied regions were put into working condition.

Gross agricultural output by the end of the five-year plan was to exceed the level of 1940 by 27%. The Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (February 1947) adopted a resolution “On measures to improve agriculture in the post-war period”, which emphasized the technical equipment of agriculture with tractors, cars, and various agricultural machines. And yet, there was not enough equipment on the collective farms, besides, it was ineffective, its downtime was great, and there were not enough spare parts. The situation with mechanization in animal husbandry was unsatisfactory.

During the Fourth Five-Year Plan, the capacity of rural power stations tripled. In 1950, 76% of state farms and 15% of collective farms were electrified against 4% in 1940.

Serious attention was paid to the promotion and implementation of scientific achievements and best practices in agriculture. Three-year agro-zootechnical training courses for collective farmers on the job were of great importance.

At the same time, in the process of restoring agriculture in the localities, and often in the center, serious mistakes were made. A grass-field system of field cultivation was routinely planted, which led to a reduction in the sowing of cereals and legumes, and hindered the production of the grain needed by the country. Excessively centralized planning, multi-stage and incompetent bureaucratic leadership fettered the economic initiative of the peasants, led to irrational distribution of agricultural crops, violated the timing of sowing, harvesting, etc.

The development of agricultural production was significantly hampered by low procurement prices for grain, potatoes, meat and other products, as well as raw materials that the state received from collective farms in the order of obligatory deliveries. Procurement prices not only did not cover the cost of their production, but did not even justify the transportation costs for the delivery of harvested products. The pay for a collective farmer's workday was extremely low and did not stimulate his interest in work.

At the same time, high taxes were levied on collective farmers (tax on personal plots, personal livestock, beehives, fruit trees, etc.).

The standard of living of the population after the Great Patriotic War

The main indicator of the standard of living of the Soviet people was the growth of the national income, the physical volume of which in 1950 tons exceeded the pre-war level by 1.62 times. This made it possible for the Soviet government to abolish in December 1947 the rationing system for the distribution of foodstuffs and consumer goods. At the same time, a monetary reform was carried out in the ratio of ten to one, i.e. one old-style chervonets was exchanged for one ruble of new money. Cash deposits in savings banks and the State Bank were revalued on preferential terms. The monetary reform did not affect the wages of workers and employees, the labor incomes of the peasants, which remained the same. Thus, excess (issue) and counterfeit money, and a significant part of the population's money savings, were seized.

The standard of living of the population was characterized by wages and retail prices for foodstuffs and industrial household goods. After the war, before the abolition of the rationing distribution system, retail prices increased by an average of 3 times compared to 1940: for foodstuffs by 3.6 times, for manufactured goods by 2.2 times. The wages of workers and employees over these years have increased only 1.5 times. The average wage in the national economy in 1940 was 33 rubles; in 1945 - 43.4 rubles; in 1948 - 48 rubles; in 1950 - 64 rubles. per month, from which it was necessary to deduct the amount for a subscription to government loans. The highest salary was for scientific workers - an average of 46.7 rubles per month. in 1940 and 38-48 rubles. in 1950. Thus, the abundance of food, consumer goods and even luxury goods (gold, furs, etc.) in stores was a consequence of the low purchasing power of the bulk of the population.

In 1950, per capita consumption was: meat - 26 kg, milk and dairy products - 172 kg, knitwear - 0.3 pieces. etc. Many cultural and household items - televisions, washing machines, radiograms, etc. were considered luxury items.

The improvement in the material situation of the general population was ensured by a decrease in retail prices for consumer goods of mass demand and for household services. In state trade, prices fell every year in April. If their level before the abolition of the rationing system is taken as 100%, then on March 1, 1949, their index was 71%, on April 1, 1954 - 43%, and yet prices were more than 1/3 higher than the pre-war level. From lower prices, people with high earnings benefited to a greater extent: workers in trade, public catering, various procurement, material supply, as well as employees of the apparatus of government.

It was very hard for the peasants, who were actually forcibly attached to the land. In the early 1950s, the collective farmer received 16.4 rubles for his hard work. per month, i.e. 4 times less than the worker. Wheat was bought from collective farms for 1 kopeck. per kilogram at a retail price of flour 31 kopecks. etc.

