Industrialization in the Soviet Union

Industrialization in the Soviet Union was a process of accelerated building-up of the industrial potential of the Soviet Union to reduce the economy's lag behind the developed capitalist states, which was carried out from May 1929 to June 1941.

The official task of industrialization was the transformation of the Soviet Union from a predominantly agrarian state into a leading industrial one. The beginning of socialist industrialization as an integral part of the "triple task of a radical reorganization of society" (industrialization, economic centralization, collectivization of agriculture and a cultural revolution) was laid down by the first five-year plan for the development of the national economy lasting from 1928 until 1932.

In Soviet times, industrialization was considered a great feat.^[1] The rapid growth of production capacity and the volume of production of heavy industry (4 times) was of great importance for ensuring economic independence from capitalist countries and strengthening the country's defense capability.^[1] At this time, the Soviet Union made the transition from an agrarian country to an industrial one. During the Second World War, the Soviet industry proved its superiority over the industry of Nazi Germany.^[2] Since the late 1980s, discussions on the price of industrialization have been held in the Soviet Union and Russia, which also questioned its results and long-term consequences for the Soviet economy and society.