Lesson 5-Was Stalin's collectivism a good way of solving Russia's economic policies? Flashcards
What is Capitalism?
An economic system in which individuals can trade freely.
There is no government interference
What is Socialism?
that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole
Define collectivisation/collectivise.
The taking over by the Soviet state of land and property previously owned by the peasants, accompanied by the requirement that the peasants now live and work communally.
What is ‘Dizzy with Success’?
An article published in Pravda.
Stalin defended his policy of collectivisation.
But claimed that some local officials had been over enthusiastic when implementing collectivisation
What is Grain Procurement?
Enforced collections of fixed quotas of grain from the peasants
What was the Grain Procurement Crisis?
Where there was a 2 million ton shortfall in grains purchased by the state
When was the Grain Procurement Crisis?
1928
What did Stalin claim about the Grain Procurement Crisis?
The grain had been produced but was being horded by ‘kulaks’.
Instead of raising the prices, what did the Politburo do as a result of the Grain Procurement Crisis?
They adopted an emergency measure to requisition 2.5 million tons of grain
Who was the article ‘Dizzy with Success’ written by?
Stalin
What are emergency measures?
Policies issued by a government in times of crisis
Define liquidation
Eliminate by paying off (debts)
What was dekulakisation?
The Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, and executions of millions of the better-off peasants and their families
When was dekulakisation?
1929-1932
What were the richer peasants labelled as and what were they considered?
Labelled as kulaks
Considered class enemies
Who were The Twenty-Five Thousanders?
A collective name for the frontline (industrial) workers from the major industrial cities of the USSR, who voluntarily left their homes for rural areas at the call of the CPSU in order to improve the performance of kolkhozes during the agricultural collectivisation in the USSR in the early 1930s
What is a kolkhoz?
A collective farm (only in former Soviet Union)
What is a MTS?
Machine Tractor Station
What was the first function of an MTS?
Officially they were there to provide machinery and tools.
What was the second function of an MTS?
Exercise political control over the collective farms that they were supporting.
What could the workers of the MTS do?
Spy on the peasants and ensure that trouble makers were dealt with swiftly.
What is industrialisation?
The development of industry on an extensive scale.
What is urbanisation?
The social process whereby cities grow and societies become more urban (non-rural)
Who were the OGPU?
Succeeded as the Cheka.
In turn became the NKVD and then the KGB
When was there a record grain harvest?
1926
When did the grain harvest begin decreasing?
1927-8
When was the Grain Procurement Crisis?
1927-9
When was there a ‘voluntary’ collectivisation drive?
1928
When were there emergency measures, such as rationing and grain requisitioning?
1928-9
When was the Decree for sending out the Twenty-five thousanders?
November 1929
When was forced collectivisation ordered?
December 1929
When did Stalin approve ‘Decree on Measures for the Elimination of Kulak Households’?
January 1930
When did these events happen:
Stalin publishes his article ‘Dizzy with Success’
Temporary halt to enforced collectivastion,
Kulaks leave collective farms?
March 1930
When did Stalin restart enforced collectivisation?
1931
When was there a widespread famine?
1932-4
When were 100% of farms collectivised?
1941
During agricultural collectivisation, what was there state ownership over?
Agricultural production
What did Stalin understand the importance of when it came to industrialisation working?
Importance of food surpluses
Because of NEP under Lenin, how long was agriculture unchanged for?
The Revolution of 1917
By 1928, how was agriculture still run?
On an individual basis by peasant households under the supervision of the mir (village elders)
Why were the peasants forced into the collectivisation of farming?
Both political and economic forces were pushing Stalin to abandon NEP which led to this.
By what year were political and economic forces pushing Stalin to abandon NEP?
1928
What were, roughly, the main reasons for collectivisation?
The link with industry
The economic case for it
The political case for it
What was the modern economic base essential for?
Defence purposes
What would industrial development only be possible with?
An increase of agricultural productivity
What would industrial development lead to?
An increase in the population of towns and cities
What did new industries need?
Technology from abroad
What would the technology needed from abroad be paid with?
The increase of food surpluses
What did agriculture need to provide more than just?
Food
Apart from technology, what else would be needed in the new industrial centres?
Labour
How could labour be achieved in the new industrial centres?
In the short term it could be achieved by mechanisation of agriculture.
What did mechanisation of agriculture mean?
Releasing labourers from the countryside to work in industry
How could industrialisation only be achieved?
If agriculture was more efficient
What was one thing which was inefficient compared to the rest of Europe?
Small peasant plots
What would the formation of collective farms create?
Economics of scale
What would economics of scale result in?
Larger units being produced
As well as releasing much needed workers for the growing industrial plants
What would ensure the survival of a revolution?
Extending socialism to the countryside
How was the support for the party like in the countryside?
Weak
What event had caused the support of the party to continue weakening in the countryside?
Tambov Uprising of 1921
What the did the Land decree in 1917 see to?
The redistribution of land
Despite the Land Decree, by 1925, how much of the farmland was collectivised?
Less than 1%
What did less than 1% of land being collectivised mean for the peasants?
It allowed them to make a profit
What did collectivisation give the opportunity to do?
Get rid of the Kulaks and richer peasants
By 1928, what was it that Stalin was convinced held back the state of agriculture?
