The focus of the most recent dev diary was the Soviet Union. While many changes were implemented, the industry and economy changes were the biggest and deserve a spotlight of their own.
During the first years of Soviet rule, the economic and industrial development basically consisted of recovering the formerly rural-agricultural Russian economy from the devastation of the Civil War. From 1921 to 1928, the USSR pursued the New Economic Policy.
However, during the Stalinist era, the primary goal was the establishment of an industrial base in the country, and during the late 1920s measures were taken again against the kulaks, initiating the collapse of the NEP, with their system of having lighter industry in the hands of the private owners, and the heavier industry in the hands of the state. In 1928 the implementation of the First Five Year Plan began, followed by forced industrialization and collectivization.
As you might guess, the main feature of the Soviet industrial branch is the Five Year Plans. You start with a National Spirit representing the Second Five Year Plan, implemented from 1933. to 1937, this plan was characterized by harsh collectivization and a major advance in industrialization and infrastructure. However, the hectic pace of this industrialization and the lack of qualified personnel often resulted in high accident rates, meaning frequent losses in lives and expensive material) and, overall, low efficiency.
As you complete focuses on the Five Year Plan branch, your National Spirit will evolve, representing the Third Five Year Plan, implemented during 1938-1942, the plan was of course ruined in 1941 after Barbarossa. This plan initially emphasized the need of increasing quality in production and resource extraction. However, with tensions in Europe growing at an alarming rate, the plan soon started to gradually focus on defense and military production.
This is represented in-game by the possibility of specializing your Third Five Year Plan, you can focus on increasing the efficiency of your factories in the long term, or you can shift the focus to start boosting armament production as soon as possible. As you might have noticed, the focuses in the center are all resource-related.
Paradox Interactive
As the plan was ruined by the Barbarossa operation, all the focuses related to the Third Five Year Plan will get locked forever once the Soviet Union gets dragged into a war against a major country, meaning that once the Great Patriotic War starts, the Third Five Year Plan goes to hell, forever. You will keep your current national spirit with all its bonuses, but you won’t be able to progress any further in this part of the branch.
However, if you manage to survive and defeat your enemies, and right after the peace conference against the enemy that ruined your five-year plan, Restoration and Development will be automatically completed for you, not only granting temporary bonuses for repairing and rebuilding your, potentially, devastated industry and infrastructure, with a cost in consumer goods but also unlocking access to the Fourth Five Year Plan and the final focuses in the industrial branch. The Fourth Five Year Plan, which was focused on the reconstruction and economic development of the country.
