During the period after World War I, many European countries were rebuilding, and the Soviet Union saw a chance to catch up. The Soviet Union, under the rule of Joseph Stalin, implemented the Five Year Plan as a strategy for rapid industrialization (Hunt, 846). A good example of Stalin's five-year plan was the construction of Magnitogorsk, a city based around a huge factory. This construction perfectly captured Stalin's goals of progression, efficiency and conquest of nature (back cover). The novel Time, Forward! took place in 1932 and described in detail the construction of Magnitogorsk. This novel alludes to the spirit of the times. In the novel, one of the engineers, Margulies, decided to push the pouring of concrete to its limits. His rival, deputy head of construction, Nalbandov wanted the fall of Margulies and decided to give him a report. Nalbandov thought of two accusations. The first was that Margulies was recklessly sacrificing cement quality to increase its cement production; this recklessness went against current scientific understanding of concrete, and quality would not be enough. The second would show Margulies going against the Soviet policy of increasing production rates, because he would not allow the next team to pour an even greater quantity of concrete (314). The second accusation was less scientific, but it was more in tune with the times because those who hinder progress must be punished. One might ask, what was the spirit of the times? When Joseph Stalin came to power, he made it clear to the public sphere that the Soviet Union would no longer accept delay (Hunt, 846). The spirit of the times was one of progress, efficiency and the conquest of nature; It was this spirit that pushed the Soviet Union to move away from its background...... middle of paper......the move against nature bore fruit that winter , and the dam was completed; technology has conquered nature (183). Politically, Margulies' idea once again embodied the spirit of the times: he conquered nature for the benefit of the Soviet Union; Stalin would be proud of Margulies' innovation. Given these elements, the zeitgeist was focused on progress, efficiency and the conquest of nature. The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, wanted to get rid of its backwardness and did so in several ways. The city of Magnitogorsk embodied this spirit in different ways: the rapid creation of the city, the record production of cement within the city, the creation of new, time-efficient cement creation processes and the conquest of nature in the middle of winter. This city was a success for Stalin because it embodied the spirit of the times to create a more efficient and progressive Soviet Union..