Agricultural Reforms Flashcards
Agriculture
1
Q
3 points
Overall, did the Russian rulers deal with the problem of land ownership effectively?
A
- No.
- Under the Tsars, land redistribution policy never matched the rising expectations of the peasants.
- Under the Communists all land was appropriated by the state, however this simply refeuled the peasants’ resentment. It was evident that the ruling elite kept aside a fair amount of land for personal use.
2
Q
3 points
How did Alexander II reform agriculture?
A
- The Emancipation of the Serfs, 1861.
- This laid the groundwork for all further agricultural reform.
- Despite appearing progressive, the emancipation proved controversial. The fact that by 1917 peasant access to land was still an issue shows it didn’t work very well.
3
Q
3 points
How did Alexander III reform agriculture?
A
- Established the Ministry of Agriculture - In 1981 there was a disasterous famine, which the Tsar partly blamed on the poor farming practices of the peasants. He established this ministry to encourage good farming practices shortly after.
- Setting up the Peasant Land Bank - This was a bank which allowed the peasants to buy their own farms. When it opened in 1883, it had 9 branches, and was extended to Poland in 1888. By 1891 it had 39 branches. However, it was not effective as it had little funding and offered higher interest rates than that of the more generous Noble’s Land Bank.
- Land Captains - There was growing discontent among the peasants, so A3 introduced land captains to keep the rural population in line.
4
Q
3 points
How did Nicholas II reform agriculture?
A
- Rural unrest reached a peak in 1905-7. N2 responded by introducing Stolypin as prime minister in 1908 to reform the government’s agricultural policiy.
- Stolypin wanted to use land distribution to strengthen the class of more able and educated peasants. The hope was that they would act as a role model for other peasants, and be a force against the mir.
- To do this he introduced a series of reforms called the Stolypin Reforms.
5
Q
2 points
What did the Stolypin Reforms entail?
A
- Unused or poorly used land was made available to the Peasant Land Bank. Foreward looking peasants could buy it from the bank on favourable terms.
- Peasants farming strips could consolidate their holdings into a small unit farm (better for farming). This ensured that the mainstay of the Russian rural economy became small peasant farms run independently by the peasants.
6
Q
2 points
Why weren’t the Stolypin reforms effective?
A
- The reforms led to an expansion in the numbers joining the wealthier peasant class, who should have been more loyal to the Tsar but were still unhappy as they felt the best lands were still not available to the peasants.
- The reforms also led to peasants leaving the village communes, with 2 million having left by 1914. WWI accelerated this trend, which left some regions very short of rural labour. There was the challenge of keeping supplies of food going to the growing urban population.
7
Q
3 points
How did Lenin reform agriculture in 1917?
A
- He passed the Decree on Land which banned private property and passed all lands to the peasantry.
- The decree was an official recognition of what had already taken place in 1917, i.e. peasants seizing land from the nobility.
- “Private ownership of land shall be abolished forever” - wording of the decree.
8
Q
4 points
What was Lenin’s policy towards agriculture between 1918-1921?
A
- It was known as War Communism.
- Lenin adopted a severe policy towards the peasants in response to serious food shortages in the cities. Wealthy peasants (Kulaks) were accused of hoarding grain. Lenin encouraged poorer peasants to establish committees to seize grain from the kulaks, with the help of the army and the cheka (encouragement of class war).
- In 1919 and 1920 requisition squads seized grain, including seed grain for the following year.
- This resulted in a famine where 5 million died.
9
Q
What was Lenin’s policy towards agriculture between 1921-1928?
A
- This was known as the New Economic Policy (NEP).
- Grain requisitioning ended, however peasants were expected to pay a tax (10% of their crops).
- Peasants were allowed to sell their surplus at the market.
- The NEP was seen as the golden age of peasantry.
- However, Kulaks continued to face hostility and discrimination from the state, e.g. not allowed to vote, send their children to school.
10
Q
In what two ways did Stalin wage class war on the countryside?
A
- Collectivisation
- Dekulakisation
11
Q
3 points
What is meant by “Collectivisation”, and when did Stalin begin to want to introduce it?
A
- Collectivisation: the policy of bringing a number of small farm units together into a bigger farm.
- The idea was that peasants would collaborate to produce as much food as possible. It was based on the belief that food shortages were being caused by peasant hoarding food in order to sell it - a practice allowed by the NEP.
- Stalin begain to push for mass collectivisation following the famine of 1927-28.
12
Q
3 points
What was Stalin’s policy of Dekulakisation?
A
- Wealthier peasants would be visited by Komsomols (members of the communist youth group), whoc would strip their houses bare searching for hidden wealth.
- The kulaks were the natural leaders of the peasants, so taking them out would make the rest easier to control. Seeing this happen also meant other peasants would be more compliant with collectivisation.
- Kulaks would then either be sent to a poor plot of land, given impossible targets to meet and sent to the gulags when they failed to meet them, sent to the gulags directly, or just shot.
13
Q
5 points
How did Stalin implement Collectivisation?
A
- The principles of collectivisation were explained to villagers at special meetings.
- A mixture of poorer peasants and Komsomols were recruited to seek out and denounce Kulaks, helping to create a sense of fear in the community, making it easier to encourage other to sign up for collectivisation.
- Incentiveds were offered such as the chance of working with a new tractor or combine harvester.
- This resulted in the formation of either Kolkhozy (‘pure’ collectives) or Sovkhozy (state collectives.
- The Sovkhozy was when all the land was under the control of the state, and the labourers were labourers for the state. The Kolkhozy was when peasant labourers had their own allotment where they could grow their own vegetables in addition to what they grew for the state.
14
Q
3 points
Why was there a dislike of collectivisation?
A
- The peasants treasured the traditional way of farming. The abolition of the mir in 1930 was considered a major blow to village autonomy.
- Collectives deprived peasants of the right to make a little extra income, which would keep them above sustenance level. They also placed restrictions on the variety of crops which could be grown.
- A famine in 1932-34 suggested that many collectives contributed to food shortages rather than helping to relieve them.
15
Q
2 points
What opposition was there to mass collectivisation?
A
- One example was a case at Bryansk-Oblast where peasants drove away a party of Komsomols who were insisting on comandeering church bells.
- Resistance also came in the form of migration. In Kazakhstan, collectivisation virtually destroyed their nomadic way of life. The peasants there reacted by moving out of the country into China. The population of Kazakhstan fell by 75% in a few years.
