Was the Great Patriotic War a good thing for Russia and the USSR?

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Was the Great Patriotic War a good thing for Russia and the USSR?

Advantages

  • Created unity and loyalty to Stalin throughout Russia and the USSR
  • 5 million people joined the army
  • Efficiency boosted - wartime economy meant people worked harder and it wiped out the abesteeism and slacking associated with a communist regime

Disadvantages

  • Huge numbers of people were lost ; 80,000 red army officers and another 1/3 of the population from disease, cold and starvation all before 1944.
  • Agriculture suffered badly, land was burnt and usable. Nothing could be grown in many areas.
  • Many resources were ruined, "scorched earth" policy meant everything was destroyed
  • Factories had inexperienced workers due to the immense amounts of people joining the army (although these people would have gained experience through the duration of the war)

Evaluation

Largely depends on the area of the USSR in question ; countryside areas would have been pleased - the movement of industry to rural areas meant the economy was developed and certain areas thrived. But places like Minsk and Kurst lost massive amounts of population. Overall, a bad thing. 

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