29.1.2013
Lectures on
Rural Transition in Russia
From revolution to NEP
1
Leo Granberg HY 18.1.2013
CONTENTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Russian countryside
Russian agriculture before revolution
From revolution to NEP –policy
Constructing collective agriculture 1930’sSoviet enlargement and developmenting
collective farming
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3. From revolution to NEP Policy
New border between Russia
and capitalist Europe
Civil war and economic collapse
War communism

Controlling consumption, lack of food, confiscation of grain, Committees
of the poor.

Economic chaos:

Industrial production 1920 only 14 % of 1813 level

Towns get empty
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Petersburg only half of population
Industial workers from 2,6 to 1,2 mill.
(Vihavainen 2002, 375-7)
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2.4. Land Reform

Land nationalized and devided to rural population 1917-1920

Peasants had occupied manor houses’ lands
Now untrustfull because.
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Believing whites would give back their lands to land owners
And reds wanted to force them give food products without payment.
Productive middle sized farms named as koulaks, belonging to exploiting class.
An attempt to voluntary collectivising of agriculture unsuccesfull:
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state farms and cooperative farms had 1919 only 4,5% plus 1,7% of land.
Class struggle did not expand to villages as by Lenin’s theory
Shortage of agricultural products
Expropriation of agricultural products from peasants
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
was both action of emergency & and consequence of communist ideology to deny
market relations.
Contributed to break down of agricultural production and increased peasant protests.
Grain production fell 1920 to 54% and 1921 to 43 % from the level before the war.
(Wegren 2005, 12, 375)
Struggle on power in the countryside


Mir –system continued, village meeting (selski sod) decided on
things, and was locally higher appreciated than organs of Soviet
power.
Few communists in rural areas, and strong church.


“There are 13 000 library rooms in the countryside, where communist
ideas are distributed, but five times more churches” (Lazar Kaganivots
1929 - one of Stalin’s assistants)
Agricultural question becomes acute in 1927 because of lack
of agricultural products. New programme on



full collectivisation of agriculture
industrialization
major changes in society, culture and politics
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NEP (1921-new economic policy)

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Land was nationalized,
1917-1920 distributed to rural population:
1921- combination of state owned large-scale industry and
market forces in agriculture.
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Partial private ownership and small business allowed.
Foreign enterprices and small farming allowed
Small and middle sized farms allowed, to secure food for cities and
industrial centres (10ha land and some cows).
1927 peasant households had 93-98 % of farm land (Wegren 13).
Grain production reached 1925 the pre-war level v. 1913.
Private trade increased and the class of prosperous farmers was born
Coexistence of peasants and communists in 1920’s.
Wegren 2005, 13
1 ha (hectare) = 10mx10m
2.3. Population catastrophes
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Russian population 1900 126 milj.
77% of population in agricultural small farms (-10 ha).
Died in starvation
1891/92,Volga region hunger: 4-5 mill. People of 4 mill
1. WW 1,5 mill.
National War after revolution 2 mill
In towns 1918-20 and countryside 1921/22, 10-14 mill. died (Volga
regions and Ukraine).
No bread for cities, because production fields controlled by White
Army.
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Fridtjof Nansen and others offered help 1919, accepted only 1921. 12 millreceived food aid
1928-33 a series of hunger times (Cities and Kazakhstan) 5,7 mill
died. Later, Only in China 1958 a worse catastrophe.
1946 In middle Russia and south-east Russia for dry weather 2 mill
died
(Vihavainen, 378; Edmondson and Waldron 1992
in Davies and Whesatcroft, 402-3, 406-17)
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Dead by profession,1928-33
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Manual worker
431 000
Clerical worker
145 000
Auxiliary and domestic work
63 000
Engaged in agriculture
2 532 000
Other independent
235 000
Total
4 955 000
1.5.2. Ending NEP and Collectivisation, 1930s
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
Stalin won power against Trotski , Buharin et al.
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Rapid industrialization was started.
cultural revolution
Rural population still 77 %
Farm size decreased during ‘war communism’.
Acute problem to get grain in cities.

Fight agains Kulaks with the help of ‘pure’ peasants.

