Text/Part II
When we think of the Soviet Union, we will first think that it was once an industrial power and a military power that could be compared with the United States. But who would have thought that even such an industrial power has its "unforgettable" past.
In the early 1930s, the industrial level of the Soviet Union was extremely backward compared with today, and its total industrial output value was only fifth in the world. In other words, its industrial capacity did not match its huge building scale at all, and it was also backward in agriculture at that time.
However, under such depressed conditions, the Soviet Union spent five years to raise the total industrial output value from the fifth in the world to the second in the world in 1932, becoming an industrial power only lower than that of the United States.
How did the Soviet Union transform from a semi-industrialized country to an industrial power second only to the United States in just a few years, and by what means did it rely on to counterattack? The following Xiaobian will give you a brief analysis.
First of all, the Soviet Union implemented a planned economic system. Unlike the democratic multi-party system of the Western powers, it is to integrate state resources and production and hand them over to the state, so that the national economy can rise steadily in industry, and the industrial capacity can be maximized to reduce the impact of the economic crisis on the Soviet Union.
And the Soviet Union is in a situation of integration of the two economies, although the private economy is very limited, but still let the Soviet economy to maintain vitality, at the same time, the Soviet Union because of economic backwardness and dependence on foreign countries, so the economic crisis of the Western powers did not cause substantial harm to the Soviet Union, which is also incomparable to the West.
This is also why the Soviet Union was able to survive the economic crisis, and later, the United States also referred to the Soviet economic system. It was also because of this imitation that the Soviet Union was given enough opportunities to emerge from a semi-industrial country to the first industrial power in Europe in just a few years.
Second, the Soviet Union knew how to take advantage of the economic crisis. Because the economic crisis had a huge impact on the Western powers, they had excess industrial capacity and funds and could not digest themselves, so they could only helplessly seek a way out from the outside world.
The Soviet Union naturally became the best place for them to transfer production capacity and capital, and the Soviets were very interested in these economic capacities and capital, so the Soviet Union and the Western powers reached a consensus and cooperated for a long time.
With the continuous influx of these capital, industrial technology and talents into the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union's industry has made a qualitative leap. Among them, the United States and Germany play an important role in capital transfer, why do you say so? Because the Americans continued to build much-needed industrial enterprises for the Soviet Union, such as automobile factories, tractor factories, etc.
The Germans also continuously provided the Soviet Union with a strong military force, and with the strong support of these two countries, the Soviet Union also developed rapidly in defense and military strength. This is one of the reasons why the Soviet Union can become the first industrial power in Europe, because with the help of these powers, the Soviet Union has obtained a lot of advanced Western technology and equipment to make up for the shortcomings of its own industrial system.
Finally, it is its own advantage, because the Soviet Union has the largest territory in the world, and it has many resources and populations, which can be said to gather development potential. When the Soviet Union was first founded, it was besieged by Western powers.
In addition, the strength of Tsarist Russia itself was very low, so it was difficult in the early stage, there was no improvement in industry, and the Soviet economy was mainly obtained from agriculture.
Before the economic depression came, the Soviet Union had accumulated a certain amount of capital, and the economic depression also gave the Soviet Union the opportunity to break out. Coupled with the full exertion of the advantages of the socialist system in the Great Depression, that is, to pool the capital and technology of the Western powers to develop the industrial economy.
So the Soviet industry made a qualitative leap, a leap that amazed the Western powers. In four years, the industrial output value will be upgraded to the second position in the world, and it will completely become an industrial power.
References for this article: "General History of the World", "Russian Revolution - History of the Soviet Union (Volume I)", "Industrialization of the Soviet Union", "Cambridge Economic History of Europe", "The Collapse of Great Powers", "Baidu Encyclopedia Related Terms - The Struggle for Hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Cold War, the Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union, etc."