Agricultural and Social Developments in the Countryside Flashcards
Why did Stalin commit to collective farming?
As a result of the ‘Great Turn’
What did the government do to Kulaks?
o Waged a propaganda war against them in an attempt to create a rift between poor farmers and better-off farmers
o Stalin said he wanted them ‘liquidated as a class’
o Red army used to identify, deport and execute kulaks
How did the campaign against Kulaks add to rural problems?
To avoid being labelled a Kulak people killed livestock and destroyed their crops
Collectivisation Stage 1 dates and figures?
o 1929-30
o In 1930, 25% of grain-farming areas were to be collectivised
o By March 1930, 58% of peasant households had been collectivised
o In October 1930 only 20% of households were still collectivised
What led to the drop in households that were collectivised in 1930?
o The speed of which collectivisation was happening led even Stalin to saying that local officials were being too rigorous
o This led to a brief return to voluntary collectivisation and peasants were allowed to leave
o This led to an immediate reduce in number of collectives
Collectivisation Stage 2 dates and figures?
o 1930-41
o 100% collectivised by 1941
What was a kolkhoz and features of it?
o Typical collective farm that was created by combining small individual farms
o In larger ones schools and clinics were established
o Had to deliver a set quota to the state
o Under control of a communist party member
o Peasants forbade from leaving with a system of internal passports
What were sovkhozes and features of it?
o State run farms
o Communist purists saw it as the ‘ideal’ form of farming
o Labourers classified as ‘workers’ not ‘peasants’ and were paid a wage from the state however still just as restricted
o Official expectation that all kolkhozes would be turned into sovkhozes in the long-term
What were the effects of the kolkhozes and sovkhozes establishment?
o collectives were intended to provide more efficient farming therefore led to a drive towards greater mechanisation and the use of more modern farming methods
o Use of tractors and agricultural machinery reduced the number of peasants needed on the land (so releasing them to work in the cities)
What was the peasant response to process of collectivisation?
o Some, mainly poorer peasants, joined the collectives voluntarily
o Peasants from more fertile ares such as Ukraine were particularly hostile
o Fear of being labelled Kulaks meant peasants burnt farms and crops rather than hand them over
What happened when peasants joined the collectives?
o Left with a sense of betrayal and hostility towards the regime
o Internal passports to prevent peasants from fleeing
o Quotas were so high that there was rarely any ‘profit’ for the collectives
What happened with private plots on the collectives and why did the government allow this?
o Peasants only interested in their private plots to provide for their own families and sell on the Markey
o Government allowed this since food was desperately needed
o 70% of meat in the USSR was produced from this
Date of the famine and what cause it?
o 1932-34
o In October 1931 drought hit many agricultural areas
o This combines with Kulak deportations, brought a severe drop in food production
o One of the worst famines in Russia history ensued
Did the State achieve its purpose in promoting collectivisation?
Seemed to as:
o Industrial workforce was fed and exports of grain increased
o Many peasants left the countryside to swell workforce in towns
However;
o Such achievements at expense of peasants themselves who, at best, endured an upheaval that destroyed a way of life and at worst were forced to stave and die in the interests of ‘economic socialism’
Agricultural production in collectives?
o production fell dramatically and recovery didn’t take place until late 1930s
o Grain output didn’t exceed pre-collectivisation levels until after 1935
o For livestock it took until 1953 before they were back to pre-collectivisation levels
o Too few tractors and insufficient animals
o Slow and brutal way of achieving Stalin’s economic goals
