introduction:
On March 5, 1953, Stalin, who suffered a stroke after a hangover, finally closed his eyes.
When he was dying, he was still practicing his toughness by drinking big wine and dying.
Behind this toughness is a group of accompanying wines, and they can't stop the headache.
Although they were a fighting nation, it was not a good thing to drink too much alcohol after all, stalin was gone, and they did not have to have headaches anymore.
What reassures them even more is that the legacy left by this strongman is that it is an industrial powerhouse that is beyond the sky.
How strong this country is, the answer is, has shocked an entire era.
Even Stalin's opponent, Churchill, said that he had only wooden plows in Russia when he came, and that the Soviet Union had a nuclear bomb when he left.
Behind the turning of the wooden plow and the nuclear bomb is the legacy of a strong man.
It is precisely because of the existence of this heritage that there is a cold war between the two heroes, and the most brilliant era of mankind has emerged.
Stalin's exploits and his rudeness subjected the man to a polarized evaluation.
He said he was the cornerstone of the Soviet Union's strength, the best leader.
The opposing party said that he was a demon, a reckless man, a rough man.
Regarding his rudeness, the mentor had already commented on him, and said conclusively that he was not suitable to be the supreme leader.
But strangely enough!
It was this brutality that contributed to the industrialization miracle of the Soviet Union, a legacy that still affects Russia even today.
So how was this miracle born? What kind of waves have gone through in the middle? Who is playing the biggest role behind this?
Let's keep watching!
(The power of the Cold War came because of Stalin)
One: Russia, which has a starting point that is not low.
Churchill said that at the beginning of Stalin's reign, the Soviet Union had the most wooden plows.
This statement is based on the inertia of thinking, and the description of the situation in the Soviet Union at that time, which is actually not in line with the real situation of the Soviet Union.
Tsarist Russia was not a traditional agrarian country, and Russia, which underwent serfdom reforms, also kept pace with the Industrial Revolution in Europe.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Russia was a European industrial power, which is also evidenced by the ranking of this strength.
In 1913, before World War I, Tsarist Russia ranked fifth in the world in terms of industrial scale, after the United States, Germany, Britain and France, and was a veritable industrial power. According to the data, Tsarist Russia's economic growth is also very rapid, in the more than 50 years from 1860 to 1913, it has maintained an average annual growth rate of 5%, which is a very good achievement!
However, this former glory was almost lost after the suffering of the First World War and the long war at the birth of the Soviet Union.
More than a decade of war has almost brought Russia back to the agricultural era, and the industrial output value of the entire country has dropped by 80%, and the factories have not survived.
This was the situation faced by the Soviet Union at the birth of the Soviet Union, where steel production fell from 3 million tons to 120,000 tons, and the industrial output value was less than half of what it was before the war. (1921 data) In addition to this, a large number of industrial workers, because the factory was destroyed and lost their jobs, had to return to the farmland to survive.
In the face of such a situation, how to do it, how to do it? The Soviets were also divided.
Two: the struggle between Trotsky and Stalin.
After the consolidation of power, it developed into the mission of the Soviet Union. On the issue of economic recovery, the Soviet Union had two opinions that were the most vocal.
The first is the radical industrialists headed by Stalin.
In Stalin's view, if the Soviet Union at that time was troubled by internal and external troubles, if it did not carry out rapid industrialization, the country would fall into a situation of no return under the containment and suppression of internal and external forces.
We must exhaust all means to rapidly industrialize, restore national defense strength, and ensure national security.
The second faction is the moderates headed by Trotsky.
It advocates first exporting ideas to the world, leading the development of the international movement, allowing the world to form a joint force, forming a cohesive force, and then building a new era together.
These two factions advocate, one radical, one moderate, one eager, one slow, one realistic, and one idealistic.
It can be described as the tip of the needle against Mai Mang.
Who wins in the end? The answer is the mighty Stalin!
The reason is that there is no other reason, the real threat is empathetic, and what ideal output is made at this time is undoubtedly a palliative rather than a cure.
