★ Impact of Collectivisation

Question 1

★ What was Ukraine known as?

Answer 1

★ The Breadbasket of Europe

Question 2

★ How many peasants were on a Collective farm in 1929?

Answer 2

★ Less than 5%

Question 3

★ What types of Collective farms were there?

Answer 3

★ Toz - Peasants owned their land but shared machinery and co-operation in sowing and harvesting
★ Sovkhoz - Owned and run by the state. Peasants paid regular wages
★ Kolkhoz - Land was held in common and run by elective committee, 50-100 households put together. Tools and livestock had to be pooled together.

Question 4

★ Why did Stalin believe that collectivisation would fix Russia’s agricultural problems?

Answer 4

★ Larger units of land could be farmed more efficiently through the use of mechanisation
★ Mechanised agriculture would need less peasants to work, more labour for other industries
★ Would be easier for the state to procure the grain it needed for the cities and for export
★ A socialist solution

Question 5

★ Why was Collectivisation carried out so rapidly?

Answer 5

★ Grain procurement crisis of 1928-29
★ Cities were hungry, Stalin blamed Kulaks for hoarding grain
★ Peasants resisting the Government’s policies and were not marketing their food
★ 1927 War scare
★ Support for Collectivisation in Urban Working class

Question 6

★ How was collectivisation carried out?

Answer 6

★ Force, terror & propaganda
★ Liquidation of the Kulaks as a class, even though Kulaks were the most experience peasants, the fear of Kulaks were supposed to push Peasants into Kolkhozes
★ Army of 25,000 Urban party activists were used to dekulak the peasantry
★ ^ Decree of 1st February 1930 allowed Local Governments to do anything to dekulak peasantry

Question 7

★ What was the peasants’ resistance against the collectivisation like?

Answer 7

★ Riots and armed resistances
★ Peasants burnt crops, tools and houses
★ Raids to recapture animals taken by collectives
★ Most from Women

Question 8

★ Impacts of Collectivisation?

Answer 8

★ Holodomor in Ukraine, Man-made famine
★ Kulaks shot or deported
★ A huge number of livestock were slaughtered (25-30%)
★ By the end of Feb 1930, Party said half of all peasant households had been collectivised
★ Stalin backtracked due to Peasant’s resistance

Question 9

★ What was Collectivisation like after 1934?

Answer 9

★ 70% of all peasant households collectivised, rising to 90% in 1936
★ Meat production didn’t pass pre-collectivisation levels until 1935
★ Lack of incentive in peasantry
★ Private plots provided 52% of vegetables, 57% of fruit, 70% of meat and 71% of milk