Collectivisation
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- Category: History: European
- Date Submitted: 11/27/2014 06:53 AM
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Collectivisation
Stalin believed he needed to raise capital to develop Soviet industry through the use of land. His intentions were ‘taking the land from the peasants and giving it all to the state’. This would mean ‘peasants would no longer farm the land for their own profit’ therefore deleting capitalism. Profits from the collectivised land would ‘finance a massive industrialisation programme.’
De-Kulakistation
Under the NEP some farmers has achieved prosperity. However Stalin considered they ‘were holding back the workers revolution by monopolising the best land and employing cheap peasant labour.’ Stalin claimed collectivisation was ‘an act of social justice’ by ‘taking land from the greedy capitalist’ giving it to ‘the poor majority.’ Kulaks were deported or shot.
There were two types of farms:
• Collective Farm: Farmers ‘farmed co-operatively’ and ‘sold a fixed amount of their produce to the government at low price and kept any surplus for themselves’
• State Farm: the land belonged to the government and ‘peasants would work it in return for cash.’
Success?
On the whole it was a widespread failure. Historian Isaac Deutscher saw it as ‘the first purely man-made famine in history.’ Farmers ‘were unable to produce the surplus.’ There was a strong resistance to collectivisation. ‘Peasants in their millions resisted. What amounted to a [rural] civil war’. ‘Between 10 and 15 million peasants’ died either of starvation or were killed. They ‘ate their corn and slaughtered livestock’. The little grain produced ‘was exported as surplus to obtain foreign capital that industry demanded’ worsening the famine.
On the other hand there was a small success. Some landholdings became ‘more efficient and would encourage the effective use of agricultural machinery.’ Furthermore it did ‘force a large number of peasants to leave the land’, so ‘economic migration under Stain made sense’ as the countryside was overpopulated whilst the industry needed workers.
Stalin believed he needed to raise capital to develop Soviet industry through the use of land. His intentions were ‘taking the land from the peasants and giving it all to the state’. This would mean ‘peasants would no longer farm the land for their own profit’ therefore deleting capitalism. Profits from the collectivised land would ‘finance a massive industrialisation programme.’
De-Kulakistation
Under the NEP some farmers has achieved prosperity. However Stalin considered they ‘were holding back the workers revolution by monopolising the best land and employing cheap peasant labour.’ Stalin claimed collectivisation was ‘an act of social justice’ by ‘taking land from the greedy capitalist’ giving it to ‘the poor majority.’ Kulaks were deported or shot.
There were two types of farms:
• Collective Farm: Farmers ‘farmed co-operatively’ and ‘sold a fixed amount of their produce to the government at low price and kept any surplus for themselves’
• State Farm: the land belonged to the government and ‘peasants would work it in return for cash.’
Success?
On the whole it was a widespread failure. Historian Isaac Deutscher saw it as ‘the first purely man-made famine in history.’ Farmers ‘were unable to produce the surplus.’ There was a strong resistance to collectivisation. ‘Peasants in their millions resisted. What amounted to a [rural] civil war’. ‘Between 10 and 15 million peasants’ died either of starvation or were killed. They ‘ate their corn and slaughtered livestock’. The little grain produced ‘was exported as surplus to obtain foreign capital that industry demanded’ worsening the famine.
On the other hand there was a small success. Some landholdings became ‘more efficient and would encourage the effective use of agricultural machinery.’ Furthermore it did ‘force a large number of peasants to leave the land’, so ‘economic migration under Stain made sense’ as the countryside was overpopulated whilst the industry needed workers.