Consumer goods in the Soviet Union

Soviet industry 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 foods, 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, G... more

Soviet industry 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 foods, 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 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—as a result of historical factors that made emphasis on consumer industries a... less