Question

Write a few lines about Stalin’s collectivization programs.

Answer 1

• 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.
• The consequences of collectivization and confusion in industrial production under a planned economy were criticized by many within the party.
• By 1939, over 2 million were put in labor camps or prisons by Stalin and his sympathizers as they faced criticism. Critics were accused of conspirators against Socialism.