Final answer:
Stalin's first Five-Year Plan was enacted by Soviet officials and affected workers and peasants across the USSR. It led to rapid industrial growth at the expense of widespread suffering and mass starvation, particularly during the forced collectivization in Ukraine known as the Holodomor.
Step-by-step explanation:
The implementation of Stalin's first Five-Year Plan was primarily the responsibility of the Soviet government apparatus, under the direct command and influence of Joseph Stalin himself. It involved party officials, planners, and economic administrators who were charged with the task of meeting the ambitious industrial and agricultural production targets. On the ground, it was the workers and peasants who were put to work to achieve these targets, often under harsh and brutal conditions.
The plan affected virtually every aspect of Soviet society. The urban workforce had to deal with intense labor requirements and poor living conditions as they were driven to meet the industrialization targets. Rural areas suffered profoundly due to the policy of forced collectivization, which led to the disruption of traditional farming practices, widespread resistance, and ultimately, catastrophic famines, particularly in Ukraine where it is known as the Holodomor.
The effects of the Five-Year Plan were both economic and social, with rapid industrial growth on one hand, and grave human costs including mass starvation on the other. The pressure to conform to the plan's quotas also had dire consequences for those perceived as underperforming, both from within the government and amongst the general population.