History

Stalincollectivisation
Stalin'sFiveyearPlansdealtwithindustrialproduction,
butsomethingneededtobedoneaboutthefoodsupply
soStalinintroducedcollectivisation.Afteryearsof
resistanceandfaminesStalineventuallyexecutedthose
whoresisted,orsentthemtolabourcamps.

Collectivisationinpractice

Stalinadvocated
collectivefarms

Bytheendofthe1920s,itwasclearthat
Russianagriculturewasinadequate.
Althoughthe kulaks[Kulaks:Wealthy
Russianfarmingpeasants,whostrongly
opposedcollectivisationStalinkilled
many.]wererelativelywealthyand
successful,thethousandsoftiny,
backwardpeasantfarmswerenot
producingenoughtofeedthepopulation.

In1927,Stalindeclaredthattheway
forwardwasforpeopleineachvillagetovoluntarilyunitetheir
farmsintoonecollectivefarm.This kolkhoz[Kolkhoz:A
collectivefarm.]wouldbeabletoaffordmachinery,bemore
efficient,andbeabletocreateasurplustosendtothetowns.
Aftertwoyears,wheneveryonehad
ignoredhisideaandtherehadbeena
famine,Stalinmadecollectivisation
compulsory.

thepeasantsburned
theirfarms

Thepeasantshatedtheidea,sothey
burnedtheircropsandkilledtheir
animalsratherthanhandthemoverto
thestate.Therewasanotherfaminein
1930.

Stalinrelaxedtherulesforawhile,butin
1931heagaintriedtoenforce
collectivisation.
Againtherewasthesameresistance
andanother,worsefamine.
Stalinblamedthekulaks,anddeclared
kulaksweresenttothe waronthem.Theywereexecutedor
senttothe gulag[Gulag:Russian
gulag
labourprisoncamps.].
By1939,99percentoflandhadbeen
collectivised90%ofthepeasantslived
ononeofthe250,000kolkhoz.Farming
wasrunbygovernmentofficials.The
governmenttook90percentof
productionandlefttherestforthepeople
toliveon.
by1939,99percentof
landhadbeen
collectivised

WhydidStalincollectivisethe
farms?

Hewantedmorefoodtofeedthe
workersinindustry.
Heneededasurplusoffoodtoselloverseastobring
moneyintothecountry.
Heneededpeopletoleavethelandandgotoworkin
industry.
Hewantedanexcusetodestroythekulaks,who
believedinprivateownership,notcommunism.
Howsuccessfulwascollectivisation?
1. Stalinachievedmostofhisaims:
Grainproductionrosetonearly100milliontonnes
in1937,althoughthenumbersofanimalsnever
recovered.

Russiasoldlargequantitiesofgraintoother
countries.
Some17millionpeopleleftthecountrysidetogoto
workinthetowns.
Thekulakswereeliminated.
Thepeasantswerecloselyunderthegovernment's
control.
2. However,thehumancostwasimmense:
Perhaps3millionkulakswerekilled.
Therewerefaminesin1930and19323when5
millionpeoplestarvedtodeath.

Revisiontipandanswerpreparation
Revisiontip
Identifythesixkeydatesonthecourseofcollectivisation,and
makebulletednotesabouteachdate.

Answerpreparation
Aspartofyourrevision,thinkabouttheargumentsandfacts
youwouldusetoexplain:

1. HowagriculturechangedunderStalin.
2. WhyStalinintroducedcollectivisation.
3. WhetherStalin'sagriculturalreformsweresuccessful.
NowtryaTestBite
BacktoRevisionBite