By the end of the 20s. it became clear that NEP was living its time. The pressure of the state led to the fact that many of the contracts under which the private owners were leased to the company, were annulled. The gradual elimination of foreign concessions began, the attack on the NEP. At the same time, free trade was increasingly restricted.

The first five-year plan that was adopted was primarily focused on the development of heavy industry: fuel, metallurgy, chemical industry, electric power industry, and machine building, that is, those sectors of the economy that were designed to make the USSR a technically independent state. It was necessary to eliminate the situation when, creating a new technique, workers and specialists had to literally copy, translating into the drawings, every detail of a particular foreign machine. In this way, the "OP" tractor ("Fordzon-Putilovets") was manufactured at the Putilov factory. Without having the drawings, without knowing the composition of the metal from which the American tractors were made, this task was nevertheless managed to be solved. However, this way of mastering important production was not considered normal. Later, when it was possible to establish cooperation with Ford, the development of modern technology was much faster.

Solving the country's industrialization task, the state begins to create giant construction sites, build new enterprises: the Stalingrad and Chelyabinsk, and then Kharkov tractor plants, huge heavy engineering plants in Sverdlovsk and Kramatorsk, automobile plants in Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. On October 8, 1929, the construction of the Kramatorsk Machine-Building Plant was started by the decision of the Supreme Council of National Economy. It was assumed that it would satisfy about half of the USSR’s entire need for metallurgical equipment and would become the basis for another giant — the turbine-building plant in Kharkov. The plant employed with three-shift continuous work 17 thousand people of workers and more than 2 thousand people of engineering and technical personnel.

The two most famous steel mills include two steel mills: Magnitogorsk in the Urals and Kuznetsky in Western Siberia. One of the peculiarities of the first five-year plans was the fact that most of the workforce completion was coming from the village. In 1927-1930 the proportion of immigrants from the village in the recruitment of industrial labor was 40%, in 1931-1932. - 65%, in 1933-1937 - 54%. In industrial production, including metallurgical, more and more actively involved women. In May 1932, the leadership of the Vostokstal association proudly reported on the successful involvement of peasant women and housekeepers in the production process: "There is no such shop that would not have women at the machine tools and aggregates. We have without a doubt, great success: as of January 1, 1931, 11,594 women worked, as of January 1, 1932, 14,248, or 21.6% of the total number of workers, worked. " In 1931, unemployment was completely eliminated in the USSR.

Many enterprises, including the famous metallurgical plants, were built in the bare steppe, outside or far from populated areas. Under these conditions, cases of selfless labor, courage, and fearlessness were not uncommon. Thus, in the winter of 1932, the team of M. A. Arduanov, drummer of the Berezniki Chemical Plant, at 48 degrees below zero, “where the team with warm clothes refused to do the work, without warmth, in sandals, performed the most responsible and hard work, infecting enthusiastic other brigades. "

At the end of 1929, the resistance to the Stalinist methods of leadership and management was finally broken. Groups of Bukharin and other "right" were condemned. At the same time, the revision began (in the direction of overstatement of indicators) of the first five-year plan. On November 7, 1929, Stalin's article "The Year of the Great Breakthrough" appeared in Pravda. It emphasized that “we are going on everyone, couples along the path of industrialization, leaving behind our age-old“ racial backwardness. ”Not a year goes by, put the USSR on a car, and the peasant on a tractor - let the respectable capitalists try to overtake us its "civilization". " In 1930, speaking at the XVI Congress of the CPSU (b), Stalin recognized that such a breakthrough is possible only with the idea of ​​building "socialism in one country." In his report, the leader demanded a gigantic increase in the tasks of the five-year plan, arguing that the plan could be exceeded for a number of indicators.

The slogan "Five-Year Plan in four years!" becoming one of the most popular in the country. Stalin's remark that the five-year plan could be carried out "in three and even in two and a half years" meant the use of accelerated rates of industrialization. A seven-day week was abolished by a government decree. Instead, a continuous working week was introduced, the days of which, without names, were numbered from 1 to 5. On every sixth day, there was a day off set for work shifts. Thus, plants and institutions could work without interruption.

