Agricultural and Social Developments in the Countryside 1929-1941 Flashcards
Why did Stalin commit the USSR to collective farming
as a result of his Great Turn of 1928
what had the emphasis originally been placed on
voluntary collectivisation - persuading peasants of the benefits of working communally through posters, leaflets and films.
what had brought unrest in rural areas
the Ural Siberian method
what was the Ural-Siberian method
the forcible seizure of grain the closing down of private markets
what were the statistics about collectivisation in 1929
less than 5 per cent of all farms had been collectivised
why did Stalin believe there were problems with collectivization
the richer kulaks were holding back supplies
what did Stalin announce in December 1929
that he would ‘annihilate the kulaks as a class’
when was collectivisation stage 1
1929-1930
how did the government begin collectivisation
they issued new procurement quotes, with punishments for peasants who did not keep up with deliveries
what propaganda campaign did Stalin start
a war against the Kulaks, in an attempt to create a rift within the peasant class between poor and better-off farmers
what did the government do by the end of 1929
the government had begun a programme of all-out, forced collectivization
what happened to the peasants
they were driven into collectives by local party members (often students from the cities, filled with fervour to create a new socialist society) with the support of the OGPU and Red Army
what did Stalin decide
that the kulaks must be ‘liquidated as a class’ and they were not permitted to join collectives
what were the Red Army and OGPU used to do
identify, executive or deport kulaks, who were said to represent 4 per cent of peasant households
how is it shown that it was not always easy to distinguish between peasant types
15 per cent of peasant households were destroyed and 150,000 peasants were forced to migrate north and east to poorer land
how did peasants avoid being called kulaks
they killed their livestock and destroyed their crops, but this only added to rural problems
what did Stalin announce in January 1930
25% of grain farming areas were to be collectivised that year.
what did the brutal treatment of kulaks do
frightened poorer peasants into joining collectives
what happened in March 1930
58% of peasant households had been collectivised through a mixture of propaganda and force
what did the speed at which the collectivization operation was being carried outdo
Stalin said that local officials were being too rigorous and confrontational in their methods
what was supposedly happening to party members
they were becoming dizzy with success
what was their brief return to after March 1930
voluntary collectivisation was permitted until after the harvest had been collected that year, and peasants were allowed to leave collectives and had their livestock returned to them, provided they were not kulaks.
what did the return to voluntary collectivisation do
it immediately reduced the collectives’ numbers; in October 1930, only c20 per cent of households were still collectivised.
when did collectivisation start up again
once the peasants had sown the spring crop, in 1931.
what was the rate of collectivisation gradually increased to
to reach 100 per cent of households by 1941.
what was the percentage of collectivised households aimed to be
1931 - 50% 1934 - 70% 1935 - 75% 1937 - 90% 1941 - 100%
what is the name of a typical collective farm
a kolkhoz
how were kolkhozes created
by combining small individual farms together in a cooperative structure.
what were normal kolkhozes like
many comprised a single village, in which the peasants lived in the same houses as before and had a plot of land of their own to work on, as well as farming in the communal fields
what did the average kolkhoz comprise of
75 families and their livestock
why was the creation of kolkhoz not easy
communal fields had to be mapped out and work parties had to join the peasants to dig new pitches, erect new fences and sometimes establish communal buildings. In some of the larger kolkhozes, schools and clinics were also established
what did the kolkhoz have to do
deliver a set quota of produce to the state. Quotas were high: up to 40 per cent of crops. A low purchase price was set by the government but the farm was not paid if the quotas were not met
what happened to leftover profits and goods
they were shared among the collective farm members, according to the number of ‘labour days’ he or they had contributed to the farming year
what were kolhozes able to do from 1932
they were able to sell any leftover produce in a collective farm market: the only free-market permitted in USSR.
what was the kolkhoz under the control of
a communist party member who acted as the Chairman of the collective.
what did having a communist party chairman ensure
communist control of rural areas
how were peasants forced to stay in the Kolkhoz
a system of internal passports (from 1932).
what were the state farms called
sovkhozes