Gill Sans Bold
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Part 6: Industrialisation and
collectivisation
Number: 44424
Title: Russia and the Soviet Union 1917-1941
This publication is copyright New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), however it
may contain material from other sources which is not owned by DET. We would like to acknowledge the
following people and organisations whose material has been used:
Extracts from History Syllabus Year 12 © Board of Studies, NSW 2004
Extracts from Christian, David (1988) Power and privilege, Pitman/ Longman, Melbourne
Extracts from Westwood, J. N. (1993) Endurance and endeavour: Russian history 1812-1992 (4th ed). OUP,
Oxford
Extract from Palmer, Alan (1983) The Penguin dictionary of Twentieth Century history 1900-1982, Penguin,
Harmondsworth
Extracts from Hosking, Geoffrey (1992) A history of the Soviet Union 1917-1991, Fontana, London.
Extract from Lynch, M (1998) Trotsky: the permanent revolutionary, Hodder and Stoughton, London
Extract from Pasternak, Boris (1958) Dr Zhivago in Stacey, F.W. (1972) Stalin and the making of modern Russia,
Edward Arnold, London
Extract from Solzhenitsyn, A A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich in Stacey, F.W. (1972) Stalin and the making of
modern Russia, Edward Arnold, London
Extract from Nove, Alex (1986) An economic history of the USSR, Penguin, Harmondsworth
Extract from Nove, Alex (1989) Stalinism and after: the road to Gorbachev (3rd ed), Unwin Hyman
Extracts from Gill, Graeme (1989) Twentieth century Russia: the search for power and authority, Nelson,
Melbourne
Extracts from Mawdsley, E (1998) The Stalin years. The Soviet Union, 1929-1953, Manchester University Press,
Manchester
Extracts from Kochan, L and Keep, J (1997) The making of modern Russia (3rd ed) Penguin, Harmondsworth
Overview pp v-vi
Part 1 p 58, Pt 2 pp 25,
38, Pt 3 pp 27. 33, 34,
35, 44, Pt 4 pp 1, 15, Pt
5 p 25, Pt 6 pp 13, 23,
30, Pt 7 p 11
Part 5 p 27, Pt 6
p 24, Pt 8 pp 26, 27
Part 1 p 33
Part 3 p 30
Part 2 p 26
Part 7 p 62
Part 7 p 19
Part 6 p 34
Part 5 p 28, Pt 7 p 54
Part 5 pp 26, 33
Part 6 p 36, Pt 7 pp 28,
30, 45, 54, Pt 8 p 24
Part 3 p 31
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Part 6 contents
Changes to the economy .................................................................. 3
Industrialisation ......................................................................... 5
Five Year Plans......................................................................... 9
Russia’s ability to industrialise........................................................11
Available capital and resources .................................................11
Effects of industrialisation..........................................................15
Industrialisation: an assessment...............................................17
Collectivisation ...................................................................................21
What is collectivisation?............................................................21
Putting collectivisation into practice............................................27
Peasant resistance...................................................................30
Results of collectivisation .................................................................33
Economic results......................................................................35
How successful was collectivisation?.............................................37
Exercises – Part 6 .............................................................................43
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
1
2
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Changes to the economy
Stalinist policies had a great effect on the Russian economy. Stalin
believed it was essential for the Soviet economy to improve. On
4 February 1931 Stalin made a famous speech to a conference of economic
managers. Let’s read what he had to say:
It is sometimes asked if it is possible to slow the tempo [of economic
change] somewhat, to hold back. No, comrades, it is not possible! It is
not possible to reduce the tempo! On the contrary we must increase it as
much as we can with all our powers and possibilities…
To reduce the tempo means to fall behind. Those who fall behind get
beaten. But we do not want to be the ones who are beaten. No, we do
not want that! One feature of the history of Russia was continuous
beatings for backwardness… For the backwardness of her military, for
the backwardness of her culture, for the backwardness of her state, for
the backwardness of her industry, for the backwardness of
her agriculture.
In the past we did not have and could not have a fatherland. But now,
when we have overthrown capitalism, and we have workers in power –
we have a fatherland, and we will maintain its independence.
We are fifty to a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must
make up this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall go under.
Source: Evan Mawdsley, 1998, The Stalin years The Soviet Union,
1929–1953, Manchester University Press, pp 123–4.
According to Stalin, why was Russia continually beaten in the past?
__________________________________________________________
According to Stalin, why does Russia ‘now’ have a fatherland when it
didn’t ‘in the past’?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
Backwardness
It has overthrown capitalism and the workers are in power
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
3
Ten years after Stalin made this speech, Russia was invaded by Nazi
Germany whose leader was Adolf Hitler.
Stalin’s mistrust of other countries and his belief that Russia had to
prepare for war helps explain why he focused so much on the rapid
development of heavy industry and the production of armaments.
Another important aim of Stalin’s in pursuing economic change was to
make Russia a fully socialist country. An important aspect of Marxist
ideology which Stalin and the other communist leaders claimed to be
following is the idea that socialism can only be successfully introduced in
countries which have large-scale industry and therefore a substantial
proletariat. Thus Stalin believed that Russia would never become fully
socialist unless a vast program of industrialisation was undertaken.
Moreover, in an article in Pravda newspaper on the twelfth anniversary of
the Bolshevik Revolution (1929), Stalin criticised the NEP, arguing that it
was a ‘retreat’ from socialism. (Contrast this with his earlier support for
the NEP.) He thought that there was an urgent need to change policy and
move in the opposite direction, that is towards socialism. He wanted ‘a
decisive offensive of socialism against capitalistic elements in town and
country’. In fact in his article he claimed that this offensive had already
begun.