1927 Peasants denied to sell grain with low prices , offered y state.

Kulaks were about 750 000 families, each on the average 7 persons .
Collectivisation 1929-1935
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co-operative farms (kolkhozes)
land property into state ownership.
Kulaks were about 750 000 households, families normally 7 persons.

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They were not accepted to participate in kolkhozes,
exiled to distant regions with their families, to work as farmers, in mining or in forestry
in working camps.
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
On-off process of collectivization

Autumn 1929 aim was complete collectivisation into large cooperative
farms ”Revolution from above” (Stalin) .

Peasants slaughter horses and livestock before joining communes.
Livestock’s total decrease ¼.

In spring 1930 the danger not to succeed in sowing the fields. Stalin accuses
communist leaders from overreacting and mistakes and promises peasants
to leave communes and tells it is voluntary to join kolkhozes. Masses of
peasants leave kolkhozes.

Moderated rules: when joining, some private property is allowed: a few
private animals and a private plot/garden.

Collectivisation continues
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1935 83 % of farms and 94% of land belongs to kolkhozes
During 1930s almost all private peasants (edinolichniki) dissappear, they join
a kolkhoz, leave their village or die.
Types of collective farming
Commune
(Davies 1980, 68-9)

.

.
• All means of production and animals are in
collective ownership. Apartment is divided and food
is prepared and eaten together.
Artel
•Agricultural land is common, in spite of private
piece of land (household plot). Work animals and
tools are common.
Producing cooperative
(TOZ: tovarishcetvo po
sovmestnoi obrabotke
zemli
• (association for the joint cultivation of land)
• In TOZ a part of land is grown together and only
most important agrarian machines are common.
Animals, draught animals, and most tools remain
private.
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Income sources for a kolkhoze
Entry fees for peasants (cash or material)
Products which remain for the kolkhoz after obligatory
transfers to the state
Products sold to state and market
Other fees by peasants to the kolkhoz – e.g. from work
outside the village.
State subsidies and loans
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Some features in new system reminded
from serfdom:
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Work obligations and additional products were taken from
peasantry to the state
Managers had large rights to punish if working discipline was
not followed, even imprisonment allowed.
 Hiding grain could be sentenced with death
Moving out from collective farm was only allowed through
an agreement between directors in industrial enterprise and
in agricultural enterprise
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Passport system in Soviet began 1932 but peasants were left out of
the system until 1974.
The main form of work organisation was brigade, formed
often from relatives.
Home, garden, cow and some small animals stayed private,
after 1932 marketing own products was allowed.
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Some features were different
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Mir –village order was abolished 1930
Double power:
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communists control partly economy & public administration
Partly power was given to kolkhoz leaders, who were often
outsiders.
Campaigns against religion
Grain production and horse ownership not allowed
…Social Concequences

Agrarian population fell and professional farmers decreased
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Women got possibilities to upwards social migration
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1926-1939 about 12 mill. persons moved from countryside to towns.
1930-33 2-2,5 mill. kulaks were deported inside of country and over
2,1 mill. Were sent to labour camps and special villages in distant
regions.
New campaign started 1937-39.
Leading positions, work with machines, milker had high status,
possibility to start studying in towns
Fertility fell in the end of 1930s to 2/3 of the turn of century
(Moon 364).
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Family size sank from 5 in the 1920s to 3,9 - 4,4 in the 1930s.
Countryside full of untypical families – still more after IIWW.
(Moon 21, 364)
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Interview of ex-sovkhoze director
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As far as collectivization is concerned, it was forced and people
were not paid for their work.
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As you probably know, no one could have salary at the collective
farm.
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Collective farms were
very weak and inefficient.
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After collective farms
were liquidated here a new
state farm was established.
Summary, Baltic Countries vs. Russia before IIWW
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Liberalisation of peasantry was the tendency in 1920s in both
Russian development to forced collective agriculture, and tight
political control of countryside in 1930s,
Baltic development to family based farming continues until
WWII (20 years).
Agricultural production is revived in Russia, it starts to export
grain. Production grows also in the Baltic states.
When Baltic states become later a part of Soviet Union,
collective agriculture had only 10-15 years experience in
Russia.
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