Which statement is accurate about the Soviet economy under Stalin?

Which statement is accurate about the Soviet economy under Stalin?

• A. The economy remained largely agrarian with little industrial growth
• B. There was a free-market approach to pricing and allocation
• C. The Soviet Union increased its industrial output by developing heavy industry
• D. Private ownership of industry expanded dramatically

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that Stalin’s economy was built on central planning and rapid industrialization, with a clear emphasis on heavy industry. The statement is the best one because the Soviet state deliberately directed vast resources into industry that produced capital goods—steel, coal, machinery, electricity—through the Five-Year Plans and Gosplan. Private ownership diminished as the state nationalized industries and set production targets, while pricing and allocation were controlled by the government rather than by markets. This approach led to dramatic gains in heavy industrial output, even as consumer goods and living standards lagged and agriculture was reorganized through collectivization. So the focus was on expanding heavy industry under state direction, not on free-market mechanisms or widespread private ownership.

The main idea here is that Stalin’s economy was built on central planning and rapid industrialization, with a clear emphasis on heavy industry. The statement is the best one because the Soviet state deliberately directed vast resources into industry that produced capital goods—steel, coal, machinery, electricity—through the Five-Year Plans and Gosplan. Private ownership diminished as the state nationalized industries and set production targets, while pricing and allocation were controlled by the government rather than by markets. This approach led to dramatic gains in heavy industrial output, even as consumer goods and living standards lagged and agriculture was reorganized through collectivization. So the focus was on expanding heavy industry under state direction, not on free-market mechanisms or widespread private ownership.