In a letter to G. Malenkov, secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, G. Malenkov, a student of the Smolensk Military-Political School, N. Menshikov wrote: “As a communist, it pains me to hear such a question from collective farmers: “Do you know if the collective farms will soon be dissolved? ... there is no strength to live like this farther"".

A difficult situation after the war was with the housing stock, the restoration and construction of which was carried out simultaneously and in conjunction with industrial construction. If in 1940 the average per capita of the urban population was 6.7 sq. m. m, then in 1950 - 7 square meters. m, and yet many lived in basements, and the bulk of the population - in communal apartments.

Thus, the standard of living of the population was still far from normal and largely depended on investments in heavy industry, defense, and international assistance.

Change in the territories included in the USSR

A feature of the restoration and development of the national economy was the transformation in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus, Right-bank Moldavia, which joined the USSR in 1939-1940, as well as in the Tuva Autonomous Region, Transcarpathian, Kaliningrad and Sakhalin regions, included in composition of the USSR in 1944-1945.

Socialist transformations begin from the moment the German fascist troops are expelled from these territories. By decision of the Soviet and Party bodies, concrete measures are taken to eliminate all organs and institutions of nationalist power and to create Party, Soviet state and local institutions. The main core of the party and state events were operational groups of party and Soviet activists, representatives of partisans and underground fighters, as well as local residents demobilized from the Soviet Army.

A fierce struggle with the organs of Soviet power was waged by nationalists - capitalist elements in the city, the kulaks in the countryside, the clergy, who had well-armed conspiratorial detachments.

To approve the new government, it was necessary to carry out socialist transformations throughout the entire economic complex. Along with the process of nationalization, the restoration of industrial enterprises and the expansion of the material and technical base of the republics went on. As a result, industrial output in 1950 in Estonia exceeded the pre-war level by 3.4 times, in Latvia by 3 times, and so on. Industrial production was significantly expanded, its new branches were mastered, enterprises were equipped with first-class machines and the latest technological equipment.

In an atmosphere of acute struggle, changes also took place in agriculture, where the sad experience of the collectivization of the countryside, the struggle against landlords and kulaks was also used. The violent methods of transforming agriculture led to the expropriation and liquidation of the kulaks, who constituted the bulk of the Baltic farm population, as well as to the expulsion of all those who resisted from their native places.

Particularly striking changes have taken place in the Tuvan village. Semi-patriarchal and feudal relations dominated here, and a significant part of the Arat population led a nomadic lifestyle. Thanks to the help of the Soviet peoples, the strong-willed party and Soviet leadership, the peasantry of the Tuva Autonomous Region, bypassing the capitalist stage of development, passed to "socialism".

Complex and difficult, and in many ways incomprehensible, was the political process, or rather, the dogmatic memorization of Marxist-Leninist theory by the population, "mastering the method of socialist realism" and "scientific communism." In the field of culture and education, there was a massive ideological filling and Russification.

Thus, the restoration and development of the USSR proceeded by traditional methods, from class positions and with the help of party-administrative pressure.

Sources and literature

The seal of secrecy has been removed. Losses of the Soviet Armed Forces in wars, hostilities and military conflicts: Stat. study. M., 1991.

Zubkova E.Yu. Society and reforms, 1945-1964. M., 1993.

Knyshevsky Loot: The Secret of German Reparations. M., 1994.

Manenkov A.I. Cultural construction in the post-war village (1946-1950). M., 1991.

Polyak G.B. Post-war restoration of the national economy. M., 1986.

Khanin T.E. Dynamics of economic development of the USSR. Novosibirsk, 1991.

LECTURE 79. USSR in 1945-1953

The results and significance of the Great Patriotic War

Causes, sources of victory in the Great Patriotic War

World War II is over.

The war caused great damage. 1700 villages, 70 thousand villages and villages were destroyed. USSR

lost about 30% of the national wealth. The standard of living has fallen catastrophically. The economy was experiencing a severe labor shortage. In 1946, the difficult economic situation was exacerbated by crop failure and famine.

