In 1928, Stalin launched the first of his Five-Year Plans, a series of ambitious plans for rapid industrialization.

The goal was to transform the Soviet Union from a peasant-based agricultural society into a modern industrial and military power.

The plans emphasized heavy industry, such as coal, iron, steel, and electricity, often at the expense of consumer goods.

The state took complete control of the economy, with a central planning agency called Gosplan setting production quotas for every factory.

To finance industrialization, Stalin implemented the policy of collectivization of agriculture.

This policy abolished private land ownership and forced tens of millions of peasants onto large, state-run collective farms ('kolkhoz').

Collectivization was met with fierce peasant resistance, who often slaughtered their livestock rather than hand them over.

The state responded with brutal force, particularly against the wealthier peasants ('kulaks'), who were arrested, deported, or executed.

The chaos of collectivization, combined with the state seizing all grain, led to a catastrophic man-made famine (the Holodomor in Ukraine) that killed millions of people.

While the Five-Year Plans did lead to a massive increase in industrial output, it came at an immense human cost.