2.4.3. Stalinism and Collectivisation

The period of the early Planned Economy was linked to the disasters of the collectivisation of agriculture. By 1927-1928, the towns in Soviet Russia were facing an acute problem of grain supplies. The government fixed prices at which grain must be sold, but the peasants refused to sell their grain to government buyers at these prices.

In the late 1920s, Soviet Russia faced a severe grain shortage. The government, aiming to control prices to ensure a steady grain supply, set fixed prices for grain sales. However, peasants resisted these price controls because they believed the prices were too low and did not reflect the actual value of their grain. This tension between the government and the peasants highlighted a significant disconnect in economic policy and rural realities.

Imagine a farmer today who grows apples. If the government sets a price for apples that is much lower than what they can sell at the market, the farmer might choose to hold onto their apples, waiting for the prices to increase, rather than selling them for less than their worth. This is similar to what happened with the Soviet peasants and their grain.

Stalin, who headed the party after the death of Lenin, introduced firm emergency measures. He believed that rich peasants and traders in the countryside were holding stocks in the hope of higher prices. Speculation had to be stopped and supplies confiscated.

After taking leadership, Stalin saw rich peasants, known as kulaks, as a barrier to achieving agricultural stability. He introduced emergency measures that allowed the government to confiscate grain stocks from these wealthier peasants, whom he accused of hoarding supplies to drive prices up. This marked the beginning of a more aggressive state intervention in agriculture, as Stalin aimed to control resources strictly to eliminate speculation and stabilize grain availability.

Consider a situation where a city is running low on water. If the mayor believes that some people are hoarding water to sell it later at a higher price, the mayor might take action to confiscate that excess water supply. This heavy-handed approach mirrors Stalin's tactics against the kulaks.

In 1928, Party members toured the grain-producing areas, supervising enforced grain collections, and raiding ‘kulaks’ – the name for well-to-do peasants. As shortages continued, the decision was taken to collectivise farms. It was argued that grain shortages were partly due to the small size of holdings.

By 1928, the state was facing continued grain shortages, leading Stalin to push for collectivisation. The argument was that small, individual farms were inefficient and could not produce enough food to sustain the population. Therefore, the government decided to merge smaller farms into larger collective farms, where resources and machinery could be shared, thereby increasing food production.

This can be likened to a small group of friends trying to bake cookies individually, leading to a few cookies each. If they all combined their ingredients and worked together, they could bake a much larger batch more efficiently. Collectivisation aimed to create such a cooperative system for farming.

What followed was Stalin’s collectivisation programme. From 1929, the Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Peasants worked on the land, and the kolkhoz profit was shared.

Beginning in 1929, the Soviet government enforced a collectivisation model where individual peasant farms were merged into collective farms known as kolkhoz. Here, the government controlled the land and farm equipment, while the peasants worked on the land as part of a shared farming community. The idea was to allow for collective profits, which would supposedly lead to greater efficiency and increased agricultural output.

Imagine a cooperative grocery store where community members share the work and profits. Instead of each family running its own store, they come together to manage a single store, pooling resources and profits to ensure everyone benefits. This model reflects how collectivised farming was meant to operate.

Enraged peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock. Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by one-third. Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled.

Many peasants opposed collectivisation because they did not want to give up their land and independence. In a strong act of protest, some destroyed their livestock rather than surrender them to collective farms. This resistance was met with harsh government punishment, including deportations and forced labor camps for those who were seen as threats to the collectivisation process.

Think about a child being forced to give away their favorite toy. Instead of giving it up, the child might bury the toy in the backyard or hide it to keep it from being taken away. This illustrates the emotional turmoil and resistance peasants felt towards losing their land and independence.

In spite of collectivisation, production did not increase immediately. In fact, the bad harvests of 1930-1933 led to one of most devastating famines in Soviet history when over 4 million died.

Despite the government's hope, collectivisation did not lead to immediate agricultural productivity. Poor weather conditions and the chaos caused by the enforcement of collectivisation resulted in disastrous harvests, culminating in a severe famine from 1930 to 1933, which caused the death of millions of people. This famine is remembered as one of the darkest periods of Stalin's regime.

Imagine launching a new product that you believe is the best idea ever. However, if consumers are not ready for it or if something disrupts supply chains, sales may decline instead of skyrocketing. This analogy captures the unexpected failure of collectivisation to yield quick results in food production, leading to tragic outcomes.

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