The January Plenum and the 1933 Plan

Abstract

By the beginning of 1933 the annual control figures had not yet been published; and no directives had yet been agreed for the second five-year plan, due to commence on January 1. Many foreign observers were convinced that disaster was overhanging the Soviet economy. The Commercial Counsellor at the British Embassy in Moscow believed that ‘the Soviet leaders now in power may not be there two years hence’, [1] while the British Ambassador even entertained the possibility that the Soviet Union would collapse. [2] The Soviet leadership rallied its supporters by a celebration of its achievements and declaration of faith in the future. The first item on the agenda of the plenum of the party central committee, which met from January 7 to 12, 1933, was boldly entitled ‘The Results of the First Five-Year Plan, and the National-Economic Plan for 1933 - the First Year of the Second Five-Year Plan’. It was introduced by three reports from senior members of the Politburo: Stalin, Molotov and Kuibyshev.