Stalin was also keen to industrialise for a more selfish reason. He knew
that the main supporters of the communists were the proletariat and that an
extensive program of industrialisation would lead to a dramatic increase in
the size of this class. His own position and that of the Communist Party in
general would therefore be strengthened.
One other factor in explaining the dramatic economic change, which took
place in Russia in the late 1920s and the early 1930s, was the type of
people who were in charge of Russia at the time – Stalin of course was the
dominant figure but there were others as well. Evan Mawdsley describes
them as ‘a revolutionary generation, young men prepared to strike out into
the unknown (1998: 32). Many had undergone a great deal of hardship
both before 1917 and in the early years of communist rule, and they were
determined to create a new world, not only for Russia and its proletariat
but for the working class throughout the earth. The question is of course to
what extent they achieved this.
In Part 4, you examined the debate about modernisation that took place in
the Communist Party during the 1920s. With Stalin’s decision to
implement industrialisation and rapid collectivisation of agriculture, the
viewpoint of the ‘Left Opposition’ had clearly won the debate. The irony
is that the most significant member of the Left Opposition was Trotsky
who, as we have seen, was expelled from the Communist Party by Stalin
.
4
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Industrialisation
Industrialisation was one of the two main aspects of economic change that
Stalin was determined to introduce in the Soviet Union.
Industrialisation, which is sometimes referred to as the industrial
revolution, is the process of introducing and expanding industries
in a country.
The main features of industrialisation are:
•
the introduction of large-scale manufacturing, especially in factories,
which increasingly replaces agriculture as the foundation of
a country’s economy
•
the switch from a subsistence economy in which people produce
goods just for themselves to a market economy in which people
produce goods for others to purchase
•
the development of new sources of power such as steam power,
and other new forms of technology, in particular more
advanced machinery
•
an increasing number of people living in urban areas rather than rural
areas.
In order for industrialisation to take place, a country needs capital
(money), raw materials, a large and skilled labour supply, transport
facilities, technology, and markets to sell products. You will learn more
about Russia’s ability to industrialise in the next Section.
By the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Russian industry had undergone
significant change. There had been a dramatic increase in production,
especially in heavy industry – coal, oil, iron and steel, heavy machinery,
etc. The Russian government had also focused on the construction of an
extensive network of railways. There were many more people living in
urban areas (towns and cities) and working in factories and mines.
However, overall Russia remained predominantly agricultural.
Most people were still peasants and industry represented a relatively small
proportion of the economy.
By 1927–8, when Stalin had secured a position of superiority in the
Communist Party, Russian industry was a similar size to what it had been
in 1914. An example is that in 1913, Russia produced 4.3 million tonnes
of steel and in 1927-8, 4.0 million tonnes were produced. The equivalent
figures for oil production were 10.3 and 11.7 million tonnes.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
5
Russian industrialisation under Stalin
Probably the most significant feature of Russian industrialisation in the
late 1920s and the 1930s was a massive increase in the production of a
wide range of industrial goods. This is shown in the following table.
It contains official Russian figures that are sometimes exaggerated.
Nevertheless, even if the figures are only approximately accurate, they
represent an impressive achievement.
Note that for all three columns in the table, the figures for roubles are at
1926-7 prices.
1927–8
1932
1937
Value of gross industrial
production
(thousand million roubles)
18.3
43.3
95.5
Value of producers’ goods
(thousand million roubles)
6.0
23.1
55.2
Value of consumers’ goods
(thousand million roubles)
12.3
20.2
40.3
Electricity
(thousand million kilowatt-hours)
5.1
13.4
36.2
Coal
(million tonnes)
35.4
64.3
128.0
Oil
(million tonnes)
11.7
21.4
28.5
Steel
(million tonnes)
4.0
5.9
17.7
Wool cloth
(million metres)
97
94.6
108.3
Source:
6
Alec Nove, 1986, An Economic History of the USSR, Penguin Books,
pp. 192, 226.
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Use the previous table to answer the following questions. Make sure you
write full answers, i.e. include the words ‘ million roubles’, ‘million
metres’, etc.
What was the value of overall industrial production in 1927–8?
___________________________________________________________
How much coal was produced in 1937?
___________________________________________________________
Was more wool cloth produced in 1927–8 or in 1932?
___________________________________________________________
By how much did steel production increase between 1927–8 and 1937?
___________________________________________________________
Did electricity production increase by more between 1927–8 and 1932
or between 1932 and 1937?
___________________________________________________________
Was more electricity produced than oil in 1932?
___________________________________________________________
Did steel production increase more than oil production between
1927–8 and 1937?
___________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
18.3 thousand million roubles
128 million tonnes
1927–8
13.7 million tonnes
Between 1932 and 1937
No
Yes
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
7
As you can see from the table that you have just been using,
the industrialisation program had a strong focus on heavy industry,
i.e. products such as coal, oil, iron and steel, and electricity. It put little
emphasis on consumer goods. You will notice in the table, for example,
that the increase in the production of wool cloth, which was mainly used to
make clothing for consumers, was much less than that of the other goods.
The industrialisation program also included several huge high-prestige
projects such as a hydro-electric dam on the Dnieper River, which is found
in the southwest of the country and runs into the Black Sea. Priority was
also given to the manufacture of armaments, which indicates Stalin’s
concern about Russia’s defence and security. In addition, industry which
had previously been centred mainly in the western part of Russia now
spread to the east – to the Ural Mountains, Western Siberia and Central
Asia.
Look at the photo below and then, in the table which follows, tick the
goods that you think might have been produced in a factory of this kind.
A factory
Source:
8
Graeme Gill, 1989, Twentieth Century Russia The Search for Power and
Authority, Nelson, p. 80.
metal products
timber products
clothing
iron and steel
machinery
chemicals
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Did you answer?
metal products
machinery
iron and steel
chemicals
The photo is in fact of the Stalin metallurgical factory in Kuznetsk. It is a
very good example of heavy industry.
