By 1928, Soviet industry had largely returned to pre-World War I levels.
Although the Soviet Union was somewhat industrially built, its economic achievements were relatively weak compared to the boom experienced by the United States during the "Roaring Twenties" and the boom of the German economy.
Stalin was desperate to change the status quo.
As a result, the Soviet Union launched its first five-year plan, which was designed to force the industrial development of the USSR through a highly centralized planned economy.
This plan required the entire Soviet people to devote themselves to the development of heavy industry in order to rapidly modernize the economy and achieve rapid industrial growth.
However, the USSR faced a key question: where did primitive accumulation come from in the process of developing industry?
It can only be farmers.
In order to obtain the raw capital necessary for the industrialization of the Soviet Union, Stalin passed a resolution on the collectivization of agriculture in November 1929, while expanding the existing industry.
By the end of 1933, 998% of the Soviet peasants joined the collectivization.
Grabbing people's land and taking people's money is like killing their parents, and the Soviet peasants are not robots, so they got rid of the tsar and ushered in Da Lingo, so they naturally want to resist.
Stalin, however, declared in a clear manner:
"Those who oppose collectivization are enemies of communism. ”
Those who disagreed faced either execution or exile to Siberia.
Under high pressure, Soviet peasants had no choice but to give up their personal land and property and join state farms.
Before joining the collectivization, the Soviet peasants expressed their dissatisfaction with the slaughter of their livestock, the burning of farm tools and seeds.
This led to a severe famine in the Soviet Union, with an estimated 6 million to 10 million people killed, including about 3 million in Ukraine alone.
Stalin did not care about this, because, in his opinion, the sacrifice of the peasants was necessary in comparison with the fate of the Soviet state.
In those years, the production of agricultural products in the USSR decreased by 78%, but the amount of purchases by the state has increased by 150%, and the ** given is quite cheap.
The difference in this is precisely the original capital needed for the industrialization of the Soviet Union.
Stalin threw all his highly exploitative capital into industrialization.
And what about the USSR to ** buy technology and equipment?
Lifelong enemies of European and American capitalist countries.
The reason why the Soviet Union was able to cooperate with its sworn enemy was a stroke of great luck.
In 1929, the United States fell into the "Great Depression", the economy collapsed, workers lost their jobs, and capital could not find an outlet for investment.
At this critical moment, Stalin sent an invitation: "Hurry up and produce, I'll buy it!" ”
Stalin's call was quickly answered, and the United States rushed to send more than 70 technical assistance projects.
By 1931, the number had increased to 124, covering high-tech fields such as metallurgy, industrial machinery, agricultural machinery, and aircraft, with a total value of $40 million.
Even many American engineers, in order to make ends meet, did not hesitate to devote themselves to the industrialization of the Soviet Union.
For example, the Dnieper hydroelectric power plant was built by American specialists with American equipment, the Gorky Automobile Plant received assistance from Ford, the Stalingrad tractor was dismantled from the United States and delivered to the Soviet Union, and the chief engineer of the Kharkov Tractor Plant was also an American.
As long as it was something that could not be sold in the capitalist countries of Europe and the United States, Stalin took it all, and almost 50% of the machinery and equipment were shipped to the Soviet Union as soon as they got off the production line.
Even more staggeringly, these countries also provided loans of up to $1.7 billion to the Soviet Union.
The United States is not afraid that the Soviet Union will borrow money, nor is it afraid that the Soviet Union is an enemy of ideological antagonism, and it is afraid that the Soviet Union will not do business with it.
How to say that sentence, there are no eternal enemies and no eternal friends, only eternal interests.
The Soviet Union now has sufficient funds and equipment, but how to properly use these resources to ensure the sound development of the economy is a complex and critical issue.
Stalin chose to adopt a coercive planned economy in order to guarantee the smooth implementation of the Soviet path to industrialization.
The initial goal of the planned economy was to develop in an orderly manner and avoid problems such as overcapacity, rather than rigid and rigid coercion.
However, the planned economy of the Soviet Union under Stalin was a coercive command measure.
He organized the industrial enterprises into a "one-chief" system, in which the subordinates had to obey the orders of the superiors, and the superiors received instructions from the higher levels, and all orders were ultimately given by Stalin.
Any individual who disobeys, disrupts order, or fails to complete a task, whether a cadre or a worker, may face punishment of labor reform or even shooting.
As a bonus, the Soviet Union provided workers with good welfare guarantees, introduced an eight-hour workday, and even gave priority to the distribution of bread and rice flour to workers.
In the case of severe punishment and generous rewards, how to choose is not so difficult.
It was with this simple and crude means that Stalin tied the Soviet people to the journey of industrialization in order to achieve the goal of pursuing a strong state.
In 1937, the Soviet Union successfully exceeded the second five-year plan, with steel production reaching 17.7 million tons and coal production reaching 12.8 billion tons, and the power generation capacity reached 36.5 billion kWh.
At the same time, the Soviet Union has successfully established more than 6,000 enterprises in the fields of steel, aircraft, automobiles, chemicals, heavy machinery, etc., which not only contributed to the economic development of the Soviet Union, but also accounted for 10% of the total value of global industrial output.
By 1941, before World War II, the Soviet Union's average annual industrial growth rate was an astonishing 17 percent.
During this period, the proportion of heavy industry increased by 395% rose to 61%, and the output value of the machinery manufacturing industry accounted for about 30% of the entire industrial output value.
In other words, Stalin's goal was achieved, and the Soviet Union had completed its transformation from a backward agricultural country to a powerful industrial country.
And in this process of industrialization, it was basically built with the help of the United States.
Stalin also bluntly stated: "Of all our heavy industry factories, about two-thirds were built with the technical assistance of the United States." ”
The other third, which Stalin does not mention, was built with the financing of industrial countries such as Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and Japan, including a large number of American subsidiaries in Europe.