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Summary Key facts on the Agricultural and social developments in the countryside
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Key facts on the Agricultural and social developments in the countryside
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Agricultural and social developments in the countryside: voluntary and forced collectivisation;state farms; mechanisation; the impact of collectivisation on the kulaks and other peasants; the
famine of 1932-1934; the success of collectivisation
-In 1929, Stalin gave his ‘war against the kulak’s speech to the Party Congress, denouncing the kulaks as
‘class enemies’ and establishing his policy of dekulakisation
-The ‘Urals-Siberian method’ of enforced grain requisitioning was extended to all grain-producing regions of
the USSR, despite opposition from Bukharin who claimed it would make the peasants hostile to the state.
-In November 1929, 25,000 Party activists were sent to promote collective farms and provide technical help
but instead they searched for hidden grain and helped identify kulaks as well as exile them. They were
assisted by the local police, OGPU and the Red Army
-Although Party officials used propaganda and positive messaging, the real motivation to join a collective
farm came from fear of being labelled a kulak. Party officials used poorer peasants to identify kulaks as
they had the most to gain from their land, livestock, and equipment
-At the start of 1929, only 5% of farms had been collectivised and by the end of 1929, around 15% of all
peasant households were identified as kulaks. Those who weren’t shot for ‘terrorism’ (resisting
dekulakisation) were forced into exile in Siberia. In 1929, 150,000 kulak families were deported to Siberia
-In March 1930, Stalin announced that 50% of peasant farms had been collectivised and wrote ‘Dizzy with
Success’ criticising Party officials for their overzealousness
-The return to voluntary collectivisation meant that by October this had dropped to 20%. Collectivisation
was reinforced in 1931 and by 1941 100% of peasant households were collectivised
-By 1940, there was still 1 MTS for every 40 farms. As well as this, tractor hire prices were high due to the
state squeezing farming for money. Efficiency was only improved in some areas of farming (cutting the hay
but not bailing it) and state farms only got majority of MTS support because advisers were used to spy on
peasants
-In 1933, harvest was 9 million tonnes less than in 1927
-Grain output did not exceed pre-collectivisation levels until after 1935
-Livestock fell by 25-30% and did not recover until 1953
-Between 1922 and 1940, the urban population increased from 22 million to 63 million
-Famine killed 6-8 million people. An extraordinary high social cost
-Despite declining agricultural production from 1930 until 1936, the USSR succeeded in exporting more
grain as exports rose from 30,000 tonnes in 1928 to more than 5 million tonnes in 1931
-Widespread and violent opposition to collectivisation and many peasants killed their livestock and
destroyed their machines fearing they would be branded a kulak
-Armed forces responded brutally to the unrest, sometimes burning down whole villages and deporting
anyone who resisted. Thousands died in the harsh conditions of Siberian labour camps, run by the OGPU.
10 million were deported as kulaks under Stalin
-State targets were high and if not met, then farms received nothing. State prices were low, and farms
struggled to cover the cost of production, let alone share the profits
-Little incentive to work in collective farms so, by 1939, 19 million peasants migrated into towns and cities
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