Five Year Plans
Another significant feature of Russian industrialisation was the
development of several Five Year Plans. As the name suggests,
these were plans which set out exactly what was supposed to be achieved
during a period of five years. They were extremely detailed about what
goods were to be produced, where, by whom and how. They included
specific targets which were sometimes met and sometimes weren’t. For
example in the five years ending in 1937, 17.7 million tonnes of steel were
produced, although the target was only 17.0 million tonnes. On the other
hand, in the same five years only 28.5 million tonnes of oil were produced,
well short of the target of 46.8 million.
The first five year plan commenced in October 1928 and was expected to
conclude in September 1933. However the government decided to end
the plan nine months early, on December 31 1932, because it claimed that
sufficient levels had already been achieved. From then on the plans
followed calendar years: the second plan commenced in January 1933 and
ended in December 1937; the third one started in January 1938 but was
interrupted by World War II.
The Russian economy during this time was a planned economy.
The communists believed that, instead of the economy operating according
to market forces of supply and demand, it should be planned and organised
by the society as a whole. In practice of course, this would be done by the
communist government. The Russian economy at that time is also
sometimes described as a ‘command-administrative’ system. This means
that the economy was administered by various central government
organisations which gave instructions, or ‘commands’, to other
government organisations at a regional and local level, as well as to
individual factories, farms, etc. The central government organisations
included the State Planning Committee (Gosplan) and the Commissariat of
Heavy Industry (Narkomtiazhprom). Remember the whole government
structure was supervised and, indeed controlled, by the Communist Party.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
9
What do you think would have been some of the problems associated
with an economy organised in the way you have just read about?
Ë
Ë
Ë
Ë
The economy could not easily respond to the changing needs and
demands of producers and consumers.
The process of passing ‘commands’ from the central level to the
local level was time-consuming and could create uncertainty and
confusion, and lead to wastefulness.
It was difficult for people at a local level to be innovative
because they had to get approval from the central organisations
which were often suspicious of doing things differently.
All of the above.
Did you answer?
All of the above.
10
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Russia’s ability to industrialise
As you have just seen, Russia was able to make significant advances in
industrial production in a short period of time. There were many reasons
for these advances.
Available capital and resources
Russia is a large country which is very rich in natural resources such as .
iron ore, coal, oil and various metals. Having natural resources available
made industrialisation easier as they did not have to look for these
resources elsewhere.
There was also a large amount of capital available for the government to
invest in heavy industry. This money came partly from the resale of grain
and other produce which the government compulsorily bought from the
peasants. It also resulted from the government’s decision to invest in
heavy industry rather than in the production of consumer goods. This
caused a decline in the living standards of the Russian people.
Large labour force
There was a large labour supply available to work in industry. This was
partly because the collectivisation of agriculture, which you read about
later in this Part, forced many peasants off the land and into the towns and
cities. For example, between 1928 and 1932, 8.5 million peasants joined
the urban workforce. Furthermore there was a large increase in the
participation of women in the labour force, from 27 percent in 1932 to 35
percent in 1937 and 53 percent during World War II. This was mainly
because declining real wages made it very difficult for families to live on
a single income.
Once people were in the industrial workforce, the government used
various ways to encourage or force them to work harder.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
11
On the one hand, they offered incentives for increased productivity, such as
higher wages, better housing and more consumer goods. This was despite the
socialist ideal of ensuring that there was as small a gap as possible between
the richest and the poorest members of society. Alexei Stakhanov was a coal
miner who in 1935 produced fourteen times his quota, although this was
achieved partly by the hard work of his work mates. He and other
‘Stakhanovites’ received massive publicity and many material rewards.
On the other hand, the government also used strict discipline and various
penalties to make workers produce more. Penalties included fines, loss of
accommodation (many workers lived in accommodation provided by and
situated next to the factories where they worked), and loss of ration cards and
of health and maternity rights. Average hours of work were increased and in
June 1940 the government abolished the right of workers to leave their job.
An extensive railway system
The earlier period of industrialisation, which was mentioned at the beginning
of this Section and which began in 1890, had left two important legacies: a
widespread network of railways and a large group of trained and skilled
engineers, technicians and other specialist workers.
Why do you think a railway system was so important for Russian
industrialisation?
Ë
Ë
It enabled the transport of raw materials to the factories.
Ë
It enabled the workers to move to different workplaces
if necessary.
Ë
All of the above.
It enabled the transport of manufactured products from the factories
to the markets to be sold.
Did you answer?
All of the above.
Availability of technology
Somewhat surprisingly, communist Russia was able to access technology
from various capitalist countries. One example is that the Gor’kii
Automobile Factory and the Stalingrad Tractor Factory were based on plans
bought from Great Britain and the United States and their construction was
supervised by western engineers. Another example is the GAZ-AA truck
which was a licensed copy of the American Ford AA truck.
12
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Large market for goods
The dramatic growth of Russian industry meant that there was a large and
constant market for the products of the country’s factories and mines. For
example, as new factories were constructed, they needed a wide range of
goods such as building materials, iron and steel, and machinery.
Communist Party control
The tight control which the Communist Party and the government
exercised over the country made it easier to effectively implement and
administer the program of industrialisation. It enabled priorities to be set,
resources to be concentrated where they were most needed, and labour,
including convict labour, to be moved around. An example of this
government control is the reintroduction in 1932 of the internal passports
which had been used during the time of the tsars but which had been
abolished in 1917. These passports enabled the government to largely
determine where people lived and worked.
