O-LEVEL HISTORY
SOCIAL IMPACT
FALL IN STANDARDS OF LIVING
The drive towards industrialisation caused more people to move to cities , where most factories are located .
This caused shortage of housing in the cities and many people were forced to live in cramped conditions , often without running water or sanitation .
Workers often overworked and were not fairly paid for their efforts and they worked under poor conditions . This thus led to the fall of standard in living. As a result , the success of industrialisation were achieved at a great cost to standards of living .
STATE CONTROL +FAMINE
The state owned and controlled everything and as the state concentrated on the production of armaments and goods for war , there were shortages in essential consumer goods and food . Stalin did not care for the welfare of his people but was determined to meets the targets of his five-year plans .
Collective farms were owned by the state . And during the Great Famine in 1932 , instead of distributing its stockpiled grain to the people , the state sold them to raise funds for more industrial machinery and development .
Famine continued for another 2 years and almost 7 million peasants died of starvation due to extreme shortage of food .
LIVING IN FEAR
It was no doubt that fear became an aspect of everyday life , as the secret police under Stalin was feared by everyone . Any suspicion of being anti-Stalin or anti state could warrant an arrest . And workers who failed to reach the target set could risk losing their jobs or to face punishments such as being sent to labour camps .
literacy rates increased more than 50% as compared to Tsarist rule . Education was made complusory and it was free . However , education emphasised on propaganda messages , communism and atheism . To win the loyalty of youths , Soviet teenagers were also encouraged to join Komosol , which encourage the outdoor activites and loyalty to stalin .