“The West industrialized the USSR” - another propaganda slogan that confuses trade with exploitation. Let’s break it down. Concessions had nothing to do with Stalin’s industrialization *** Concessions were deals where foreign companies came into the USSR, used its resources,
Still think it wasn’t legalized looting? Take a look: 🔸 Fishing concessions - Foreign companies fished in Soviet waters, exported the catch, and kept up to 85% of the profits. The USSR got scraps in return. 🔸 Timber deals - Western firms were given access to vast Russian
Stalin’s industrialization was built through trade, not concessions In the 1930s, the USSR bought what it needed: 🔸 Equipment, designs, factory blueprints from the U.S. (Ford, Albert Kahn), Germany, Britain, Italy, and others 🔸 Paid in gold, grain, and hard currency 🔸 These
USSR wasn’t unique. Buying foreign technology has always been standard practice for developing countries - whether it was Imperial Russia, the U.S., Germany, Japan, or the USSR. The difference is: some used it to build their own power (like the USSR and Japan), while others
The USSR quickly built its own capacity By the mid-1930s, the Soviet Union: 🔸 Trained its own engineers 🔸 Reverse-engineered and improved foreign tech 🔸 Built massive plants from scratch 🔸 Launched entire industries: aviation, metallurgy, chemicals, oil Stalin’s