A quote from Stalin that comes up regarding the first Five Year Plans:
"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall go under."
Are there any statistics which illustrate this? Was it spoken before the plans and as more of a metaphorical illustration of the industrialization that they planned to undertake?
I've heard many compare the USSR before industrialization (around the time of the NEP or just after the civil war) to Brazil or India.
In what way are these comparisons made? steel production? electricity production? proletarian size? etc.
As always, thank you for any information and discussion.
Alec Nove's book "The Economic History of the USSR" is really good with this. The NEP brought Russia back to where it was before the civil war, the first 5 year plan greatly expanded investment and pretty much doubled the size of the economy. See pic attached.
Here are some stats comparisons with other european countries before the revolution, which is roughly about where russia found itself after the NEP, even though the other countries had moved on by then.
Not sure how relevant these would be to anyone but here is a link to the first Five Year Plan translated into English.
A quote from Stalin that comes up regarding the first Five Year Plans:
"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall go under."Are there any statistics which illustrate this? Was it spoken before the plans and as more of a metaphorical illustration of the industrialization that they planned to undertake?
I've heard many compare the USSR before industrialization (around the time of the NEP or just after the civil war) to Brazil or India.
In what way are these comparisons made? steel production? electricity production? proletarian size? etc.
As always, thank you for any information and discussion.
Allen's From Farm to Factory contains lots of data on this.