However the government never had full control over the economy which
did not always operate efficiently or effectively. Some industries were
under-developed while others were over-developed. In addition the goods
produced were often of poor quality. The historian David Christian refers
to:
The immense wastage of the early years of the industrialisation drive, as
plants [factories] were built before machinery was ready for them, as
peasants wrecked machines they did not understand, as machines were
left idle for lack of spares or of material to process. The chaos and
confusion of these years is indescribable.
Source: David Christian, 1988, Power and Privilege, Pitman, p. 219.
Popularity of industrialisation
Many of the Party and government officials who were in charge of
industrialisation were highly motivated and determined to ensure that it
was a success.
Despite its flaws industrialisation was a popular policy. This was partly
the result of the extensive use of propaganda.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
13
Which of the following ideas do you think would have been included in
the propaganda about industrialisation?
a
‘Industrialisation is proving that our socialist system is superior
to capitalism.’
b
‘Industrialisation is proving that Trotsky was wrong and deserved to
be expelled from our country.’
c
‘Industrialisation is proving that we Russians can do anything we set
our minds to.’
Did you answer?
a and c
Propaganda was also used to encourage people to work harder.
The following poster from 1930 says, ‘Through an accelerated tempo we
will complete the Five Year Plan in four years.’
A propaganda poster
Found in Graeme Gill, 1989, Twentieth Century Russia The Search for Power and
Authority, Nelson, p. 77.
14
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Effects of industrialisation
You have already looked at one of the major effects of industrialisation:
a massive increase in the production of a wide range of industrial goods.
Let’s now consider some of the other effects:
• Industrialisation contributed to remarkable increases in the Gross
National Product (GNP). During the years of the first two plans, the
GNP of the Russian economy almost tripled. Contrast this with the
major capitalist economies, none of which came close to even doubling
their GNP. The historian David Christian describes the significance of
this in the following way:
• Not surprisingly these changes radically altered the economic ranking
of the great powers. Whereas the Soviet economy had been roughly
comparable in total output to the second-rank capitalist countries in
1928, by 1937, it was second only to the United States, and had left
Germany, France and Britain far behind in total production. By 1937
the Soviet Union had twice the productive power of the major European
powers. (1988:214–15)
• Industrialisation virtually ended unemployment. In April 1929,
which was only about seven months after the start of the First Five Year
Plan, it was 1.7 million and by early 1931 it had fallen to
almost nothing.
• As we have seen, Russian industrialisation focused on the development
of heavy industry and this led to a decline in the Russian people’s living
standards. An example of this was in the area of housing, where there
had been large-scale government investment in the 1920s but much less
during the 1930s and the 1940s. This meant that many people were
forced to live in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions.
Urban expansion
One of the main effects of industrialisation is a movement of people from
rural areas to urban areas, leading to a dramatic increase in the size of
towns and cities. This is the process of urbanisation and it is clearly
demonstrated in the table below.
Total
population
(millions)
Urban
population
(millions)
Rural
population
(millions)
Urban
population
(percentage)
1926
147.0
26.3
120.7
18
1939
170.6
56.1
114.4
33
Source:
Alec Nove, 1986, An Economic History of the USSR, Penguin Books,
pp 192, 226.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
15
Use the table on the previous page to write a paragraph answering the
following question.
What evidence is there in this table to show that there was a movement of
people from rural areas to urban areas in Russia between 1926 and 1939?
Hint: there are at least three pieces of evidence. Make sure you include an
introductory sentence in your answer.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
There are several pieces of evidence in this table to show that there was a
movement of people from rural areas to urban areas in Russia between 1926
and 1939. The urban population grew from 26.3 million to 56.1 million while
the rural population fell from 120.7 million to 114.4 million. The increase in
the urban population was more than 100 percent and was in fact a bigger
increase than that of the overall Russian population. This change is confirmed
by the fact that the percentage of Russians living in urban areas grew from 18
to 33.
Of course you may have expressed this information in a different way. The
important thing is that you have found it and included it in your answer.
In the last Part you learnt the effect of urbanisation on services and
facilities.
16
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Industrialisation: an assessment
The following list includes some of the achievements of industrialisation
(particularly in the first two Five Year Plans) and some of its weaknesses.
•
creation of an industrial base, especially in heavy industry, on which
the country could build in the future using this to develop its
military strength
•
emphasis on quantity rather than quality
•
inflexibility of ‘command-administrative’ system– therefore slow
response to changing needs of producers and consumers
•
end of unemployment
•
dramatic increase in Gross National Product
•
lack of innovation
•
decline in living standards
•
massive increases in production of industrial goods
•
uneven development of different industries and places, i e some
developed more than others
•
inefficiency and wastefulness
Write each of the above items in the appropriate column in the table
below.
Achievements of industrialisation
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
Weaknesses of industrialisation
17
Did you answer?
Achievements of industrialisation
Weaknesses of industrialisation
creation of an industrial base,
especially in heavy industry, on
which the country could build in the
future using this to develop its
military strength
emphasis on quantity rather
than quality
massive increases in production of
industrial goods
end of unemployment
dramatic increase in Gross
National Product
inflexibility of ‘commandadministrative’ system– therefore
slow response to changing needs of
producers and consumers
lack of innovation
decline in living standards
uneven development of different
industries and places, i e some
developed more than others
inefficiency and wastefulness
There are only two questions in the Exercise for this Section. In the
second question, you will be asked to write three or four paragraphs in
answer to the following question:
Overall, do you think that industrialisation in the 1920s and 1930s
benefited Russia? Give reasons for your answer.
As you have previously learnt, it is very important to plan your answer to a
question whether that answer is only one paragraph, several paragraphs or
an entire essay.
The list that you have just made of the achievements and weaknesses of
industrialisation represents the start of your plan for the above question.
All that remains is for you to work out your general argument or
judgement about the question, that is on the whole do you think that the
achievements of industrialisation outweighed the weaknesses or vice versa
(the other way round)?