An ideal without strength is a delusion, and only by surviving first can it be possible to realize the ideal.
In the years that followed, under lenin's guidance and with Stalin's cooperation, the Soviet Economy recovered to a certain extent.
Although there were twists and turns in the recovery process, the "New Economic Policy" that came out after the twists and turns still stabilized the Soviet Union.
Then, on January 21, 1924, the great mentor was gone.
The mentor was gone, and Stalin began to lead the construction of the Soviet Union.
Three: The beginning of the Stalin era.
After Stalin became the leader, the first problem he encountered was not an economic dilemma, but a political problem.
This conundrum was Trotsky's opposition!
While Stalin was struggling with what to do, Trotsky wrote On Lenin and The Lesson of October, criticizing Kamenev and Zinoviev, embarrassing them.
After the embarrassment, it is the search for revenge, and then a power struggle takes place.
Stalin, in alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev, confronted Trotsky and wrote that Trotsky's ideas were not Leninist.
After a round of games, Trotsky became a loser and was removed from his post as chairman of the Military Commission.
After the biggest enemy lost power, Stalin won the struggle against Kamenev and Zinoviev.
Finally, a major victory was won at the Fifteenth Congress in December 1927, followed by the expulsion of the "right capitulationist bloc" led by Bukharin from the Politburo in 1929, making it the strongest in the Soviet Union.
During this period, although the soviet union continued to fight among the upper echelons, the economic development did not fall, and under the guidance of the "New Economic Policy", the industrial level was restored to the level of 1913 in 1928.
The Soviet Union regained its vitality from the Tsarist era and seemed to be developing fast, but the times still worried Stalin.
The reason is none other than him.
Widespread international hostility is one of them.
The ever-changing world is evolving twice.
The constant threat of war is the third.
Based on these three points, Stalin was uneasy?
At this rate, it will still take forty or fifty years to surpass Britain and the United States, but after forty or fifty years, will the Soviet Union still be there? Will I still be there? If the ideals of capitalism are eliminated, how can they be put into practice?
We must catch up with the great powers such as Britain and the United States in the shortest possible time and let the Soviet Union become a beacon.
But before that, in the face of turbulent international times, the Soviet Union must have the ability to protect itself.
Thus, a movement of rapid industrialization was launched.
(Rapid industrialization)
Fourth: the road that must be taken for rapid industrialization.
In 1928, under the leadership of Stalin, the Soviet Union began the first five-year plan, the core of which was to develop heavy industry!
As for the source of funding, of course, it is agriculture!
Without the wealth of the colonies and the conditions for expropriation abroad, the Soviet Union could only obtain funds for industrialization by feeding back its own agriculture to industry.
Faced with such a situation, farmers must be dissatisfied, because where does this money come from?
But how did Stalin respond to the grievances of migrant workers? The answer is collectivization of agriculture!
In November 1929, the resolution on the collectivization of agriculture was promulgated, and Stalin firmly stated:
All those who oppose collectivization are enemies of communism.
For several years, agricultural funds continued to pour into industry, making it possible for industry to develop.
But the peasants' resistance was very strong, and at first glance there were many opponents, and Stalin ordered that those who violated the order should be punished, ranging from fixed-term imprisonment to death!
In 1930, the Soviet Union's grain production decreased by 7.8%, but the amount of grain purchased increased, but also increased significantly, suffering agriculture, but the funds for industrial development were available.
What made Stalin even happier was that the Great Depression of 1929 further helped the industrialization of the Soviet Union.
(Great Depression and Fast Track)
Five: The Great Depression and the Takeoff of the Soviet Union.
While the Soviet Union was in full swinging with industrialization, the Western world was in crisis.
A crisis erupted in 1929 due to the Great Depression caused by overcapacity, hot investment and heavy indebtedness in the United States.
The shortage of needs and overcapacity make American capitalists prefer to dump milk rather than sell it cheaply.
Excess capacity, as well as insufficient consumption caused by the credit crisis, have become two extremes, and the emergence of monopoly interest groups has played a disgraceful role in the crisis in a way that has been fueled.
