Question

Explain Stalin's 'Collectivisation programme'.

Answer 1

Collectivization was a policy under Joseph Stalin who became the Bolshevik leader after the death of Lenin. The goal of this policy was to consolidate individual land and labour into collective farms.

The following steps were taken to implement the policy of Collectivisation

• The Collectivization programs began in 1929.
• All peasants were forced to cultivate in collective farms (Kolkhoz) by the Party.
• The ownership of collective farms received the implements and bulk of the land.
• Kolkhoz profit was shared and peasants worked on the land.
• Livestock was destroyed and the authorities were resisted by the enraged peasants.
• The number of cattle fell by one-third, between 1929 and 1931.
• People were severely punished if they resisted collectivization.
• People were sent to exile or deported, although peasants argued that they were not against socialism and that they were not rich, they were simply against collective farms due to various reasons.
• Although independent cultivation was allowed by Stalin, these cultivators were treated without any sympathy.
• Production did not increase immediately, despite collectivization.
• 4 million people died in the worst famine in the Soviet history due to bad harvests of 1930-33..