Agricultural and social developments in the countryside

Question 1

when was voluntary collectivisation

Answer 1

1928-1929

Question 2

why was voluntary collectivisation stopped

Answer 2

by 1929 less than 5% of farms had been collectivised
the Ural-Siberian method of forcible grain seizures and closing down of private markets had caused rural unrest
Stalin thought grain procurement problems were caused by kulaks hoarding

Question 3

when was forced collectivisation

Answer 3

1928-1930

Question 4

how was forced collectivisation carried out

Answer 4

peasants driven into collectives by local party members with the support of the OGPU and red army
procurement quotas and punishment for peasants who did not keep up
dekulakisation frightened poorer peasants into joining collectives

Question 5

how was dekulakisation carried out

Answer 5

red army and OGPU identified kulaks then executed or deported them
army of 25,000 sent into the countryside when local party officials were unwilling to identify kulaks
land animals tools and equipment taken from kulaks to be used on collectives
decree of 1st February 1930 gave local party organisations the power to use necessary measures against the kulaks

Question 6

result of dekulakisation

Answer 6

whole families and sometimes whole villages were sent to labour camps
up to 10 million people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps by the end of the collectivisation process
peasants killed livestock and destroyed crops to avoid being identified as kulaks
loss of the best farmers

Question 7

when was the brief return to voluntary collectivisation

Answer 7

mid 1930 to early 1931

Question 8

why was there a brief return to voluntary collectivisation

Answer 8

By march 1930 58% of peasant households had been collectivised
Speed made Stalin think party members were being too rigorous and confrontational

Question 9

effect of return to voluntary collectivisation

Answer 9

peasants could leave collectives and have their livestock returned to them
October 1930 only 20% of peasant households were in collectives

Question 10

when was the return to forced collectivisation

Answer 10

after the spring crop was sown in 1931

Question 11

when had collectivisation been completed

Answer 11

by 1941 100% of households were collectivised

Question 12

what was a kolkhoz

Answer 12

typical collective farm
small individual farms in cooperative structure

Question 13

terms of kolkhoz farms

Answer 13

deliver set quota of produce to the state low price paid by gov but not paid if quota not met
shared profits or goods left after procurement
from 1932 could sell left over produce
under control of a communist party member - control
from 1932 they could not leave because of internal passports

Question 14

what were state farms

Answer 14

sovkhoz
made up a small number of the collective farms

Question 15

terms of sovkhoz farms

Answer 15

classified as workers not peasants and paid a wage
movement was restricted
farms organised into industrial principles for specialised large scale production

Question 16

why was there not many sovkhoz farms

Answer 16

peasant opposition to becoming wage labourers

Question 17

how was mechanisation of farming improved

Answer 17

machine tractor stations
provided seed and hire out tractors and machinery - 2500 established
better machinery e.g. combine harvester and chemical fertilisers
agronomists vets surveyors and technicians sent to advise of how to use machinery ad improve farming

Question 18

how did peasants react to collectivisation

Answer 18

some poorer peasants joined voluntarily - most did not
riots
killing of livestock and destroying crops to not be labelled kulaks
migration - by 1939 19 million had migrated to towns and cities

Question 19

conditions of peasants

Answer 19

riots dealt with brutally e.g. burning down whole villages
any resistance meant classification as a kulak a deported to labour camps article 61 1929 gave the OGPU power to do this
internal passports from 1932 prevented fleeing from famine
rarely got profits as quotas were so high there was nothing left to sell
some benefitted from increased education
strict control e.g. August 1932 law of Seven Eighths 10 year sentence for stealing socialised property

Question 20

why was there a famine 1932-1934

Answer 20

grain production had dropped yet grain requisitioning continued at high levels
drought in 1931
ukraine was singled out as there had been high levels of resistance to collectivisation - it was the “breadbasket of Russia” so had high quotas
extra officials backed by the OGPU were drafted to find hidden grain stocks and requisitioned grain would be left rotting in dumps while people were starving
law of seven eighths

Question 21

result of the famine

Answer 21

internal passports to stop people trying to flee the famine
millions of peasants died 7 million in total 5 million in Ukraine alone

Question 22

economic successes of collectivisation

Answer 22

collected the grain it needed to feed workforce and sell abroad to fund industry e.g. 10-22 mill tonnes procured
urban workforce grew e.g. increased by almost 12 million 1929-1932

Question 23

economic failures of collectivisation

Answer 23

grain procurement did not reach pre-collectivisation levels until 1935, meat production until 1953
destruction of grain and livestock 25-30% of cattle pigs and sheep slaughtered
little incentive to work as peasants rarely got profits
most peasant focused on private plots e.g. 52% of veg and 70% of meat produced from private plots by the late 1930s
got rid of most efficient farmers
collectives were poorly organised by party activists

Question 24

political successes of collectivisation

Answer 24

extended political control of the countryside
class differences in the countryside abolished
solidified Stalin’s position - defeat of the right
famine may have been desirable to break peasant resistance

Question 25

political failures of collectivisation

Answer 25

soviet economy became overly reliant upon the private plots of the kolkhoz - ideological drawback

Question 26

social cost of collectivisation

Answer 26

upheaval of peasants way of life
starvation and death
internal passports
brutal treatment of opposition to collectivisation