What was the economy like in Russia in the 1950's?

Question

I need to know, was it prosperous? Was there a large middle class? Or was there a small middle class? What was the economy like? Any source you have would be great. Thanks!

Answer 1

On paper it was Communism. People could get the basic necessities of life, life was not exactly comfortable but there was no mass starvation. Waiting lines were common. Even though people were not paid very much they could and would save money to buy consumer goods such as automobiles which were always in short supply. Hedrick Smith wrote a book titled simply "The Russians" that covers more than the time period you are interested in, if you have time you might find it useful as a source.

Answer 2

Russia In The 1950s

Answer 3

The Russian Economy during the 1950s was generally limping along. The middle class - what there was of it - was composed of scientists, engineers and aparatchiks (Communist Party functionaries and government bureaucrats).

WWII had damaged Russia's industrial infrastructure and reduced the size of the male workforce. Seeing the threat of the U.S. and seizing the opportunity to lure German rocket scientists at the end of the war, Russia invested much of it's productive capacity in its nuclear program, missile program and space program. The investment paid off in 1956 when Russia launched the world's first satellite into earth orbit (Sputnik) leaving the U.S. scrambling to catch up and pass them in the 1960's.

This major investment in non-consumer oriented technology was at the expense of producing consumer necessities. Many products (such as bread, meat, fresh produce tp, gasoline, shoes and clothing) were rationed or available only to party higher-ups. Ultimately the investment in defense and the space program contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The U.S.S.R. did not have the resources to develop its vast deposits of crude oil and natural gas, nor the industrial base to produce the consumer and industrial products that could bring in the foreign currency needed to rebuild its industrial base.

I first took an interest in the Soviet Union in the late 1950's and during my junior high school years I read John Gunther's 1957 bestseller "Inside Russia Today", then started studying the Russian language. I put in a link below to Gunther's book at Amazon.com, but I believe you can find much more information in subsequent works by more scholarly authors.

Answer 4

Not only what the others said. but also communism was such a problem, and there was mass murder going on from the 1940s to early 1950s. All due to Stallin. Look it up in wikipedia.

Answer 5

Lol. Yes, Soviet society in the 1950s was prosperous and had a large middle class, just like the Americans!

Answer 6

well i dont know if they ever had a economy.

the people stopped making money and the state made em work to pay the state.

I know that world War III was averted becuase they didnt have the economy to fight one.