The attitudes of the peasants
From what year had the amount of food given to the government by the peasants fallen?
1926
What would collectivisation do according to the political case for it?
The bad attitude of the peasants
Increase the amount of food production
What was the process of collectivisation like in a sentence?
Consisted of a number of phases, each becoming more radical.
What was decided at the 15th Party Congress?
A programme of voluntary collectivisation
When was the 15th Party Congress?
December 1927
What led the government to carry out forced requisitioning of grain as a temporary emergency measure?
Food shortages in 1928
What method was used to carry out forced requisitioning of grain?
‘Ural-Siberian Method.’
What did local party officials do towards the cause of collectivisation?
They went into villages to announce collectivisation until enough people had signed up as members.
What was given through the establishment of MTS’?
A promise of increased mechanisation
Who were the MTS centres run by?
The government
What physical thing did MTS centres supply?
Farm machinery such as tractors to the collectives
What else (non-physical) did the MTS centres provide?
Advice on farming techniques and political lectures to persuade peasants on the benefits of socialism and collectivisation
What could collectives seize as a property of the collective after enough peasants had signed up?
Animals
Grain supplies
Buildings in the village
During the process of collectivisation, what were Kulaks being used to describe?
Any peasants that refused to join
Were labelled as class enemies
Where were Kulaks being deported?
Siberia and the Urals
Who did collectivisation lead to violent opposition from?
A large number of peasants
Particularly the richer peasants
Where were these richer peasants from who showed violent opposition as a result of collectivisation?
the Ukraine
the Caucasus region
Who was sent in to deal with the opposition regarding collectivisation?
‘Dekulakisation squads’
What did many of the opposition choose to do rather than hand over the property to the state?
Burn their property
Why were the ‘Twenty-five thousanders’ sent into villages and despite what?
To educate.
However, knew very little about agriculture themselves
What were the ‘Twenty-five thousanders’ well trained in?
Class warfare
What did the OGPU (secret police) do?
Rounded up class enemies to be sent to concentration camps
Who did Stalin blame in ‘Dizzy with Success’ for ‘Excesses’?
Overzealous (over enthusiastic) local Party officials
What are ‘Excesses’?
Actions beyond the limit of what is acceptable
Bad behaviour or actions that are socially or morally unacceptable
By 1932, how many peasant households had been collectivised?
62%
In 1937, what percentage had the peasants households which had been collectivised risen to?
93%
What was the supply of machinery to the collectives like?
Slow
What were many people without until the mid- 1930s?
Tractors
Who had the most productive farms?
Kulaks
What were the consequences of removing the kulaks?
It was damaging since they had the most productive farms
What act did the kulaks do that had an effect on livestock?
Slaughtering of animals
What happened to the number of cattle between 1928-33?
They halved
When did the number of cattle being halved not fully restore until?
1953
What was there a shortage of as a result of the number of cattle being halved?
Meat and milk
What did grain production fall from, from 1928-34?
1928=73.3 million tonnes
1934=67.6 million tonnes
Where was the shortages of food felt and why?
In the countryside
Because of amount of grain being seized by the government for the Red Army
Why else did the rural population starve?
The government seized food for export to gain foreign exchange
Who was particularly affected as a result of the widespread famine?
the Ukraine
Kazakhstan
the Caucasus region (border of Europe and Asia)
Why did the government introduce a passport system in the collectives?
Peasants would leave the collectives in search for food
What was the passport system far from?
The peasants liberation in 1861
What did peasants do because they were so hungry?
They resorted to eating their own children
How did the government respond to the peasants eating their own children?
All claims for dismissed
Which foreign visitors, more specifically British socialists, were shown to model collectives?
Sidney and Beatrice Webb (spouses)
What did the analysis of newly available Soviet data show?
4 million died in 1933 alone
What was harvest like in the year 1933?
Good
What other year, following on from the good harvest in 1933, had a good harvest?
1937
What helped the harvest in 1937?
Good weather
Despite these positive things, such as harvests, what was complete recovery hindered by?
Interference of the government and slow machinery
What class was Stalin successful in eliminating?
The Kulaks
How many deaths were there of the Kulaks in 1928?
15 million
What do some historians argue about Stalin’s famine in the Ukraine?
It was his attempt of genocide against its people.
What was the genocide of the Ukraine called?
The ‘Holodomor’
Which nomadic group was forced into collectives and what did this threaten?
‘Kazakhs’
Their existence
What did forcing ‘Kazakhs’ into collectives mean?
Their sheep flocks were being wiped out
What was the ‘Kazakhs’ population reduced to as a result of being forced into collectives?
It was reduced by 40%
Give 3 examples of why Stalin’s policy of collectivisation was a failure.
- The supply of machinery was slow
- The Kulaks, the most productive farmers, were removed
- The slaughtering of livestock had a devastating effect on livestock numbers
Give 3 more examples of why Stalin’s policy of collectivisation was a failure.
- Grain requisitioning meant that there was not enough to eat in the countryside
- The rural population starved
- Grain production did not rise dramatically
Give 2 final examples of reasons why Stalin’s policy of collectivisation was a failure.
- Poor planning
- Total cost in terms of human lives represented a ‘tragedy of epic proportion’
