Collectivisation 1929-41
reasons
failure
success
prevented peasants from decreasing grain production to raise the price of grain - as happened in the Scissors crisis
socialised the peasants to become communists by removing private farms and class divisions
established Stalin's reputation, along with the 5 year plans
enabled farming to be mechanised - freed workers for the industrialisation process and larger land could be farmed more effifienctly
increased the Party's control over the countryside
allowed Stalin to remove Bukharin as a contender in the leadership struggle as he supported the NEP
fund industrialisation by increasing food production - able to feed workers and sell grain abroad
many peasants became industrial workers - by 1939, 19 million peasants had migrated to towns - for every 3 peasants who joined a collective, one moved to the city to become an urban worker
class differences in the countryside were abolished and remainders of capitalism destroyed
grain procurement increased - 10.8 tonnes in 1928, increased to 22.6 tonnes in 1933
Soviet regime extended its control to the countryside for the first time
fulfilled its purpose - all farms collectivised by 1941, 95% of threshing and 75% of threshing carried out mechanically by 1938
13754 outbreaks of mass unrest in 1930 involving 2.5 million peasants
machine tractor stations rarely were adequately equipped with machinery for farming
contributed to the Great Famine 1932-34 - approximately 5 million people died of starvation
agricultural production fell massively due to peasant opposition - took till 1935 for grain production to reach pre-collectivisation levels
mass movement of workers limited the success of the farms
impact on kulaks and peasants
voluntary and forced collectivisation
peasants
famine of 1932-34
kulaks
10 million peasants died as a result of resistance or effects of deportation
mainly poorer peasants joined collective farms voluntarily
majority of peasants resisted collectivisation - violent opposition, especially in agricultural areas such as Ukraine
people feared they would be labeled kulaks so burned their crops and killed their livestock rather than hand it over
anyone who resisted collectivisation was labeled a kulak and deported
quotas were so high that peasants rarely received any leftover profits from the farm, and there were harsh sentences for attempting to sell grain before the quota was filled
drought in many agricultural areas eg. Ukraine and mass deportation of kulaks led to massive drop in food production
one of the worst famines in Russian history
collectivisation stage 2, 1930-41
features of kolkhoz and sovkhoz
collectivisation stage 1, 1929-30
mechanisation
kolkhoz - collective farms where peasants shared resources, wages and labour
created by combining individual farms - usually comprised of a small village
had to fulfil a quota and then share the profit between members
system of internal passports meant peasants were not allowed to leave kolkhoz
sovkhoz - state-owned farms where peasants worked for a wage usually larger and organised for industrial large-scale production of grain expected that all kolkhoz would be converted to sovkhoz in the long term peasants were referred to as workers but were also not allowed to leave
machine tractors stations - set up in 1931 to provide tractors and machinery to collective farms - 2500 were established
state farms generally received more and better machinery
kulaks were said to represent 4% of the peasant population, but 15% of peasant households were destroyed and 150,000 peasants forced to flee - people would destroy crops and kill livestock to avoid being labeled a kulak
in 1930, Stalin set the aim that 25% of grain farming areas should be collectivised that year - by March, 54% of peasant households had been collectivised - scared by brutal treatment of kulaks
kulaks were not allowed to join collectives and were to be identified, deported and executed
brief return to voluntary collectivisation and people were allowed to leave collectives - only 20% of households remained collectivised by Oct 1930
by the end of 1929, all-out forced collectivisation was underway - peasants driven to collectives by local party members
rate of collectivisation sped up again after spring crops sown in 1931 - 100% of farms collectivised by 1941