"The policy that Stalin advocated and pursued came to be called "socialism in one country"" (Cowie, 1994, p159). Stalin argued that the socialist system of government should be first consolidated in Russia by making the country militarily and economically strong enough to resist a war with the capitalist nations. For that reason, when Stalin gained complete control of Russia he implemented his policy, scrapped the New Economic Policy established by Lenin, brought all areas of the economy under state control and went about industrialising the USSR to make it powerful. .
"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed" (Internet Site 3).When Stalin came to power, Russia was almost completely an agrarian economy or an economy totally driven by agriculture. Stalin realised this and became infatuated with transforming Russia into an industrial super power as he was certain the western nations in the next decade would attempt to destroy the Soviet Union. "Joseph Stalin, in 1928, launched the first Five-Year Plan; it was designed to industrialize the USSR in the shortest possible time. The plan, put into action ruthlessly, aimed at making the USSR self-sufficient" (Internet Site 5). Stalin modernised industry through a system called the Five Year Plans. Millions of Russians set to work to build new cities, dams, transport and communication facilities, railway lines including the Moscow underground, farm machinery and power stations to increase electricity. The first Five Year Plan ran from 1928-33, but was officially declared over in 1932. The second Five Year Plan ran from 1933-37 and the third Five Year Plan continued from 1938 but was interrupted by the invasion of Nazi Germany. "By 1939, Russia had passed Britain as an industrial nation and was bettered only by the USA and Germany" (Mills, 1986, p108).