The XVII party conference, which passed in January-February 1932, became the culminating point of advanced planning. During its work, the first directives for the second five-year plan were formulated, which was to end in 1937. The reports of V. M. Molotov and V. V. Kuibyshev (the latter replaced the supporter of scientific planning, G. M. Krzhizhanovsky) as chairman of the State Planning Committee, and the resolution on the five-year plan said that by that time electricity production had to be brought to 100 billion kWh, and coal to 250 million tons, pig iron - up to 2 2 million tons, oil - up to 80-90 million tons, grains - up to 130 million tons. In a few years, the Soviet economy had to reach the level of the leading western countries in one leap.

One of the largest projects of the first five-year plans was, as noted, the Ural-Kuznetsk territorial complex - the coal and metallurgical base of the country. There were and implemented many other projects related to the promotion of industry to the east of the USSR. In connection with such a geography of industrialization, the use of forced labor has increased significantly. And as the incentives used the most sophisticated forms. A.I. Mikoyan, describing his impressions of the work of the prisoners, said: “They work great and it’s not visible that the Red Army men would stand and watch how they work”. Why all? From work depends on the supply. “You work well — you can receive letters from home, you can write out your wife from home. You work better — you can write out two times, and the other cannot.”

At the end of 1932, the first five-year plan was declared completed in 4 years and 3 months. At the same time, an analysis of the main indicators in industry showed that by the end of the five-year plan it was not possible to achieve the planned figures. Instead of 17 million tons of pig iron, only about 6 million tons were smelted; electricity generation amounted to 13.5 billion kWh instead of 22 billion kWh according to the plan.

The second five-year plan (1933-1937), the tasks of which were defined by the January 1933 joint plenum of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the CPSU (b) and discussed at the XVII Party Congress in November 1934, was held under the slogan "Personnel who mastered the technique, decide everything. " For these purposes, a network of factory training (FZO), factory training (FZU), brigade training was created. Only the FZU for the years of the second five-year plan gave the country 1.4 million skilled workers, three times more than in the first five-year plan.

The enthusiasm of workers in the development of new equipment and technology was manifested in the Stakhanov movement. Alexey Stakhanov, who was the initiator of the work at the Donetsk-based Tsentralnaya-Irmino mine, changed the organization of work, mined 102 tons of coal for a shift (5 hours 45 minutes) at the night of 30 to 31 August 1935, according to the plan. The labor feat of Stakhanov met with response throughout the country and resulted in the Stakhanov movement. September 19, 1935 Stakhanov set a new record, producing 227 tons of coal per shift. These indexes were soon overlapped many times. N. Izotov, from whom Stakhanov studied advanced labor methods, reached the highest output in the Donbass. February 1, 1936 Izotov mined 607 tons of coal per shift, following nearly 100 norms. During these years, the Stakhanov movement embraced all branches of industry, transport, construction, and agriculture. Labor exploits were widely propagated. The names of the pioneers of the movement: A. Stakhanov, N. Izotov, A. Busygina, and others swept over the country. The famous loader of the Kirov factory V. Titenkov became famous in Le Ningrad, who, having made a special shovel for himself with a "ladle", unloaded in 45 minutes without sighing "a twenty-platform platform with coal, while ahead of the crane on the neighboring platform, where 3 people worked.

“What does it mean to be a Stakhanovist?” Wrote M. Stazhaev, a steelworker-Stakhanovite, “means to overlap the moldy norms, fight routine, inertia, red tape, not be afraid to dare, invent, try to step on a par with the five-year plan.”