In making your decision about this, you cannot simply add up how many
achievements there were and how many minuses, and assume that
whichever side has more tells you whether or not Russia benefited from
industrialisation. It is more complex than that. In a question of this kind,
it may be that two or three achievements are more important and therefore
outweigh six or seven weaknesses.
18
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
1
2
Which of the following do you think would be the best structure for
your answer to the question we are looking at?
a)
i.
Ë
an introductory paragraph which includes your general
argument or judgement
ii.
a paragraph about the achievements of
industrialisation
iii.
a paragraph about its weaknesses.
b)
i.
Ë
an introductory paragraph which includes your general
argument or judgement
ii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas in
favour of your argument
iii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas against
it your argument
iv.
a paragraph in which you say why you think the ideas
in favour of your argument outweigh the ideas against.
c)
i.
Ë
an introductory paragraph which includes your general
argument or judgement
ii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas in
favour of your argument
iii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas against
your argument.
Which of the following do you think would be the best structure for
your introductory paragraph?
Ë
A statement that there were many achievements and
weaknesses of industrialisation.
Ë
Ë
A statement of your general argument or judgement.
Ë
A statement that there were many achievements and
weaknesses of industrialisation, followed by a statement of
your general argument or judgement with a summary of why
you think that.
A statement of your general argument or judgement with a
summary of why you think that.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
19
Did you answer?
1 b)
i.
an introductory paragraph which includes your general
argument or judgement
ii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas in favour of
your argument
iii.
a paragraph in which you talk about the ideas against
your argument
iv.
a paragraph in which you say why you think the ideas in
favour of your argument outweigh the ideas against.
2 A statement that there were many achievements and weaknesses of
industrialisation, followed by a statement of your general argumentor
judgement with a summary of why you t hink that.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 2.
20
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Collectivisation
You have read about how capital (money) is essential if a country is going
to industrialise. How to obtain this capital was an issue that had concerned
the Russian leaders throughout the 1920s. Because the large majority of
Russians were peasants, it was this class which would have to provide the
necessary capital. To decide that was the easy part. The harder thing was
to work out exactly how to get the money from the peasants!
What is collectivisation?
Collectivisation was the ending of private agriculture in favour of a state
run system. Collectivisation meant there would be no more private farms
owned by people. Instead, the peasants were to work on government
owned ‘collectives’ or kolkhozy, which meant the government would earn
money from the peasant labour and food produced by the collectives.
Bukharin, whom you met earlier in the module, believed in gradual
collectivisation. That is, he favoured a policy of allowing the peasants to
remain as private farmers (on small farms owned by individuals) in the
short term and assisting them to become more productive and prosperous.
Bukharin wanted Russian agriculture to eventually be collective (with
large government-owned farms with many farmers) rather than private but
he believed that this was a change that would take quite some time to
achieve. In the meantime capital, which could be used for
industrialisation, in particular to buy machinery from overseas, would be
raised in two main ways:
•
The peasants would produce more surpluses which the government
could purchase and then sell overseas, thereby gaining foreign
exchange (capital) for Russia. These surpluses which the government
bought were referred to as grain ‘procurements’ and the collection of
them was called ‘primitive socialist accumulation’.
•
The peasants would have more money to spend on goods produced by
the government-controlled industry, thereby increasing the profits of
industry and the government, especially if the government increased
the prices for these goods.
Bukharin believed that the peasants should only be taxed moderately.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
21
On the other hand, Leon Trotsky and others such as Eugene
Preobrazhensky, argued that Bukharin’s policy would only serve to
maintain capitalism in the countryside and in fact would make it worse by
encouraging the growth of the kulaks, the class of wealthy peasants.
Trotsky believed that the best way to raise capital for industrialisation was
by taxing the peasants heavily. He wanted to see the rapid end of private
farming and its quick replacement by large-scale collective farming.
However he did not favour the use of force to achieve these aims.
Between the end of War Communism and 1927, Bukharin’s policy was
followed. However, in that year it started to become clear that not enough
capital was being raised to fund strong industrial growth. The government
decided to try to obtain more money from the peasants. Taxes on produce
which the peasants sold privately were increased while the prices which
the government paid for the grain ‘procurements’ were lowered.
How do you think the peasants would have reacted to these government
actions?
Ë
Ë
Ë
They would have produced and sold the same amount.
They would have produced and sold less.
They would have produced and sold more.
Did you answer?
They would have produced and sold less.
This is exactly what the peasants did and it led to the ‘procurements crisis’
of December 1927 that you read about earlier in the module.
The government seemed to be caught between a rock and a hard place. On
the one hand, they could treat the peasants softly and tax them lightly but
this would probably raise insufficient capital for industrialisation in the
near future. On the other hand the government could treat the peasants
harshly and tax them heavily but this would probably lead to food
shortages in the towns and cities as the peasants produced and sold less.
Furthermore the government would obtain even less capital and it would
take even longer for Russia to industrialise.
Stalin reacted to the ‘procurements crisis’ by increasing the push for
collectivisation. He started by urging Party officials to seize the supplies
of grain that many farmers had been hoarding because of low prices and
high taxes.
22
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Stalin soon realised that this approach, which was very similar to the
forced requisitioning of War Communism, was just a stopgap measure.
He had to find a long-term solution.
In December 1927 he said:
The way out [of the crisis in agriculture] is to unite the small and dwarf
peasant farms gradually but surely, not by pressure but by example and
persuasion, into large farms based on common, cooperative, collective
cultivation of the land.
Source: David Christian, 1988, Power and Privilege, Pitman, p. 204.
However in this, as in so many matters, Stalin’s actions were very
different from his words!
