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Soviet Union [USSR] CHEMICALS
The chemical industry received intensive investment in the
five-year plans of the 1980s. The long-term goal of the chemical
investment program was to increase its share of total national
industrial production from the 1975 level of 6.9 percent to 8
percent by the year 2000. As defined by Soviet planners, major
divisions of the industry were basic chemical products; fertilizers
and pesticides; chemical fibers; plastics and synthetic resins; and
detergents, paints, and synthetic rubber for making consumer
products.
Plastics
A vital part of the chemical industry is polymers. The polymer
industry has been centered in regions where petrochemical raw
materials were processed: the Volga, Ural, and Central economic
regions
(see
fig. 16). Among their other uses, polymers are
intermediate materials in making plastics that can replace metals
in machinery, construction materials, engines, and pipe. Soviet
policy recognized that wider use of plastics would mean cheaper,
lighter, and more durable products for many industries. Therefore,
long-term plans called for nearly doubling the contribution of
synthetic resins and plastics to the construction industry by the
year 2000. However, the Twelfth Five-Year Plan also scheduled a 50
percent increase in consumer goods made by the chemical industry.
Data as of May 1989
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