Agricultural and Social Developments in the Countryside Flashcards
When did forced collectivisation begin and how many farms were collectivised at the start?
1929, at the start of the year only 5% of farms had been collectivised
When and why did Stalin announce that he would ‘annihilate the Kulaks as a class’?
In December 1929 as the Kulak’s supposedly held back supplies from procurement
What % of peasant households consisted of Kulaks and what % did the Red Army ans OGPU destroy?
Only around 4% of peasant households were Kulak and yet 15% were destroyed
How did dekulakisation lead to further rural problems?
Peasants destroyed crops and killed livestock to avoid being labelled kulaks
What % of grain farming areas did Stalin announce in January want collectivised by the end of 1930 and what % was this by March?
Stalin wanted 25% of grain farming areas/ households to be collectivised by the end of 1930. By March of 1930 this had already reached 58%
How many households were collectivised in October 1930 after forced collectivisation was paused and voluntary was brought back?
20% of households were collectivised in October 1930
What is a kolkhoz and how was one formed?
A kolkhoz was the typical collective farm. It was formed by combining small individual farms in a cooperative structure. It consisted of one village where peasants lived the same as before and had their own plot of land
How did quotas work on a kolkhoz?
A kolkhoz had to deliver a set amount, sometimes it was as high as 40% of crops. The state would buy this at a low price but only if the quota was met
How were profits or goods left after procurement distributed?
These were distributed based on the amount of labour days someone had contributed to a farming year. From 1932 surplus produce could be sold in a free market
Who controlled a collective?
A Communist Party member acted as Chairman of the farm ensuring communist control
Why couldn’t peasants leave a collective farm starting from 1932?
A system of internal passports was created preventing peasants from leaving
What were sovkhozes?
State farms which were seen as the ideal form of farming. Labourers were classified as workers rather than peasants.
How did sovkhozes differ from kolkhozes?
Labourers were called workers rather than peasants: they were paid a wage by the state. Sovkhozes were larger and created on confiscated large estate lands. They were organised industrially for large scale production
If sovkhozes were seen as better than kolkhozes why were kolkhozes the typical farm?
Peasants were opposed to becoming wage labourers thus Stalin had to permit most farms to be kolkhozes, though it was expected that kolkhozes would eventually become sovkhozes.
What were machine tractor stations (MTS)?
Set up since 1931 to provide seed, tractors and machinery to collective and state farms.
Where was resistance to collectivisation strongest?
Fertile agricultural areas such as Ukraine were most resistant. Poorer peasants mostly joined volunatrily
How was resistance dealt with?
Armed forces sometimes burnt whole villages, any resisting collectivisation were labelled Kulaks and deported to Siberia or as work-gangs in new industrial towns
How many peasants had migrated to towns by 1939?
Around 19 million
Why did peasants on collectives have little incentive to work hard?
Quotas were set very high that there was little left to be distributed among the peasants
What was important about the private plots that peasants used?
Allowed peasants to provide for their families and also provide food to a market from 1935. 70% of meat in the late 1930s came from this free market
What were the causes of the 1932-34 famine?
A drought began in October 1931 which, paired with kulak deportations, lead to a large drop in food production. The government kept up their grain requisition demands
What were some successes of collectivisation?
The state’s objective was met: industrial workforce was fed and exports of grain increased and many peasants fled to towns
Give some ways that agricultural production suffered from collectivisation
Grain output did not exceed pre-collectivisation levels until 1935 and livestock numbers did not surpass pre-collectivisation levels until 1953
What was the political impact of collectivisation?
The Soviet regime established control over the countryside for the first time. The Right opposition whom opposed collectivisation (Bukharin and Rykov) lost power and influence
