Gosplan or State Planning Committee (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: , ɡɐsˈplan) was the committee responsible for economic planning in the Soviet Union

Economy of the Soviet Union

The economy of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was based on a system of state ownership of the means of production, collective farming, industrial manufacturing and centralized administrative planning...

. The word "Gosplan" is an abbreviation for Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Planirovaniyu (Russian

Russian language

Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...

: , State Committee for Planning). One of its main duties was the creation of Five-Year Plans

Five-Year Plan (USSR)

The Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the Soviet Union were a series of nation-wide centralized exercises in rapid economic development in the Soviet Union. The plans were developed by a state planning committee based on the Theory of Productive Forces that was part of the general...

.

History

The agency was formed on 22 February 1921 as the "RSFSR State Planning Commission", by decree

Decree

A decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...

 of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

's Sovnarkom. The GOELRO plan

GOELRO plan

GOELRO plan was the first-ever Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans drafted by Gosplan...

, the first large-scale Soviet plan to recover the Russian economy, was first to test Gosplan. After the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR State Planning Commission of the USSR Council of Labour and Defence  was established on 21 August 1923. The abbreviation "Gosplan" has been used since 1921.

Initially Gosplan had an advisory function. Its primary objective was the co-ordination of the economic plans of Union republics and the creation of the common Union plan. During 1925 Gosplan started creating annual economic plans, known as "control numbers" .

Its work was coordinated with the USSR Central Statistical Directorate , the Narkomat of Finance, and the All-Union Council of State Economy , and later with Gosbank

Gosbank

Gosbank was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank whatsoever in the entire Union from the 1930s until the year 1987. Gosbank was one of the three Soviet economic authorities, the other two being "Gosplan" and "Gossnab"...

 and Gossnab

Gossnab

Gossnab of USSR, State Supplies of the USSR was active in 1948-1953, 1965-1991. It was the state committee for material technical supply in the Soviet Union...

.

With the introduction of five year plan

Five-Year Plan (USSR)

The Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the Soviet Union were a series of nation-wide centralized exercises in rapid economic development in the Soviet Union. The plans were developed by a state planning committee based on the Theory of Productive Forces that was part of the general...

s in 1928, Gosplan became responsible for their creation and supervision according to the objectives declared by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...

.

During 1930 the Statistical Directorate was merged into Gosplan, and on 3 February 1931 Gosplan was resubordinated to the Sovnarkom.

During May 1955 Gosplan was divided into two commissions: the USSR Council of Ministers State Commission for Advanced Planning , and the USSR Council of Ministers Economic Commission on Current Planning . These were, respectively, tasked with predictive and immediate planning. The work of the latter was based on the five-year plans delivered by Gosplan, with Gosplan planning 10–15 years ahead.

Gosplan was headquartered at the building now occupied by the State Duma, in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

.

Regionalisation Commission

During May 1921, with the introduction of the New Economic Policy

New Economic Policy

The New Economic Policy was an economic policy proposed by Vladimir Lenin, who called it state capitalism. Allowing some private ventures, the NEP allowed small animal businesses or smoke shops, for instance, to reopen for private profit while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade,...

, Gosplan's Council of Labour and Defense established the Regionalisation Committee, tasked with developing a plan for the economic-administrative organisation of the RSFSR. Composed largely of technical staff - professional engineers and economists from imperialist

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 times, it was directed by Ivan Gavrilovich Alexandrov, former member of the State Commission for the Electrification of Russia

GOELRO plan

GOELRO plan was the first-ever Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development. It became the prototype for subsequent Five-Year Plans drafted by Gosplan...

, but not however a member of the Bolshevik Party. The commission examined alternatives of ethno-territorial regionalisation, discussing the topic with the People's Commissariat of Agriculture, the Central Statistical Directorate and the Supreme Soviet

All-Russian Central Executive Committee

All-Russian Central Executive Committee , was the highest legislative, administrative, and revising body of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Although the All-Russian Congress of Soviets had supreme authority, in periods between its sessions its powers were passed to VTsIK...

