How often were Soviet records faked?
Upvote:-3
Residential building in the USSR, in million sq. meters. Blue = total, red = paid for by the customers.
Upvote:5
Soviet and post-Soviet records were and are fabricated all the time, in huge quantities. In fact, the tradition dates much further back, to 18th century Potemkin villages. Before the 20th century these were rare, though, but in the Soviet Union massive falsifications were a way of life, and often the method of choice for make-belief economic growth. John Kerry was absolutely right when he called Russia parallel universe.
Upvote:7
The Soviet Union started as essentially 150 million illiterate slaves, and within a half century became one of the world super powers, with nuclear weapons, a space program, world class physics and engineering. It developed its people to be educated, and to expect everyone to live a middle class lifestyle.
Certainly, some of the production numbers were faked, just like everywhere in the world. Were the numbers 100% wrong? Common sense says no, the numbers were somewhat truthful.
The important context to be drawn from Suvorov's book, which I will read soon, sounds like he has the expectation that the Soviet Union should be as good as England or the United States. The fact that he wants to hold the Soviet Union to such high standards, and compare the Soviet Union with the richest, most powerful countries indicates that indeed the Soviet Union was at least in the same league.
For comparison, imagine if a book were released which revealed that there are huge inconsistencies in some minor country's GDP growth numbers. Would anyone be surprised? or even interested in the existence of accounting inconsistencies? No, of course not. Why would anyone compare that insignificant state with the US?
What about comparing the Soviet Union and the United States economy? Does it make sense? It does; they are worthy of comparison. This means the reported numbers are not completely invalid.
Upvote:9
The stated goal of existence of Soviet Union was to make its citizens happy, and to establish socialism in the whole world (to make all people happy). This does not mean that this stated goal coincided with the personal goals of the rulers (as in any other society, these things rarely coincide). The first goal had to be achieved by higher labor productivity in a socialist society and by more fair distribution of goods.
Prevailing opinion on how to achieve the second goal varied with time. On the early stage it was assumed that the proletariat of the other countries, inspired by the example of Soviet Union will make social revolutions and Soviet union will help. They also hoped that a world war will help. These hopes did not realize.
In the later years, (after 1960s) the prevailing (official) opinion was that as a result of "peaceful coexistence" and competition, socialism somehow will win everywhere. This hope also collapsed.
When it became clear to everyone that the life standard in Soviet Union is also far behind its main competitors, and is not increasing as expected, the Soviet Union lost its reason of existence and collapsed.
The system did not prove its expected efficiency. They lost the competition.
As I said in the beginning, the stated goals of an organization does not coincide with the personal goals of the individuals making this organization. The communist party which was planned as a governing body performing the "dictatorship of proletariat" quickly degenerated, and the real goal of many of its members was to hold its privileged position.
More post
- 📝 Does Amnesty International maintain a list of prisoners of conscience?
- 📝 Were there any crops and livestock common to both the Old and New Worlds prior to the Columbian exchange?
- 📝 Did monotheistic religions play a role in shaping the belief that political power should be in the hands of an all powerful monarch?
- 📝 Were there any role-playing games in medieval times?
- 📝 How did Japan build an extensive rail network in Greater Tokyo?
- 📝 Why aren't the Americas named after Christopher Columbus
- 📝 What major approaches to "class" as a theoretical category do historians commonly use?
- 📝 How heavily were the British taxing their American colonies?
- 📝 What's the most elaborate ancient mechanism?
- 📝 Was there any practical use for German spiked helmets (Pickelhaube)?
- 📝 Are there any misunderstandings in history that were resolved in the 20th century?
- 📝 What's the longest recorded uninterrupted sequence of single color (red/black) in a professional casino?
- 📝 What is the earliest known reference to the phrase 'water of life'?
- 📝 In Britain, what was the "Junior Service" in 1913?
- 📝 Anti-personnel use of blowguns
- 📝 Why was Japanese Unit 731 immune from War Crime trials?
- 📝 Did Saint Paul preach at the Theater in Philippi?
- 📝 Did the Moors and Arabs, "Muslims," who invaded Europe, ie "Spain," help the evolution of civilizations of Europe?
- 📝 Early Telegraph Systems
- 📝 What evidence support the theory that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in ancient Athens?
- 📝 Was there any separation between hunting bow technology and weapon bows?
- 📝 What do the markings in 75mm WW1 trench art mean?
- 📝 Is there historical evidence that Emperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism?
- 📝 Did Aryan race ever existed?
- 📝 When were the most reigning monarchs related to each other?
- 📝 Is there evidence that Stalin stopped religious persecution during WW2?
- 📝 What time period did these notes come from?
- 📝 Where can I find demographic information for the Roman Empire?
- 📝 Why was fellatio considered so horrible during the XIX century in Europe?
- 📝 Did horse sacrifice persist in Christian Europe?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How often were Soviet records faked?
- 📝 How dependent were the Germans on horse transport in their invasion of the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What were the limitations on possession of wealth in Soviet Russia and how were they enforced?
- 📝 How independent were the Eastern European countries from the Soviet Union?
- 📝 How many were "deliberately" killed after Stalin's rule in Soviet Russia?
- 📝 How often were slaves raised by their parents in 19th century USA?
- 📝 How detailed were American Civil War medical records of the types of diseases that various soldiers had?
- 📝 How much were lottery prizes taxed in Soviet Union?
- 📝 How much smaller were medieval farm animals in England than today?
- 📝 How were tanks scrapped after World War Two?
- 📝 How were smallpox vaccines enforced in the US?
- 📝 How were concentration and extermination camp guards recruited?
- 📝 How severe were the casualties in ancient/medieval battles?
- 📝 How literate were common people in Medieval Europe?
- 📝 How were drawbridges and portcullises used tactically?
- 📝 How common were marital duels in medieval Europe?
- 📝 How kind were the Muslim occupations of North Africa?
- 📝 How were medieval castles built in swamps or marshes without draining them?
- 📝 How were horses disembarked from sail ships?
- 📝 How were Martello towers supposed to work?
- 📝 How were the cities of Milan and Bruges spared by the Black Death?
- 📝 How beneficial were war bonds to the US during WWII
- 📝 How prevalent were recreational drugs in the ancient world?
- 📝 How were Kurds involved (or not) in the invasion of Normandy?
- 📝 How much were telegraphists in the 1950s paid?
- 📝 Were secret treaties ratified? How did they become official while remaining secret?
- 📝 How popular was the Soviet Union?
- 📝 How unfavorable were the terms of Germany's "surrender" in WW1?
- 📝 How was titanium transported from Soviet Union to Area 51 for Oxcart?
- 📝 How were books published in Ancient Greece?