It soon became clear that not many peasants were willing to join
collectives. For example in 1928, 97% of agricultural land was still being
worked by private farmers. ‘Example and persuasion’ were obviously not
going to be sufficient.
In November 1929 Stalin published an article entitled ‘The Great Turn’, a
term that has been used to describe the policy he subsequently followed,
which was to collectivise agriculture rapidly by using force to make the
peasants give up their private farms and join large collective farms.
The kulaks, whom Stalin saw as a ‘class enemy’ (because some but not all
were prosperous enough to employ farm workers) would thus be destroyed
as a separate class in a process which became known as ‘dekulakisation’.
On the other hand, as historian J N Westwood states, ‘in reality there was
no such thing as a kulak class … [The kulaks] were an integral part of the
villages, having family ties with their poorer neighbours’ (1988: 296).
Stalin’s policy meant that he was abandoning the NEP.
This was a different approach from the ones advocated by Bukharin and
Trotsky earlier in the 1920s. ‘The Great Turn’ differed from Bukharin’s
plan in that it wanted collectivisation to happen quickly, and it differed
from Trotsky’s plan for rapid collectivisiation because it included the use
of force. Indeed this was one of the main issues which caused the split
between Stalin and Bukharin.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
23
Think about the views of Bukharin, Trotsky and Stalin regarding the
collectivisation of agriculture.
In the following table there are three imaginary statements by Bukharin,
Trotsky and Stalin. Next to each statement, write who you think would
have said it.
‘We must act immediately. We’ve got to get rid of our
class enemy, the kulaks, as soon as possible.
The peasants clearly won’t join collective farms voluntarily
so we’re going to have to force them.’
‘The best approach we can adopt is ‘slow and steady wins
the race’. Russian agriculture will eventually have to be
based on collective farms but there’s no need to rush.
And under no circumstances should we use force.’
‘We haven’t got any time to lose. We must collectivise
now. Otherwise the kulaks will become even more
wealthy and powerful. But we mustn’t use force against
the peasants – there are other, muchbetter ways to
achieve our goals.’
Did you answer?
Stalin
Bukharin
Trotsky
Let’s now read what J N Westwood has written about how the decision
was made to collectivise agriculture rapidly and forcibly.
Most defenders and detractors of Stalin assume that the mass
collectivisation of peasants which began in late 1929 was the result of a
considered decision… However, although it is still too early to reach a
definitive verdict, it seems most likely that mass collectivisation
resulted from a hasty decision taken at the last moment… it would seem
that it was simply an emergency measure against peasants rebelling,
violently and non-violently, against the injustice and wastefulness of
forced procurements.
Source: J N Westwood, 1988, Endurance and Endeavour Russian History
1812–1986 (Third edition), Oxford University Press, pp. 294, 299.
24
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
So far we have mainly focused on collectivisation as a response to the
‘procurements crisis’. It was designed to serve several other purposes as
well. These included:
•
Stalin regarded the countryside as capitalist because of private farming
in general, and the wealth and power of the kulaks in particular. He
saw collectivisation as the way to abolish rural capitalism and to
replace it with socialism.
•
Stalin believed that collectivisation was essential in order to make
Russian agriculture more efficient. He thought that the large
collective farms could make more effective, and less wasteful, use of
the available land, the peasants’ labour and farming equipment and
machinery. In particular he regarded tractors as the key to increasing
agricultural productivity. Indeed he became almost obsessive about
tractors. Stalin believed that greater efficiency and productivity were
essential in order to feed the expanding industrial towns and cities.
This was another way in which the collectivisation of agriculture was
designed to enable and support industrialisation.
Let’s read what Stalin had to say about the modernisation of agriculture.
The source below is an extract from a speech made by Stalin in 1928.
Agriculture is developing slowly, comrades. It should be developing
with gigantic strides … But that is not the case, comrades, and will not
come about quickly. Why?
Because our agriculture is a small-peasant economy, which does not
lend itself readily to substantial improvement … It is the most insecure,
the most primitive, the most undeveloped form of economy …
… we must do our utmost to develop in the countryside large farms of
the type of the collective farms and State farms and to convert them into
grain factories for the country organised on a modern scientific basis …
Source: F W Stacey, 1972, Stalin and the Making of Modern Russia, Hill and Fell,
p. 24.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
25
The following source is an extract from a conversation that Stalin had with
the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, during World War II. In it
he also talked about the modernisation of agriculture.
It was absolutely necessary for Russia, if we were to avoid periodic
famines, to plough the land with tractors. We must mechanise our
agriculture. When we gave tractors to the [private] peasants they were
all spoiled in a few months. Only collective farms with workshops
could handle tractors. We took the greatest trouble to explain it to the
peasants. It was no use arguing with them. After you have said all you
can to a peasant he says he must go home and consult his wife, and he
must consult his herder.
After he has talked it over with them he always answers that he does not
want the collective farm and he would rather do without the tractors.
Source: F W Stacey, 1972, Stalin and the Making of Modern Russia, Hill and Fell,
p. 27.
Which of the following items do you think best describe what Stalin
thought the peasants were like, according to the above extract?
able to decide things
quickly
careless with farming
machinery
cautious
keen to take risks
resistant to change
scrupulous in looking after
farming equipment
unwilling to make decisions
on their own
willing to embrace change
Did you answer?
able to decide things
quickly
26
careless with farming
machinery
cautious
keen to take risks
resistant to change
scrupulous in looking after
farming equipment
unwilling to make
decisions on their
own
willing to embrace change
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
The communists wanted to make Russia into a planned economy in which
the central government would make decisions about what and how much
was produced, etc. This would replace the market forces of supply and
demand that operate in capitalism. The clearest indication of this was the
Five Year Plans that you have already read about. Agricultural production
was included in these Plans. The government believed that it would be a
lot easier to plan the country’s agriculture if it was carried out on a small
number of large collective farms rather than on a large number of small
private farms.
