End of NEP and Start of Collectivisation Flashcards
What was urban unemployment in 1922? 1929?
1922 - 160,000
1929 - 1,741,000
Were wages higher or lower than 1913 levels in 1926?
Still lower
When was rationing stopped for the workers? Where was it reintroduced in 1928?
1923
Reintroduced in Leingrad and Moscow in 1928
What measures were introduced against Nepmen/private traders in 1926? Which article of the criminal code made private traders liable to arrest and imprisonment?
- Tax introduced on “superprofits”
- High rail tariffs on private traders
- Three year prison sentence for “evil intentioned increases in price”
- Article 107 of the criminal code made private traders liable to arrest and imprisonment
Why was tax in kind changed to monetary tax payments for peasants in 1923?
To solve the scissor crisis - use the cash to artificially bring down the price of industrial goods
How much of the harvest was still cut by hand by 1928? What was the dominant farming method?
50% of harvest still cut by hand in 1928. Strip farming was the dominant method.
What did the State do to tempt farmers to sell their grain in 1928? Why was this ineffective?
They raised the price they were willing to pay for grain by 20%. However, private traders were still willing to pay peasants more than the state. The lack of industrial goods still prevailed - this meant the peasants still lacked an incentive to sell grain in the first place.
What were the fundamental aims of collectivisation?
- Instill socialist ideals in the peasantry
- Increase state control of the countryside
- Increase grain production and ensure provision for the cities
- Modernise the peasantry
- Show off the merits of communism
- Also helped Stalin come to power against the rightest elements of the party
How many farmers were in collective farms by 1928? What was the target set by congress for 1933?
1928 - 2%
Target for 1933 was 20%
How many communists were there in the peasant households/countryside?
Only 1 communist per 125 peasant housholds
What was the benefit of collectivised farms in comparison to strip farms?
They provided economies of scale, which allowed for larger grain production and the use of more modern farming techniques
What incentive was provided to peasants to expose Kulak families in the villages?
Peasants were to be given 25% of the confiscated grain if they denounced a kulak family
What proportion of farms were collectivised between November 1929 and March 1930?
60%
What was set up to make recommendations about the Kulaks? What category system did they make up to deal with kulaks? How many Kulaks were affected by these measures? What proportion of them were transported according to L. Viola?
A separate Politburo committee created a three tier system:
- The most dangerous Kulaks were to be imprisoned or shot
- The dangerous Kulaks were to be transported to the North or beyond the Urals
- The least dangerous Kulaks were to be given marginal land outside the collective farms
Over 1 million Kulak families affected by these measures. 1/3 of them were probably transported according to L. Viola
What was the response to the brutal collectivisation in the countryside?
There was much opposition from the peasants. The committed acts of terror and murder and tried to rescue Kulak families being punished by the squads. Many ate and killed their animals rather than hand them over to the collective farms. According to L Viola, March 1930 saw “a massive peasant rebellion”
When was collectivisation resumed? How many peasants were collectivised by 1931? 1937?
1931
1931 = 50%
1937 = 93%
What was the name for the showcase villages which received extra government support? Which western visitor described the Soviet harvest as “splendid” during his visit in 1934?
Potemkin Villages
Walter Durranty
When did famine strike the USSR? What caused this?
1932-34
Caused by poor weather but exacerbated by the state’s collectivisation measures.
How many died during the famine?
4-5million
What happened to state grain procurement during 1933-35?
Continually increased
What was introduced to enforce famine denial?
Referring to the famine became a liable punishment for arrest and imprisonment of 5 years.
Measures were taken to prevent peasants reaching the cities. For example, OGPU carried out checks on the trains.
When did animal numbers begin increasing again from their low?
1933
In 1928, what proportion of Russia’s labour force were self-employed farmers and craftspeople? What proportion were manual workers?
Self-employed farmers and craftspeople = 75%
Manual workers = 18%
