The spread of the Soviet industrialization model in Eastern Europe was one of the major consequences of the expansion of Soviet influence after the Second World War. Between 1945 and the early 1950s, countries such as Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany were gradually transformed into socialist states. Their economic systems were reorganized broadly on the Soviet model, with the state assuming control over industry, planning production and directing investment. The Soviet model was based on centralized economic planning, state ownership of the major means of production, rapid industrialization and priority to heavy industry. The Soviet Union had developed this system particularly under Joseph Stalin through successive Five-Year Plans. After 1945, the model was introduced into Eastern Europe as communist governments consolidated their political power with Soviet support. The nationalization of banks, industries, mines, transport and large commercial enterprises became an important first step. Private ownership in major sectors was progressively reduced. Central planning became the principal instrument of economic management. Eastern European governments introduced Five-Year Plans that established production targets, investment priorities and the allocation of resources. Planning agencies controlled the distribution of raw materials, labour and capital. The emphasis was placed on coal, steel, machinery,