Encouraged by the results of the First live Year Plan, the Soviet leaders formulated the Second Five Year Plan for the period 1933-37. This plan was wider in scope than the first plan and laid great emphasis on quality and efficiency. This plan was more realistic and tried to decentralize the administration.
Though this plan retained the basic objectives of increasing production and creating a classless socialist society, it paid greater attention to the raising of living standards of the workers. It also paid more attention to their health and education. It also sought to provide greater transportation facilities and impressed the need of construction of new waterways, road, railroads and airlines. During the plan period a number of canals were built which were not linked by waterways or railroads, were connected by automobile roads.
The plan also paid attention to the tapping of resources like timber, minerals, fish, furs etc. which were found in the regions north of the Arctic circle. In 1934 the Russian Ice-breaker Litke accomplished the feat of sailing from Vladivostok to carry on navigation over the route during the summer seasons.
The critics have alleged that the second plan was accomplished by Russia only at the cost of revision of Marxian principles. It abandoned the Marxian principles “from each according to his ability to each according to his need”, and adopted the principles of differential wage rates and socialist competition.