Joseph Stalin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 1928, the USSR was 20 million tons of grain short to feed the towns. Industrialisation was creating even more towns, increasing this problem. 

So in order to feed his industrial workforce Stalin needed to revolutionise agriculture. 

Although Collectivisation is sometimes discussed as a separate policy in Stalin’s Russia, it really is a fundamental part of his programme of industrialization set out in the 5-year plans:

 

Stalin needed to:
 

• Raise revenue to fund industrial revolution. The best way of doing this was by exporting grain abroad.

• Feed workers in the towns.

 

To do both of these he needed to :
 

• Maximize the production of grain by revolutionizing the METHODS of agriculture. Traditional Russian farming techniques were poor. Small plots of land meant that innovations such as fertilizer and tractors could not be used. Many peasants were still using horse drawn ploughs.

 

He also needed to
 

• Control the production. Since the NEP ,the Kulaks (wealthier peasants) had controlled prices of grain, and had hoarded their surplus to ensure that prices stayed high (because high demand and low supply = high prices!).

•  Stalin needed to ensure that the price of grain was cheap, so workers in the town could afford to buy grain without Stalin having to increase wages. So he needed to destroy the power of the Kulaks to control grain prices. Stalin may also have wanted to destroy the Kulaks for ideological reasons – having a class of ‘agricultural capitalists’ didn’t really fit with Communist ideas!

 

Stalin’s plan was to join small farms into huge collectives,called Kolkhoz. The key features of these Kolkhoz were:

• Peasants would farm the land, using machinery from the state [ Tractors loaned from Motor Tractor Stations (MTS) ]

• Animals and tools were to be pooled together

• They would receive a wage for doing this

• 90% of the produce would be sold to the state cheaply

• The 10% surplus was to feed the Kolkhoz it could not be sold privately for profit

• Peasants could keep a small plot of land around their house for their own use

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At first, collectivization was not enforced, but promoted through propaganda. (Look at the poster above)

• However, many peasants resisted.(They disliked the idea that the farms were under the control of local Communist leader)

• Kulaks resisted the policy; when the Red guards came to seize their grains and sent them to

  labour camps; many burned their crops and killed their animals.

 

The impact of Collectivisation:

• Countryside was in chaos

• Anyone who objected was sent to labour camps in Siberia.

• Millions of peasants were forced off the land into industry in the cities.

• Probably about 10million died of starvation

• Food production fell and there was a famine in 193233

• Many died in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, Russia's richest agricultural region.

 

Despite such shortages, Stalin continued to force collectivization. He also continued to seize grain; resulting in a rise in grain collection from 10.8 million tons in 19289 to 22.8 million tons in 19312. This obviously improved standards of living in the towns. Stalin also continued to sell grain abroad. Even in the worst years of the famine like in 1932, the country exported 1.73 million tons and only slightly less in the next year.

• By 1934 there were no Kulaks left.

• By 1937 most peasants were using tractors, provided by Machine Tractor Stations supplied by the state

• By 1941 almost all agricultural land was organized into collectives. The system of differentiation was introduced whereby people with special skills were given rewards and benefits in form of housing.

• Stalin also encouraged education for peasants on the Kolkhoz

• Literacy schemes were introduced and publicized through propaganda.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stalin also encouraged education for peasants on the Kolkhoz. Literacy schemes were introduced and publicized through propaganda: