Five Years in Four! The Union's Race to Industrialize (The Revolution From Above Part 2)

From the launch of the First Five-Year Plan in 1928 to the eve of the German invasion in 1941, the Soviet Union underwent one of the most dramatic economic transformations in modern history. In little more than a decade, a predominantly agrarian country became one of the world's leading industrial powers, constructing vast steelworks, hydroelectric dams, railways, and entire new cities while mobilizing millions of workers in pursuit of an ambitious socialist vision.

In this episode of Unbreakable Union, hosts Jason and Matthew examine the origins, goals, and achievements of the Five-Year Plans. They discuss the enormous challenges that accompanied this unprecedented drive for modernization, considering the debates surrounding the Five-Year Plans, and separating myth from reality and examining why historians continue to disagree over their legacy.

Whether viewed as an extraordinary feat of socialist planning or one of the twentieth century's most controversial economic experiments, the Five-Year Plans transformed the Soviet Union and laid the industrial foundations that would prove decisive in the struggle against Nazi Germany. Join us as we explore one of the defining chapters of Soviet history.