Stalin came into power in 1924 after the death of Lenin. He made plans for economic development within Russia through a series of five year plans for industry and agriculture.
When Stalin took control of the Soviet Union, it was still a peasant dominated country and he believed that the USSR had to modernize and industrialize quickly, along with the agriculture.
More productive farms would provide more labor; large commercial farms would be able to increase the production and provide the necessary food to feed the workers and Stalin wanted to raise capital by selling surplus food abroad.
in 1929 Stalin introduced collectivization and the plan for it was that peasant farms would be joined on which they were allowed to keep a small plot for
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by 1941 almost all the land had been collectivized and the cost to the Russian people was enormous.
The five year plans in the industry aimed to revolutionize the industry. Production targets were set for each of the five years to transform Russia into an industrial superpower. The Gosplan were responsible for carrying out the plans. Stalin cautioned that unless the USSR transformed the economy, the more advanced countries would crush them.
The first five year plan from 1928 - 1933 focused on the major industries of coal, iron and steel. Most targets were not met, but the output of major industries were staggering. New cities were built and workers moved into the cities. Existing factories increased their production and new factories were built. Roads and railways were extended and the existing networks improved.
The second five year plan from 1933 - 1937 gave heavy industry top priority and focused on improving the quality. The Soviet Union became one of the major steel producing countries. Workers had strict targets to meet and were fined if they did not meet them. Transport and communication were improved and railways became faster and more reliable. The Moscow underground was also built at this