Economy&Society 1929-41. Agricultural and social developments in countryside Flashcards
Why had Stalin committed the USSR to collective farming as a result of?
as a result of his Great Turn in 1928
initially Stalin’s regime emphasised voluntary collectivisation, how did it try to persuade the peasants?
through posters, leaflets and films showing the benefits of working communally
What was the Ural-Siberian method of grain requisitioning?
this involved the forcible seizure of grain and the closing down of private markets
by 1929 what % of all farms had been collectivised?
5%
What did Stalin believe caused some of the grain procurement problems?
the richer kulaks from holding back supplies
in December 1929 what did Stalin announce?
that he would ‘annihilate the kulaks as a class’
What month and year did Stalin announce that he would ‘annihilate the kulaks as a class’?
December 1929
What did the collectivisation programme coincide with?
Stalin’s First Five Year Plan
What did the success of the First Five Year Plan depend on?
the regular supplies of food to support town workers and plenty of grain for export to finance industrial development
For Stalin collectivisation was as much a _____ as an economic crusade?
social
What did the government begin the collectivisation campaign with?
issues of new procurement quotas with punishments for peasants who did not keep up with deliveries
Why was there a deliberate propaganda campaign waged against the kulaks?
in an attempt to create a rift within the peasant class between the poor and better off farmers
by when did the government begin a programme of all out forced collectivisation?
the end of 1929
Who were peasants driven into collectives by? (3)
local party members with the support of the OGPU and Red Army where necessary
Stalin declared that the kulaks were not permitted to join collectives and had to be what?
liquidated as a class
Who were used to execute or deport kulaks? (2)
OGPU and Red Army
What % of the peasant population did the kulaks represent?
4%
What % of peasant holdings were destroyed regardless of only 4% of peasants being kulaks?
15%
how many peasants were forced to migrate to north and east to poorer land?
c150,000
How did some peasants try to avoid being labelled as kulaks?
by killing their livestock and destroying their crops
In January 1930 what % of grain farming areas did Stalin announce were to be collectivised that year?
25%
How was the brutal treatment meted out to the kulaks used to other peasants?
this created fear amongst the peasants into joining the collectives
What did the speed with which this operation was carried out lead Stalin to do?
Stalin had to say that local officials were being too rigorous and confrontational in their methods
What was the article Stalin wrote which discussed how local officials were being too rigorous and confrontational in their methods?
“dizzy with success”
After Stalin’s article, “dizzy with success”, what happened as a consequence? (2)
a brief return to voluntary collectivisation was permitted until after the harvest had been collected that year
-peasants allowed to leave collectives and have their livestock returned to them
What did the effect of Stalin’s dizzy with success article have on the number of collectives?
reduced it immediately
in October 1930, what % of households were still collectivised?
20%
what year did collectivisation of households reach 100%?
1941
What year was 50% of all households collectivised?
1931
What % of households were collectivised by 1931?
50%
What was the typical collective farm known as?
Kolkhoz
How many families did the average kolkhoz comprise of?
c75 families
In some of the larger Kolkhozes, what were established? (2)
schools and clinics
What would happen in the kolkhozes if the quotas were not met?
the government would not pay the farm
What happened to any profit or goods left after procurement ?
they were shared among the collective farm members according to the number of ‘labour days’ he or she had contributed to the farming year
From what year were kolkhoz’s able to sell any left over produce in a collective arm market, the only free market permitted in the USSR?
1932
Who controlled the Kolkhoz’s
under the control of a Communist Party member who asked as Chairman of the collective
Why was there a Communist Party member who acted as Chairman of the collective?
to ensure communist control of rural areas
How were peasants forbade from leaving the kolkhoz?
through a system of internal passports
what was a Sovkhoz?
a state farm
How many farms were run as state farms (Sovkhoz)??
a relatively small number
When were the first Sovkhoz’s created?
in the early 1920’s
Why were the first Sovkhoz’s created in the early 1920’s?
as an example of ‘socialist agriculture of the highest order’ and thought of as an ideal way of communist farming
In Sovkhoz’s what were the labourers classified as?
workers rather than peasants
who were the labourers in the Sovkhoz’s paid by?
directly by the state
Which were usually larger, Sovkhoz’s or Kolkhoz’s?
Sovkhoz’s
Where were the Sovkhoz’s workers recruited from?
from landless rural residents
How were the Sovkhoz’s organised?
organised according to industrial principles for specialised large scale production
What 2 areas were the Sovkhoz’s organisation deemed particularly suited to?
to the grain growing areas of Ukraine and southern Russia
Why was Stalin forced to permit most farms to be of the kolkhoz type in the 1930’s?
due to peasant opposition to becoming wage labourers
Regardless of Stalin having to permit more farms to be Kolkhozes due to peasant opposition to becoming wage labourers, what was the official expectation?
that all kolkhozes would be turned into Sovkhozes in the longer term
What were the collectives intended to provide?
more effective farming
What was the establishment of Kolkhozes and Sovkhozes accompanied by? (2)
a drive towards greater mechanisation and use of more modern farming methods
What was an added bonus of the use of tractors and agricultural machinery?
this reduced the number of peasants needed on the land which enabled them to work in the industrial cities
When were Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) set up?
from 1931
Why were Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) set up from 1931?
to provide seed and hire out tractors and machinery to collective and state farms
How many Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) were set up from 1931?
2,500
Although there were 2,500 Machine Tractor Farms (MTS), there was still only one between how many collective farms by 1940?
one for every 40
Which generally received more and better machinery such as combine harvesters and chemical fertilisers?
state farms (sovkhozes)
Which 4 types of people were sent to the countryside to advise on how to use the machinery from the MTS and improve farming methods, with state farms (sovkhozes) being given the most support?
Agronomists, veterinary surgeons, surveyors and technicians
By 1938 what % of -threshing -ploughing -spring sowing -harvesting were carried out mechanically?
threshing=95%
ploughing=72%
spring sowing=57%
harvesting=48%
Although by 1938 threshing=95% ploughing=72% spring sowing=57% harvesting=48% were carried out mechanically, other farm operations were less mechanised and many of the machines that were used were still, what?
labour intensive
What task was continued to be largely manual work?
weeding
why the end of 1938 how many lorries were there being used in Soviet agriculture compared to over a million in the USA?
196,000
How did Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) act as a Party prop in rural areas? (3)
- as officials ensured that quotas were collected from the farms
- correct propaganda messages were conveyed
- acted as spies, reporting any local troubles
