Industrialisation and Collectivisation 1929–1941

Stalin's abandonment of the NEP in 1928–29 launched the most radical programme of economic transformation in modern history. The Five-Year Plans sought to industrialise the Soviet Union at breakneck speed, while collectivisation destroyed traditional peasant agriculture. Together, these policies fundamentally reshaped Soviet society — but at a human cost that remains almost incomprehensible.

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The First Five-Year Plan (1928–1932)

Objectives

Goal	Rationale
Rapid heavy industrialisation	Build the military-industrial base needed to defend the USSR against capitalist encirclement
Self-sufficiency	End dependence on imported machinery and technology
Elimination of the NEP	Destroy the market economy and private enterprise
Employment	Absorb the surplus rural population into industrial labour
Socialist transformation	Create a modern, urban, industrial working class

Targets vs Reality