Strengths and Weaknesses of Collectivisation

Question 1

Political Strength: Removed Stalin’s last political rivals

Answer 1

eg. Bukharin, Rykov because they supported the NEP. It discredited the Right

Question 2

Agricultural strengths: scope of collectivisation

Answer 2

93% of peasants households collectivised by 1937

Question 3

Weakness: violent opposition

Answer 3

Civil war in the countryside

Question 4

Agricultural weakness: peasants destroyed produce

Answer 4

They burned arms and crops and killed their livestock (which added to milk and meat shortage) rather than hand them over. Kulaks encouraged peasants to. The amount of cattle halved from 1928-33

Question 5

Weakness: peasant deaths

Answer 5

Over 10 million died as a result of deportation

Question 6

Industrial Strength: Peasants in towns by 1939

Answer 6

19 million had migrated although there was a population imbalance in rural areas.

Question 7

Political strength: Control over countryside

Answer 7

By 1930 village councils were replaced by a chairman who was a Communist Party member, and party activists controled kolkhoz’s/collected grain. Red Army bombed troublesome villages.

Question 8

Ind/Ag Weaknesses but Political Strength: Mechanisation 1940

Answer 8

Only one Machine Tractor Station for every 40 collective farms: mechanisation was not widespread. However they gave political lectures on the benefit of socialism.

Question 9

Agricultural Weakness: production fell dramatically

Answer 9

During the initial disruption and didn’t recover until late 1930s. In 1941 production was still at similar levels to 1928

Question 10

Agricultural Weakness: Holodomor famine 1932-4

Answer 10

Estimated 7 million deaths, demoralised peasants. 44% of grain was taken from affected areas.

Question 11

Industrial strength: exports

Answer 11

Grain production enabled exports to pay for technology throughout the 1930s and there were secure supplies to the towns and Red Army.

Question 12

Political strength: class differences abolished

Answer 12

Nepment gone, kulaks gone by mid 30s: sent to labour camps, executed or exiled. Apart from small private plots, Capitalism (private enterprise etc) abolished.

Question 13

Agricultural weakness: peasants unenthusiastic

Answer 13

Those who didn’t want to go to collectives were classified as a kulak to fill quotas, or were misclassified anyway.

Question 14

Political: party objective

Answer 14

Had always been the long term objective, although Lenin thought it should be achieved voluntarily.

Question 15

Social strength: provision of schools and basic health services

Answer 15

Peasant literacy improved

Question 16

Agricultural weakness: loss of skilled workers

Answer 16

The loss of kulaks meant loss of skill so less efficiency

Question 17

Weakness: peasant hostility

Answer 17

Believed it was a ‘new serfdom’ it made them workers rather than landowners

Question 18

Agricultural: grain production (mil tonnes)

Answer 18

1928: 73 1932:69.6 1935:75

Question 19

Agricultural: cattle (mil heads)

Answer 19

1928: 70.5 1932: 11.6 1935: 22.6

Question 20

Weakness: Internal passports

Answer 20

Stopped peasants moving into towns for food resembling serfdom

Question 21

Political strength: propaganda

Answer 21

Used kulak’s slaughtering etc as propaganda to encourage peasants to turn them in.