Consumer goods in the Soviet Union

The industry of the Soviet Union was usually divided into two major categories. Group A was "heavy industry," which included all goods that serve as an input required for the production of some other, final good. Group B was "Soviet consumer goods" (final goods used for consumption), including food, clothing and shoes, housing, and such heavy-industry products as appliances and fuels that are used by individual consumers. From the early days of the Stalin era, Group A received top priority in economic planning and allocation.

Following the October Revolution of 1917, the economy of the Soviet Union, previously largely agrarian, was rapidly industrialized. From 1928 to 1991 the entire course of the economy was guided by a series of ambitious five-year plans. (see Economic planning in the Soviet Union) The nation was among the world's three top manufacturers of a large number of basic and heavy industrial products, but it tended to lag behind in the output of light industrial production and consumer durables. One result of this was that consumer demand was only partially satisfied.

The 1930s saw major changes in the supply and distribution of consumer goods in the Soviet Union. The First Five Year Plan focused on the industrialization of the country and the production of industrial goods. After the successful industrialization drive in the First Five Year Plan the government turned its focus to improving the lives of its citizens. The introduction of the Second Five Year Plan in 1933 attempted to accomplish this by shifting the focus of production exclusively from industrial goods to include the production of some consumer goods. The Party Congress of February 1934 bolstered the calls for improvement of both quantity and quality in food products and other consumer goods. These changes led Stalin to declare in 1935 that, “Life has become more joyous”.

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