The Stakhanov movement, as noted by the French writer A. Gide, when he visited the USSR in the summer of 1936, was "a wonderful invention to shake people from hibernation (there was once a whip for this purpose). In a country where workers used to work, the Stakhanov movement it would be unnecessary. But here, left unattended, they immediately relax. And it seems a miracle that, despite this, the matter is on. "

A number of foreign observers in the 30s. considered the Stakhanov movement as one of the most ingenious ways to raise salaries. Indeed, the salary of the Stakhanovists was much higher than the average salary. Sam A. Stakhanov noted that his earnings increased from 600 rubles. up to 2 thousand rubles. 3-4 times increased their income and other advanced production. However, they all believed that they did not work for money, but for the benefit of the socialist Motherland. The idea that their work strengthens the power of the country prevailed in the minds of the workers. In addition, the Stakhanovists were supplied with special books, which were called "fence", for them they allowed to buy food and manufactured goods in special stores. For drummers, special canteens were opened where differentiated food existed. Lunches there should have been cheaper at higher calories. It was supposed to serve out-of-turn drummers, set aside special “shock rooms” for them (with white tablecloths, flowers and music) or separate tables.

Among the organizational activities of the party aimed at the development of the Stakhanov movement, the First All-Union Stakhanovite Conference, which opened in the Big Kremlin-levsky Palace on November 14, 1935, received a great response. The main idea expressed at the meeting was that the high rates achieved by individual percussionists, became average in all sectors of the national economy.

The Stakhanov movement played a large role in solving the tasks of the second five-year plan, strengthening the socialist ideals of the time. According to official data, in September 1936 there were 992.6 thousand Stakhanovists in the country, and in January 1938 there were already 1593.1 thousand people. In the first five-year period, 51% increase in industrial output was obtained due to the growth in labor productivity, and in the second, 79%. The noble and heroic Stakhanov movement played a significant role in this. In many ways, thanks to him, the results of the second five-year plan turned out to be somewhat better than the first, but it was not necessary to talk about its early implementation in 4 years and 4 months (as was announced).

The best results were achieved in the mid-1930s, when GK Ordzhonikidze and G.L. Pyatakov supervised over heavy industry. Production of ferrous metallurgy in 1933-1937 increased by 3 times, and the average annual increase was 40-60%. During the years of the second five-year plan, the USSR essentially stopped importing agricultural machinery and tractors. The total number of workers in the country grew from 9 million people in 1928 to 23 mln in 1940, including in industry from 4 to 10 million, the number of specialists in the national economy increased from 0.5 to 2, 5 million

However, despite the undoubted achievements in the economy, the standard of living of the population remained very low. By the beginning of 1929, a rationing system was introduced in all cities of the USSR. Leave the population of bread on cards was started from the cities of grain-growing Ukraine. In March 1929, this measure also affected Moscow. The bread was followed by a rationed distribution of other scarce products: sahara, meat, butter, tea, etc. By the middle of 1931, cards for industrial goods were introduced, and in 1932-1933. even on potatoes. The place of trade was occupied by the merchandising of the so-called "fence documents" and warrants through closed distributors, workers 'cooperatives and departments of the workers' supply.

Under these conditions, theft has become widespread. In the spring of 1932, the People's Commissar for Supply Mikoyan recognized: “Everyone steals all the way to the communists. It is easier for a communist to steal than another. According to Mikoyan, the inspection of bread shops in Moscow showed that they were stealing 12 cars a day.

The decision to abolish the rationing system in the USSR was made by the October 1934 plenum of the Central Committee. In December, a decree appeared, which, from January 1, 1935, canceled bread cards. In September 1935, a decree was issued that canceled from October 1, 1935 cards for meat, sugar, fats, potatoes. However, the situation with food and manufactured goods remained difficult after that. Foreigners who visited the USSR at that time recognized that they were impressed by the ability of Soviet people to find joy in the most prosaic things: "they stand for hours; bread, vegetables, fruits seem to be bad - but there is nothing else Fabrics, things that you see, seem ugly to you - but there is nothing to choose from. Because there is absolutely nothing to compare with - except for the damned past - you are happy to take what you are given. "

Numerous imbalances in the economy, which even the striking force, undermined by formalism, showing off and conflicting with the planned economy, could not straighten out, was already clearly seen at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s Along with Stalin's statements that the hostility of the imperialist states is growing and will inevitably lead to war, economic problems prompted a search for those guilty of technical defects, accidents at mines and in other sectors of the national economy.