The USSR
Economy
Soviet communist ideology dictates that economics is an equal partner of politics in that the political beliefs of the Soviet government strongly control and regulate the growth and structure of the economy. Communist ideology demands that all wealth is equally distributed amongst the people and all businesses are owned by the state. Therefore the USSR under a communist economy was not subject to the boom and bust cycles of the capitalist economies of the west and was characterised by stable prices and low unemployment. Karl Marx, the founding philosopher of communism claimed that in contrast to communism, capitalism is self-destructive an is unable to change its own nature. However the Soviet economy following the invasion of Russia by Nazi forces in 1941 the USSR had lost one thirds of its economic capacity, however this merely spurred the Soviet economy on to transform its economy into a war economy in the space of three years, focusing heavily on armaments production and overall efficiency. This transformation of the Soviet economy was kick started by Stalin’s decision to collectivise agriculture his plans for all-out industrialisation. These processes were overseen and regulated heavily by the state and workers were subject to strict guidelines and working hours with decrees being issued that no worker was permitted to leave his job.
Technology
Throughout the USSR’s lifespan the development of technology remained notably uneven with the focus being on quantity rather than quality, the mass production of armaments characterised the USSR’s programs of technology. The USSR worked extremely hard to produce a scientific establishment that was twice the size of that of the USA, however in doing so greatly sacrificed the quality of their programs. Technology programs focused heavily on three areas in particular, nuclear, space exploration and military, with particular focus and resources being applied to the production of nuclear warheads as the USSR strived to compete with the military power of it’s great ideological rival the USA. As a result of the focus on armaments little funds were committed to the development of new technologies and consequently the quality and range of consumer goods was notably poor throughout the USSR.
Military
In 1918 Stalin ordered that the Russian army be disbanded and a new communist army the Red Army was created with the focus of protecting and enforcing the aims of communism. Leon Trotsky was placed at the head of the army and was able to transform it into an organised and efficient fighting force within a year. By 1935 world war looking increasingly likely and the Red Army as a result grew to 1,300,000 men with 10,000 tanks and 5,000 front line planes. At the outbreak of World War II this had grown to 1,800,000 and by 1941 had grown to 3,000,000. After the invasion of Russia and the fall of several cities to advancing Nazi forces, Stalin appointed himself as head of the Red Army, ordering all soldiers to fight to the death and bring the Nazi advance to a halt. It was tactics such as this that characterised the Red Army and the brutal and uncompromising way in which they enforced the aims and goals of communism.
Leadership 8/10
Feared perhaps more than loved, Stalin held power in the Soviet union from 1920-53 following the death of Lenin. One of the most notorious figures in history, Stalin was able to transform the USSR, leading it on a uncompromising path to all out industrialisation and the collectivisation of agriculture. In doing so Stalin turned the USSR into one of the most powerful countries in the world posing a serious challenge to the dominance of the USA.
Size - 8.6 million square miles
Longevity – 1918 – 1991 (73 Years)
Soviet communist ideology dictates that economics is an equal partner of politics in that the political beliefs of the Soviet government strongly control and regulate the growth and structure of the economy. Communist ideology demands that all wealth is equally distributed amongst the people and all businesses are owned by the state. Therefore the USSR under a communist economy was not subject to the boom and bust cycles of the capitalist economies of the west and was characterised by stable prices and low unemployment. Karl Marx, the founding philosopher of communism claimed that in contrast to communism, capitalism is self-destructive an is unable to change its own nature. However the Soviet economy following the invasion of Russia by Nazi forces in 1941 the USSR had lost one thirds of its economic capacity, however this merely spurred the Soviet economy on to transform its economy into a war economy in the space of three years, focusing heavily on armaments production and overall efficiency. This transformation of the Soviet economy was kick started by Stalin’s decision to collectivise agriculture his plans for all-out industrialisation. These processes were overseen and regulated heavily by the state and workers were subject to strict guidelines and working hours with decrees being issued that no worker was permitted to leave his job.
Technology
Throughout the USSR’s lifespan the development of technology remained notably uneven with the focus being on quantity rather than quality, the mass production of armaments characterised the USSR’s programs of technology. The USSR worked extremely hard to produce a scientific establishment that was twice the size of that of the USA, however in doing so greatly sacrificed the quality of their programs. Technology programs focused heavily on three areas in particular, nuclear, space exploration and military, with particular focus and resources being applied to the production of nuclear warheads as the USSR strived to compete with the military power of it’s great ideological rival the USA. As a result of the focus on armaments little funds were committed to the development of new technologies and consequently the quality and range of consumer goods was notably poor throughout the USSR.
Military
In 1918 Stalin ordered that the Russian army be disbanded and a new communist army the Red Army was created with the focus of protecting and enforcing the aims of communism. Leon Trotsky was placed at the head of the army and was able to transform it into an organised and efficient fighting force within a year. By 1935 world war looking increasingly likely and the Red Army as a result grew to 1,300,000 men with 10,000 tanks and 5,000 front line planes. At the outbreak of World War II this had grown to 1,800,000 and by 1941 had grown to 3,000,000. After the invasion of Russia and the fall of several cities to advancing Nazi forces, Stalin appointed himself as head of the Red Army, ordering all soldiers to fight to the death and bring the Nazi advance to a halt. It was tactics such as this that characterised the Red Army and the brutal and uncompromising way in which they enforced the aims and goals of communism.
Leadership 8/10
Feared perhaps more than loved, Stalin held power in the Soviet union from 1920-53 following the death of Lenin. One of the most notorious figures in history, Stalin was able to transform the USSR, leading it on a uncompromising path to all out industrialisation and the collectivisation of agriculture. In doing so Stalin turned the USSR into one of the most powerful countries in the world posing a serious challenge to the dominance of the USA.
Size - 8.6 million square miles
Longevity – 1918 – 1991 (73 Years)