 (VTsIK) Administrative Commission.

Method of Material Balances

The introduction of the first five year plan in 1928 led to a re-examination of the roles of Gosplan and VSNKh, the supreme state organization for management of the economy at this time. This re-examination of roles was required because VSNKh itself also had responsibility for planning through the Industrial Planning Commission (Promplan). Re-examination of roles was also required as the introduction of the first five year plan meant that Gosplan's role was no longer one of prognosis and drafting of 'control figures' since plans had now become orders to act.

In order to ensure the success of the plan it was necessary to ensure that inputs from one part of the economy matched outputs from another part of the economy. Gosplan achieved this using a methodology called the system of 'material balances'. For a plan period (in detail for one year and in lesser detail for a five year plan) Gosplan drew up a balance sheet in terms of units of material (i.e. money was not used as part of the accounting process).

The first step in the process was to assess how much steel, cement, wool cloth, etc... would be available for the next year. This calculation was based on the following formula: production minus exports plus imports plus or minus changes in stocks).

The second step was to identify where there were mismatches between levels of outputs of one material that was used as an input in another part of the economy i.e. where there were differences between supply and demand within the economy. If mismatches between supply and demand were identified then, for the one year plan, utilization plans for a particular input material could be cut or alternatively effort was made to increase supply. For the five year plan mismatches between supply and demand could be mitigated by modifying long terms plans to increase productive capacity.

Using this method any changes in the plan to remove mismatches between inputs and outputs would result in hundreds, even thousands, of changes to material balances. This meant that, without the aid of information technology, Gosplan could only deal with the economy in very general terms.