Putting collectivisation into practice
Collectivisation was carried out by Communist Party and government
officials who went around to villages to try to persuade the less wealthy
peasants to join collective farms. If persuasion didn’t work, force was
frequently used, especially from 1929 onwards. These peasants were then
encouraged to evict the kulaks from their farms and even their houses.
The government was clearly adopting a ‘divide and conquer’ approach.
The kulaks were prohibited from joining collective farms. Many were sent
to forced labour camps or were deported to outlying regions of Russia or
even to other countries. Non-kulaks who opposed collectivisation were
accused of being kulaks or at the very least of having ‘kulak attitudes’, and
often received very similar treatment to the kulaks themselves.
The following photo shows a group of kulaks being deported from their
village in 1930. The banner on the left hand side was written by the
communists who were evicting the kulaks. It said ‘The kulak class must
be eliminated.’
Kulaks
Source:
Robert O Paxton, 1975, Europe in the Twentieth Century, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, p. 337.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
27
Let’s read an account of what happened during collectivisation by Victor
Kravchenko, a member of the Communist Party involved in the
implementation of collectivisation. In 1944 he defected to the United
States. The first extract is a statement by his niece about what happened to
her family and the second is a description by Kravchenko of his own
experiences.
i)
Every night the constable would come and take papa to the
village Soviet ... For a whole week they wouldn’t let papa sleep
and they beat him with sticks and revolvers till he was black
and blue and swollen all over … Then one morning about a
year ago, the wagons arrived and all our things were taken away
and the remaining animals were driven to the kolkhoz
[collective farm] … my mother cried and prayed, and fell on
her knees … But it did no good. We were told to get dressed
and take along some [food] because we were going on a long
journey.
They put us all in the old church … In the morning, we were
marched down the road, surrounded by militiamen… At the
[railway] station there were many other people like us, from
other villages. It seemed like thousands… We were driven into
cattle cars [carriages], long rows of them … As soon as our car
was filled so that there was no room for more, it was locked
from the outside. Then the train started. No-one knew where
we were going. Some said Siberia but others said no, the Far
North or even the hot deserts.
ii)
Evening was falling when I drove into the village…
Immediately we realised that something was happening.
Agitated groups stood around. Women were weeping…
As I stood there, ashamed, I heard a woman shouting in an
unearthly voice… The woman, her hair streaming, held a
flaming sheaf of grain in her hands. Before anyone could reach
her, she had tossed the burning sheaf onto the thatched roof of a
house, which burst into flame instantaneously. ‘Infidels!
Murderers!’ the distraught woman was shrieking. ‘We worked
all our lives for our house. You won’t have it. The flames will
have it!’
Source: Michael Bucklow and Glenn Russell,1988, Russia: Why Revolution?,
Longman Cheshire, pp. 249-50.
28
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
For the next three questions, you will need to think about issues such as
who said or wrote the extracts and why.
1. In what ways do you think these two extracts are useful for an
historian who is studying the collectivisation of Russian agriculture?
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
2.
In what ways do you think these two extracts are accurate?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
3.
Why might an historian have doubts about the reliability of these
extracts?
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
29
Did you answer?
1. The sources are useful to an historian because they provide information
about what happened to peasants including kulaks during the
collectivisation of agriculture.
2. The sources are accurate because they are descriptions of people’s own
experiences, not reports of someone else’s experiences.
3. An historian might have doubts about the reliability of these extracts
because both Kravchenko and his niece are clearly against what happened
during the collectivisation of agriculture. His niece is angry about how
she and her family were treated and Kravchenko says that he was
‘ashamed’ about what he saw. The fact that he defected to the United
States also indicates that he didn’t like what was happening in the Soviet
Union. In other words, both Kravchenko and his niece were biased about
collectivisation and therefore might have exaggerated things to make them
sound worse than they really were.
Another factor to remember when you are considering the reliability of
sources is that while they may be accurate and reliable descriptions of
certain situations, events and people’s experiences, they are not
necessarily typical. Other situations, events and experiences may have
been quite different.
Peasant resistance
The peasants resisted collectivisation, often violently. There were many
clashes between peasants and government officials. The peasants also
resorted to destroying crops as a means of protest. According to the
historian, David Christian:
The government claimed that collectivisation had the support of most
poor and middle peasants. The reality was that collectivisation was
resisted, not just by the minority of kulaks, but by the majority of
peasants. And their resistance, which often took violent forms, turned
mass collectivisation into a virtual civil war between the ruling group,
dominated by the 1.5 million-strong Party, and a majority of the
country’s 120 million peasants. As collectivisation began, Bukharin
said to Kamenev, ‘He [Stalin] will have to drown the risings in blood.’
Surce:
30
David Christian, 1988, Power and Privilege, Pitman, p. 207.
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Which of the following things do you think the peasants would have done
as part of their resistance to collectivisation?
Ë
attacked Party and government officials
Ë
destroyed farm produce
Ë
hid their stocks of grain
Ë
refused to plant or harvest crops
Ë
slaughtered farm animals
Did you answer?
The peasants resisted in all these ways.
By March 1930 there had been so much peasant resistance that Stalin
decided to slow down the pace of collectivisation. He accused officials of
becoming ‘dizzy with success’ and of losing ‘all sense of proportion’. He
said that it would be ‘foolish and reactionary’ to introduce collective farms
by force. However this break for the farmers proved to be
short-lived. It wasn’t long before it was ‘full steam ahead’ again.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 3.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
31
32
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Results of collectivisation
The most obvious result of the process of collectivisation was that by July
1936, 90% of peasant households and over 94% of farming land were in
collective farms. This meant the virtual end of private capitalism in the
countryside. The 25 million small farms which existed in 1925, and on
which 120 million people lived, had been replaced by three different types
of institution:
•
collective farms or kolkhozy. These were owned by the government
and leased collectively to the members who farmed them
cooperatively. They generally consisted of whole villages.
