These revision notes provide a detailed summary of the seventh chapter of Michael Lynch's 'Access to History, Russia ' - the OCR recommended textbook for the Russia - paper. I used these revision notes to achieve a grade A in my history A Level.
Stalin’s Economic Aims after 1929
Stalin decided to impose reforms of the soviet economy, and agriculture and
industry were revolutionised.
This was called the ‘second revolution’ or the ‘great turn’.
Its aim was to turn the Russian from an agrarian economy to an industrial one.
Revolution from Above
This had one essential aim – the modernisation of the soviet economy through two
methods: collectivisation and industrialisation. (Collectivisation is talked about in
next document.)
Stalin’s plan was to have the state command and direct the economy from above,
and state control was to be total, consolidating his control over the party and
government.
He portrayed it as the ‘next step’ in Lenin’s revolution.
Modernisation/Industrialisation
This was not just about ‘political expediency’ – being politically beneficial.
Instead, Stalin genuinely believed that immediate modernisation was the only way to
protect the revolution – policy of socialism in one country.
If they were modernised, they could protect themselves from an invasion.
The USSR was about 100 years behind the west.
Collectivisation: The War Against the Peasantry
This was Stalin’s simple formula to industrialise the economy:
The USSR needed to industrialise
Industrialisation required large amounts of manpower and capital
The undeveloped USSR didn’t have sufficient capital, and couldn’t borrow from abroad
Since Russia’s natural resources (oil, gas) had yet to be efficiently exploited, this left land as
the only available resource
Therefore, the peasants must produce surplus food to be sold abroad to raise capital
Efficient farming under collectivisation would create a surplus of farm labourers who would
this become available as factory workers
, Introduction
The necessary first step towards using the land to raise capital was the
collectivisation of Russian agriculture.
This involved the state’s taking the land from the peasants, who would no longer
farm for their own individual profit.
Instead, they would pool their efforts and receive a wage.
For Stalin, the needs of the land were always subordinate the those of industry.
Stalin also claimed that collectivisation was voluntary and was the free and eager
choice of the peasants.
Collective and State Farms
In practice, there was very little difference between the two:
o State farms – farms in which the peasants worked directly for the state, who
paid them a wage.
o Collective farms – co-operations in which peasants pooled their resources
and shared their labour and resources.
Both ended private, peasant ownership and made sure agriculture served the
interests of the soviet state.
The plan was to group between 50-100 holding into one unit, as it was believed that
large farms would be more efficient and would encourage the effective use of
agricultural machinery.
This would theoretically improve farming methods and there would be two vital
results:
o A decreased number of rural workers would be needed.
o The release of unwanted rural workers into factories.
The Kulaks
Kulak – a class of wealthy peasantry who had benefitted by storing excess grin, thus
keeping prices high and holding back the revolution.
In reality, during this time, the kulaks were a fabrication on Stalin’s part so that he
could use them as propaganda, in which he said that the kulaks were essentially
oppressive landlords who were exploiting the efforts of the poorer peasantry.
This provided grounds for the coercion of the peasantry as a whole, as Stalin
appealed to their long-standing hate of oppression by the landlords dating back to
tsarist times.
The people who Stalin called kulaks were just more efficient peasant farmers.
Surplus Food, Surplus Peasants
It’s true that for generations, the Russian countryside had been overpopulated,
creating a chronic land shortage.
Even in the best years of the NEP, food production had seldom matched needs.
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