What was a key economic policy implemented by Stalin to transform the Soviet economy in the 1930s?

The key economic policy implemented by Stalin to transform the Soviet economy in the 1930s was the Five Year Plans. These plans were ambitious state-directed economic development initiatives aimed at rapidly industrializing the Soviet Union and collectivizing agriculture. The first Five Year Plan was launched in 1928, and it focused on heavy industry, infrastructure development, and increasing agricultural productivity through the collectivization of farms.

The importance of the Five Year Plans lies in their role in shifting the Soviet economy away from the turmoil and inefficiency of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and towards a more controlled, centrally planned economy that sought to eliminate capitalist elements and create a socialist state. This transformation aimed to make the Soviet Union self-sufficient and ready to compete with Western industrial powers.

Through the Five Year Plans, Stalin sought to accelerate economic growth and production, leading to significant increases in output in various sectors, although often at great human cost, including widespread famine and the repression of the peasantry. This approach fundamentally altered the structure of the Soviet economy and laid the groundwork for its efforts in World War II and beyond.