The fourth five-year plan (1946-1950) set the task of restoring and surpassing the pre-war level of production. At the same time, the primary goal was formulated unambiguously - the restoration and development of heavy industry. Heavy industry reached the pre-war level in 1948. The Dneproges, the Zaporizhia Metallurgical Plant, the Stalingrad and Kharkov Tractor Plants were restored. New industrial enterprises were built. It was a success achieved due to the colossal exertion of forces, the labor heroism of the people.

Of certain importance were reparations (reparation - partial compensation for material damage caused by military operations) equipment from Germany. As in the 30s. the labor of Gulag prisoners was used. At the same time, colossal funds were spent on the creation of new types of weapons ( 1949 - test of the atomic bomb - Kurchatov; 1953 test of the hydrogen bomb; test missiles-Korolev).

The policy of prioritizing the development of heavy industry, primarily industries associated with the military-industrial complex, ruled out the possibility of a significant increase in the standard of living.

Agriculture of pre-war indicators by the beginning of the 1950s. The transfer of funds to industry assumed enormous proportions. Compulsory state deliveries increased, taxes grew, personal plots were reduced.

1947 - cancellation of cards.

1947 - monetary reform. At constant prices, money was exchanged for new ones at the rate of 10:1. The amounts kept in the savings banks were exchanged at a preferential rate: up to 3 thousand - 1:1; 3-10 thousand-3:2; over 10 thousand-2:1. It was assumed that speculators who had profited during the war years would suffer from the reform. In practice, peasants and workers, who traditionally kept money not in savings banks, but in “stockings”, suffered. During the reform, about a third of cash was not presented for exchange.

Nobody canceled the Fourth Five-Year Plan of 1946-1951. The most ambitious goals were set in it - not only to reach the pre-war level, but also to surpass it - both in industry (46%) and in agriculture.

The United States under the Marshall Plan helped to restore Europe (in parallel creating the European Union), significant funds and forces were used for this. Few people believed that the USSR would not only fulfill, but also exceed its plan. However, that is what happened.

And we are talking not only about the growth of industry, calculated by statistics, but also about life itself: infant mortality has decreased by more than 2 times, the number of medical personnel has increased by one and a half times, the number of scientific institutions has increased by 40%, the number of students - by 50% . Being a scientist has become prestigious.

At the same time, the foundations of the Soviet space program were laid. Yes, Khrushchev eventually got the laurels, but already in February 1953, Joseph Stalin approved a plan to create an intercontinental ballistic missile. A government decree signed by Georgy Malenkov on the creation of the R-7 rocket was issued after the death of the Secretary General - on May 20, 1953.

Today in the lesson we will talk about methods for restoring the economy of the USSR after the war, about the development of science and problems in agriculture and the social sphere, and we will also learn what reparation, deportation and the Soviet economic miracle are

In addition, the leadership of the Soviet Union, led by Stalin, understood that the victorious people, who had survived a terrible war, should live better, so this was another task of restoring the economy.

The Soviet economy was restored by 1950-1951, although some scholars argue that this happened earlier, in 1947, when ration cards(Fig. 2) and the supply of the population began to occur at a quite decent level.

Rice. 2. Card for bread (1941) ()

This was facilitated by the heroic work of the civilian population. After the war, overtime was abolished and the 8-hour working day, vacations, bulletins were returned, however, all administrative and criminal penalties for absenteeism, lateness, and marriage persisted until 1953. In addition, it was adopted fourth five year plan- a high-quality and balanced plan, according to which it was convenient to restore the economy (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Propaganda poster (1948) ()

The head of the State Planning Commission during this period was N.A. Voznesensky (Fig. 4). It is known that the planned system of economy is not bad suited for a developing economy.

Rice. 4. N. A. Voznesensky ()

Between 1945 and 1947 the demobilization of the military and the return of prisoners taken to Germany took place. All these people became the labor force, with the help of which Soviet industry was also restored. At the same time, the labor of Gulag prisoners was also used, which in the post-war period were not so much Soviet citizens as prisoners of war Germans, Hungarians, Romanians, Japanese, etc. (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. The work of prisoners of the Gulag ()

In addition, under the terms of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences (Fig. 6), the Soviet Union had the right to reparations, i.e., for payments from fascist Germany.