Directors of Gosplan

Name	Dates		Premier(s) Served
	Began Office	Ended Office
State Planning Commission
Gleb Krzhizhanovsky Gleb Krzhizhanovsky Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky was a Soviet economist and a state figure. Academician of USSR Academy of Sciences , Hero of Socialist Labour ....  (1st term)	13 August 1921	11 December 1923	Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
Alexander Tsuryupa	11 December 1923	18 November 1925	Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a... , Alexey Rykov
Gleb Krzhizhanovsky Gleb Krzhizhanovsky Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky was a Soviet economist and a state figure. Academician of USSR Academy of Sciences , Hero of Socialist Labour ....  (2nd term)	18 November 1925	10 November 1930	Alexey Rykov
Valerian Kuibyshev	10 November 1930	25 April 1934	Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
Valery Mezhlauk (1st term)	25 April 1934	25 February 1937	Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
Gennady Smirnov	25 February 1937	17 October 1937	Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
Valery Mezhlauk (2nd term)	17 October 1937	1 December 1937	Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
Nikolai Voznesensky Nikolai Voznesensky Nikolai Alekseevich Voznesensky was the Soviet economic planner who oversaw the running of Gosplan during the German-Soviet War. A protégé of Andrei Zhdanov, Voznesensky was appointed Deputy Premier in May 1940 at the age of thirty-eight. He was directly involved in the recovery of production...  (1st term)	19 January 1938	10 March 1941	Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
Maksim Saburov Maksim Saburov Maksim Zakharovich Saburov was a Soviet engineer, economist and politician, three-time Chairman of Gosplan and later First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union...  (1st term)	10 March 1941	8 December 1942	Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
Nikolai Voznesensky Nikolai Voznesensky Nikolai Alekseevich Voznesensky was the Soviet economic planner who oversaw the running of Gosplan during the German-Soviet War. A protégé of Andrei Zhdanov, Voznesensky was appointed Deputy Premier in May 1940 at the age of thirty-eight. He was directly involved in the recovery of production...  (2nd term)	8 December 1942	9 January 1948	Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
State Planning Committee
Nikolai Voznesensky	9 January 1948	5 March 1949	Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
Maksim Saburov Maksim Saburov Maksim Zakharovich Saburov was a Soviet engineer, economist and politician, three-time Chairman of Gosplan and later First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union...  (2nd term)	5 March 1949	5 March 1953	Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
Grigory Kosyachenko	5 March 1953	29 June 1953	Georgy Malenkov Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
Maksim Saburov Maksim Saburov Maksim Zakharovich Saburov was a Soviet engineer, economist and politician, three-time Chairman of Gosplan and later First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union...  (3rd term)	29 June 1953	25 May 1955	Georgy Malenkov Georgy Malenkov Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov was a Soviet politician, Communist Party leader and close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. After Stalin's death, he became Premier of the Soviet Union and was in 1953 briefly considered the most powerful Soviet politician before being overshadowed by Nikita...
State Economic Commission for Advanced Planning
Nikolai Baibakov Nikolai Baibakov Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov was a Soviet statesman, economist and Hero of Socialist Labor. He finished secondary school in 1928 and entered the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute, from which he graduated in 1931 as a mining engineer. In 1935, he was drafted into the armed forces...  (1st term)	25 May 1955	3 May 1957	Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
Joseph Kuzmin Joseph Kuzmin Joseph I. Kuzmin , – Moscow, 12 January 1996) was a Soviet-Russian statesman who was First Deputy of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1958 and Chairman of the State Planning Committee from 1957 to 1959....	3 May 1957	10 May 1957	Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
State Economic Commission for Current Planning
Maksim Saburov Maksim Saburov Maksim Zakharovich Saburov was a Soviet engineer, economist and politician, three-time Chairman of Gosplan and later First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union...	25 May 1955	25 December 1956	Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
Mikhail Pervukhin Mikhail Pervukhin Mikhail Gyeorgievich Pervukhin was a Soviet official during the Stalin Era, Khrushchev Era and the early Brezhnev Era. He served as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice-Premier of the Soviet Union, from 1955 to 1957....	25 December 1956	10 May 1957	Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:...
State Planning Committee
Joseph Kuzmin Joseph Kuzmin Joseph I. Kuzmin , – Moscow, 12 January 1996) was a Soviet-Russian statesman who was First Deputy of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from 1957 to 1958 and Chairman of the State Planning Committee from 1957 to 1959....	10 May 1957	20 March 1959	Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Bulganin Nikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Premier of the Soviet Union . The Bulganin beard is named after him.-Early career:... , Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
Alexei Kosygin	20 March 1959	4 May 1960	Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
Vladimir Novikov Vladimir Novikov (politician) Vladimir Nikolaevich Novikov was a Soviet-Russian statesman was Chairman of the State Planning Committee from 1960 to 1962 and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy from 1962 to 1965....	4 May 1960	17 July 1962	Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
Veniamin Dymshits	17 July 1962	24 November 1962	Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
Pyotr Lomako Pyotr Lomako Pyotr Faddeyevich Lomako was a Soviet politician and economist, head of Gosplan between 1962 and 1965. During the Second World War, he was responsible for overseeing the evacuation of Soviet industry to the Ural mountains...	24 November 1962	2 October 1965	Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964... , Alexei Kosygin
Nikolai Baibakov Nikolai Baibakov Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov was a Soviet statesman, economist and Hero of Socialist Labor. He finished secondary school in 1928 and entered the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute, from which he graduated in 1931 as a mining engineer. In 1935, he was drafted into the armed forces...  (2nd term)	2 October 1965	14 October 1985	Alexei Kosygin, Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980... , Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991...
Nikolai Talyzin Nikolai Talyzin Nikolai Vladimirovich Talyzin was a Soviet statesman, economist and head of the Gosplan, or the State Planning Committee....	14 October 1985	5 February 1988	Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991...
Yuri Maslyukov Yuri Maslyukov Yuri Dmitriyevich Maslyukov was a Russian politician who was in charge of the Gosplan for three years preceding the demise of the Soviet Union.-Early life:...	5 February 1988	1 April 1991	Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov was a Soviet official who became a Russian politician following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He served as the last Chairman of the Council of Ministers or Premier of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991... , Valentin Pavlov Valentin Pavlov Valentin Sergeyevich Pavlov was a Soviet official who became a Russian banker following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Born in the city of Moscow, then part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Pavlov began his political career in the Ministry of Finance in 1959...