The big capitalists have made money by taking advantage of the crisis, the small and medium-sized capitalists have been miserable, and the toiling masses have become victims.
As it is now, the whole world is paying for America.
The world is not good, where is the market?
At this time, the Soviet Union came forward.
Aren't you overcapacity and have no place to export?
I have money, agriculture comes, I have needs, industry needs equipment, I have a market, a lot of markets, can you come? Willing to come and I receive it all.
Note, limited to heavy industrial equipment, talent and technology.
(Hot Workers)
When the American and British capitalists saw that they had money to make, there was also a reticence about faith, and they immediately looked at the Soviet Union.
As soon as he saw that there was a door, Stalin immediately acted.
At the end of 1929, Stalin set up a special Foreign Consulting Central Bureau under the Supreme Council of International Economic Affairs of the USSR, whose main task was to be responsible for the introduction and study of technology.
Under Stalin's guidance, the work of this bureau was remarkable.
From 1930 to 1931, the Soviet Union spent 40 million US dollars to reach 124 technical assistance projects with capitalist countries such as Britain, the United States, and Germany, involving transportation, weapons manufacturing, petrochemicals, metallurgy, railways, and other industrial sectors.
What does this mean?
The answer is that almost all the industrial sectors and infrastructure of the First Five-Year Plan of the USSR were built with the help of Western countries.
British, American and German capitalists, who have no borders on capital, helped the greatest potential enemy to repair steel plants, tractor factories, hydropower stations...
The three famous steel plants in the Soviet Union, "Zaporozhye Steel Plant, Kuznysk Steel Plant, and Magnitorsk Steel Plant", were built with the assistance of the United States and Germany.
The three major soviet automobile factories, all the production line replacement equipment, are provided by the United States.
Of the four major tractor factories, the United States and Germany aided the construction of three, and one Stalingrad tractor factory was patronized by more than 80 American companies and became the favorite of Americans.
How crazy were the Soviets at the time to spend money on equipment? There is also data to prove it!
In 1931, the Soviet family ate one-third of the industrial equipment exported by the whole world, and the Soviet Union ate half of the industrial equipment exported in 1932.
In order to compete for the market, American, German, and British companies often fight price wars in order to bid.
In order to allow the Soviet Union to import its own equipment, during the entire period of the First Five-Year Plan, Britain, the United States and other Western countries even used loans of 1.7 billion US dollars to facilitate the sale and purchase transaction.
In short, as long as you keep buying, you can lend you money.
This greatly alleviated the economic pressure of the Soviet Union, and it was simply a matter of hand-in-hand sending money to help the Soviet Union become stronger?
With the equipment, with the funds, what else is needed, the answer is talent and system.
(Factory rising from the ground)
Sixth: the introduction of talents and the improvement of the industrial system.
From 1929 to 1931, under the arrangement of the Supreme National Economic Committee of the USSR, 1685 Soviet experts went to the American factories for further study, and after returning home, this group of people soon became the technical leaders in the new soviet factories.
In addition to sending technicians abroad to study, the Soviet Union also introduced talents with high salaries.
At that time, in the Western world, because of the impact of the Great Depression, many high-level talents were unemployed.
Many of them, after reflecting on the crisis, were very disappointed with capitalism and began to appreciate the Soviet Union.
From 1930 to 1932, there were more than 20,000 industrial and scientific and technological talents entering the Soviet Union, and there were more than 2,000 foreign scientific and technological workers in a Single Donbass coal mine.
This group of people was well treated in the Soviet Union, and many were reused and became technical leaders.
After the introduction of talents, the transportation of talents to study abroad, and internal and external interactions, the Soviet Union's talent reserve has been greatly improved.
With talent, Stalin began to think about improving the system of cultivating high-level talents.
Under his guidance, the Central Executive Committee set up a special higher technical education committee to improve the industrial technology education and training system.
The perfection of this system benefited the Soviet Union a lot.
During the First Five-Year Plan alone, the Soviet Union trained more than 300,000 industrial workers with secondary education and 170,000 technical personnel with higher education.
