70 
Up to the mid-1950’s, the development of the Soviet merchant 
marine was dictated mainly by the internal economic needs and de- 
mands of Soviet foreign trade, which were not substantial. Specializa- 
tion in ship repair was started just prior to World War Il. At the 
beginning of the 1950’s, the rehabilitation of existing ship repair yards 
and construction of new ones increased the production capacity 2.75 
times over that of 1940. The modernization of ship repair yards con- 
tinued throughout the decade. Until 1956, most of the funds allocated 
for ports were spent for post war restoration. However, in 1956, 
a new stage in the development of port facilities was initiated. The 
development of the Soviet merchant marine over half of a century 
had been extremely uneven. Up to about the middle. of the 1950’s 
it had not been distinguished either by the rate of its development 
or its size or the characteristics of its ships. However, the existing 
merchant marine was able to, and to a large degree, did satisfy a 
rather considerable dependence of the Soviet economy and certain 
regions of the country upon sea transport. The size and character 
of the Soviet landmark create a dependence upon sea transport. To 
some areas, particularly in the Far East and the Northern territories, 
overland transportation does not exist, and the sea is not only the 
most logical, but the cheapest way to transport goods. 
In the pre-World War II period, not until the first 5 Year Plan 
(1928-32) was the Soviet merchant marine reinforced by sizable 
number of new constructions. During the second 5 Year Plan 
(1933-37) merchant ship construction was curtailed in favor of war- 
ship construction. The attempt to correct the situation during the 
third 5 Year Plan lost out to the war. After World War II and 
up to the middle of the 1950’s there was very little new construction 
in the Soviet shipyards. The procurement of ships abroad, though 
important, was not on a very large scale either. 
In 1956 the accelerated development of the Soviet merchant marine 
was started. Considerably larger domestic shipbuilding capacities were 
provided and orders for ships abroad increased. It is doubtful that 
the decision to accelerate the development of the Soviet merchant 
marine, particularly as far as the rate of its development is concerned, 
was the result of a planned approach. The requirements for sea trans- 
portation generated by the relatively fast development of Soviet 
foreign trade and the initiation of economic and military aid were 
far in excess of the Soviet merchant marine’s capability, and hence 
forced heavy dependence upon the charter market. 
SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY 
Prerevolutionary Russia had a relatively well developed shipbuilding 
industry, characterized by distinct eccentricities: (1) specialization in 
naval construction; (2) extensive control by foreign capital; (3) depen- 
dence (and often far beyond necessity) upon foreign technology. Naval 
construction programs, often being more profitable, monopolized Rus- 
sia’s shipbuilding capacity, resulting in very few merchant marine ships 
being built in Russian shipyards. In 1913, 85 percent of the total 
Russian merchant marine tonnage was comprised of foreign built 
ships. 
™ Sudostroyeniye (shipbuilding), No. 11, 1967, pp. 31-37. 