Rice. 6. Participants of the Yalta Conference in 1945 ()

In Potsdam, our allies (England and America) offered the Soviet Union to use the material base of their zone of occupation (East Germany), so machine tools, factories and other material assets were exported in large volumes. The opinions of historians on this matter differ: some believe that quite a lot was exported, and this greatly helped in the restoration, while others argue that reparation payments did not provide serious assistance.

During this period there was development of science. A breakthrough was made in some areas, for example, the famous atomic breakthrough - building the atomic bomb- under the direction of L.P. Beria and I.V. Kurchatov (Fig. 7) from the scientific point of view.

Rice. 7. I.V. Kurchatov ()

In general, those industries that were somehow connected with the military industry, for example, aircraft manufacturing, the production of missiles, launchers, cars, etc., developed quite well after the war.

So, we can say that by 1950 the industry of the USSR as a whole was restored. The standard of living also rose. A reflection of this in the social sphere was the elimination of the rationing system and unique for our entire history of the twentieth century. price drop situation. Every spring 1947-1950. announced lower prices. The psychological effect of this measure was enormous (Fig. 8).

Rice. 8. Comparative table of prices in 1947 and 1953. ()

In fact, prices remained slightly higher than in 1940, and wages slightly lower, but the planned annual price cuts are remembered by older people to this day.

Giant problems were in our agriculture. Its restoration in the post-war period is a rather complicated process. This was due both to the fact that more livestock were killed or eaten, and to the fact that the men did not want to return to the village (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Village during the Nazi occupation ()

It was the Soviet village that suffered the main damage to the working population, in which almost only women and children remained. Exactly village became in the 20-30s. source of funds for industrialization, but in the post-war period it could not be this source. The Soviet government tried to raise the standard of living in the countryside, and primarily by enlarging collective farms and improving the quality of processing. But 1946-1948. - this is a period of natural disasters (drought, flood) and famine. Therefore, in such conditions, the village lived even worse. In the countryside, administrative and criminal penalties were maintained until 1951, when the food situation in the country was more or less resolved and the need for mass punishment was sharply reduced.

Beginning in 1947, attempts began to improve agriculture with the help of science and scientific progress. So, for example, windbreaks were created around the fields, which were supposed to protect crops from winds and cold; forced forest and grass sowing was carried out in order to strengthen the soil, etc.

Rice. 10. Collectivization ()

Since 1946 there has been a massive collectivization(Fig. 10) in the newly annexed areas: Western Ukraine, Western Belarus, the Baltic states. Despite the fact that collectivization in these regions was slower and softer, forcible resettlement was used against opponents of this process or the Soviet government - deportation.

So, thanks to the heroic work and enthusiasm of the Soviet people, the skillful policy of the authorities, the plan and the development of science, by the beginning of the 1950s. the Soviet economy was restored and, according to some estimates, even outpaced the performance of pre-war industry (Fig. 11).

Rice. 11. Restoration of the USSR by the forces of the able-bodied population ()

Thus, one can speak of Soviet economic miracle, which was achieved at a great cost and required improvements. Because they remained unresolved even until the mid-50s. problems in agriculture and the social sphere: millions of Soviet citizens continued to live in barracks and dugouts.

Homework

Tell us about the development of science in the USSR in 1945-1953.

Tell us about the problems in agriculture and the social sphere in the USSR in the postwar period.

Prepare a report on the restoration of the Soviet economy in 1945-1953.

Bibliography

1. Story. Russia in the 20th - early 19th centuries. Grade 9: textbook. for generalities. inst. / A.A. Danilov. - M.: Education, 2011. - 224 p.: ill.
2. History of Russia: 9th grade: textbook. for students general images. inst. / V.S. Izmozik, O.N. Zhuravleva, S.N. Mine. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2012. - 352 p.: ill.
3. Russian history. XX - beginning of the XIX century. Grade 9: textbook. for generalities. inst. / O.V. Volobuev, V.V. Zhuravlev, A.P. Nenarokov, A.T. Stepanischev. - M.: Bustard, 2010. - 318, p.: ill.

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