(Talent is key)
The results of the introduction of equipment, the introduction of talents, and the improvement of the system are also very remarkable.
In 1932, when the first five-year plan was completed, the Soviet Union's industrial output rose steadily, and with the help of manpower and resource advantages, it became the world's second industrial country, and initially established a relatively perfect industrial system.
After the completion of the First Five-Year Plan, Stalin continued his efforts and began the Second Five-Year Plan.
Although the international situation changed, it did not affect the industrial construction of the Soviet Union, and by the time the Second Five-Year Plan was completed in 1937, the output value of soviet industry had doubled.
Coal production reached 128 million tons, steel production reached 17.7 million tons, and power generation reached 36.5 billion kWh.
With the support of coal, steel and electricity, the Industrial System of the Soviet Union has been supported, and more than 6,000 large factories and enterprises in the country have roared at all times, and heavy industry has risen in an all-round way, and the industrial output value accounts for 10% of the world.
This momentum continued unabated in subsequent years.
From 1937 to 1941, before the German invasion, the average annual industrial added value of the Soviet Union was as high as 17%, and the industrialization of the Soviet Union was completed.
Seven: The causes of rapid industrialization.
Earlier, by recalling the past of the Tsarist era, as well as the opportunities of the Soviet era, the Great Depression. It explains the foundations and opportunities of the rapid industrialization of the Soviet Union and the efforts of the Soviets.
In addition to this, the soviet union's hard work during Stalin's reign, the prohibition of the order, was also the key to the completion of industrialization.
The planned economy under Stalin's model was a model of clear rewards and punishments. After the tasks of production are issued by the central authorities, they are a programmatic document that extends at the first level.
If you fail to complete the task, you will be punished, exiled, for a period of time, or something else. If you have completed the task, congratulations, you can enjoy it.
There is no overtime without reason, 996 is also impossible, and the welfare benefits are even more generous.
Cadres and workers who exceed their tasks even have a special convalescent system to serve them.
If you work hard and become a hero of production, you can enjoy a comfortable Vacation in the Black Sea, which makes Soviet laborers willing.
The powerful reward and punishment model has improved efficiency, improved subjective initiative, and increased the speed of industrialization, but there are still drawbacks. The ill is that the mighty Stalin, who was criticized for his authoritarian hegemony, was criticized in the future.
But even so, Stalin did it, because he knew that if he did not do it, he would usher in a catastrophe.
Without heavy industry, there would be no national defense, and without national defense, Hitler would have been even more anxious.
(Hitler)
The Soviet-German war will also be even more unbearable.
From this point of view, some of what he did was to make the Backward Agricultural Country of the Soviet Union have the ability to arm itself and protect itself in the shortest possible time, and only in this way could it be possible to complete its faith.
It can be said that it was the expediency of the urgent moment that made the subsequent Soviet Union stronger.
No agricultural exports feed industry!
Kharkiv Locomotive Factory, there will be 50,000 T-34s in the battlefield of World War II.
Behind these fifty thousand tanks, coal, iron, electricity, oil and a perfect industrial system are needed.
End:
The birth of a miracle requires opportunities, efforts, strict systems, and strong leaders.
Only strong people can lead the birth of miracles.
From this perspective, Churchill commented on Stalin:
When he came, Russia had only wooden plows, and when he left the Soviet Union had a nuclear bomb.
Indeed, he turned decay into a magical style, giving the Soviet Union the confidence of a superpower.
Of course, the shortcomings of the Stalin model also affected the development of the Soviet Union in the future.
But a generation can only do the work of one generation, and Khrushchev and Brezhnev are incompetent, and they can't throw Stalin all away, right?
At this point, Russian President Vladimir Putin has a clear understanding.
At an event in 2019, he called Stalin the Father of the Nation for the first time.
The deep meaning behind this is undoubtedly thought-provoking!
Russia without Stalin would not have become a superpower, the Soviet Union is not a superpower, and where does Russia come from?
Putin still sees this very clearly, and he may also hope that like Stalin, he can lead the country to create new miracles.