The members received a share of the farm’s produce after the
‘procurements’ had been sent to the government and to the machine
tractor stations (as payment for the use of tractors). Most of the
country’s farming land was in the 243 000 kolkhozy which had been
created by 1937.
•
state farms or sovkhozy. These occupied a smaller proportion of the
country’s land. The members were government employees and
received wages. There were 4 000 sovkhozy in 1937.
•
machine tractor stations (MTS). These hired out tractors, other
machinery and skilled staff to the kolkhozy and the sovkhozy.
There were 8 MTS in 1928 and 7 069 in 1940.
The collective farms were supervised by Party officials and members
who generally came from the towns and cities and often knew little if
anything about farming. There was also a widespread lack of farming
equipment and machinery including tractors, despite the increase in the
number of MTS.
While the government achieved its objective of forcing the peasants onto
collectives, the process was a disaster which J N Westwood describes as
‘ghastly’ for the peasants themselves and for the Russian people in
general. As many as three to five million peasants, in particular kulaks,
were sent to forced labour camps or were deported to distant parts of the
Soviet Union or even to other countries as collectivisation was enforced.
The destruction of crops and animals by the peasants created food
shortages which affected people in the towns and cities as well as in the
countryside. The situation in the Ukraine and in the Volga Basin was
made worse by government demands for excessive ‘procurements’,
and there was famine in various parts of the country during the winter of
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
33
1932–3. Stalin refused to acknowledge publicly that there was a famine
and therefore no requests were made for foreign aid.
The photo below shows a man dragging the bodies of two members of
his family who have died of starvation. The bodies were to be burnt,
or cremated.
Famine victims
Source:
Shepard B Clough et al, European History in a World Perspective, vol iii,
Third edition, D C Heath and Company, p. 1518.
The historian Robert Conquest has estimated that approximately seven
million people died during this period. Some were killed in clashes with
police and officials, some died of overwork in the camps, and many died
of starvation and disease.
The economic historian Alec Nove has concluded:
The fact still seems to be clear: 1933 was the culmination of the most
precipitous [sharp] decline in living standards known in recorded
history. [There was] mass misery and hunger…
Source: Alec Nove, 1986, An Economic History of the USSR, Penguin Books,
p. 208.
34
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Other effects of collectivisation included:
•
a large movement of people from the country to the towns and cities.
•
an increase in the power of the government, in particular its control
over the collective farms and the majority of Russians who lived on
them. Collectivisation also strengthened Stalin’s position in the Party
because most members believed that he was the person most capable
of completing it and of crushing peasant resistance to it.
•
both a strengthening and a weakening of the Communist Party. It was
strengthened because it controlled the government and therefore, as
government power increased, so did that of the Party. On the other
hand, some Party members were so opposed to collectivisation that
they committed suicide. Stalin’s own wife, Allilueva, did this.
You will learn more about these effects in the next Part.
Economic results
In this Part you have learnt about the two fundamental economic changes
that were introduced in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and the 1930s:
industrialisation and the collectivisation of agriculture.
In 1946 Stalin made a speech in which he claimed:
To convert our country from an agrarian into an industrial one took only
about thirteen years [ie, 1928–41]. One cannot help admitting that
thirteen years is an unbelievably short time for accomplishing such a
grandiose task.
Source: Evan Mawdsley, 1998, The Stalin years The Soviet Union, 1929–1953,
Manchester University Press, p. 28.
On the other hand, the historian Evan Mawdsley has suggested that:
The economic achievement of 1928–41 was not everything that Stalin
boasted about in 1946. Russia was not even converted ‘from an
agrarian into an industrial [country]’. Industry’s share of national
income was still only slightly bigger than that of agriculture, and in
1939 industry still employed only 18 percent of the labour force
compared with 52 percent for farming.
The need for the extraordinary ‘tempo’ [pace of economic change] has
been questioned; it is possible to make the case that different and more
rational policies could have reached the same economic goals sooner.
Source: Evan Mawdsley, 1998, The Stalin years The Soviet Union, 1929–1953,
Manchester University Press, pp 39, 34.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
35
What do you think Evan Mawdsley means by ‘different and more rational
policies’?
Ë
He means policies which were less extreme, were introduced
more slowly and involved less loss of life.
Ë
He means policies which changed Russia even more radically.
Ë
He means policies which Stalin had thought more carefully
about.
Ë
He means policies which achieved the same aims but
more quickly.
Did you answer?
He means policies which were less extreme, were introduced more
slowly and involved less loss of life.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 4. Note there is
only one question for Section 4. This is because additional time is
needed to research, plan and write your answer.
36
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
How successful was collectivisation?
In the previous Section, we looked at some of the effects of
collectivisation. In this Section, we will consider a related issue:
how successful was collectivisation?
In order to do this, let’s start by using the figures in the table below to
answer the questions which follow.
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
Harvest
(million tonnes)
73
72
84
70
70
68
Procurements
(million tonnes)
11
16
22
22
18
22
Procurements
(as % of harvest)
15
22
26
31
26
32
Grain exports
(million tonnes)
0.029
0.18
4.76
5.05
1.73
1.69
Grain exports
(as % of harvest)
0.04
0.25
5.67
7.21
2.47
2.49
71
67
53
48
41
38
Cattle
(million head)
Source:
Found in Alec Nove, 1986, An Economic History of the USSR, Penguin
Books, pp 180, 186.
1. Did the harvested crops increase or decrease between 1928 and 1933?
By how much?
_______________________________________________________
2.
Did the number of cattle increase or decrease between 1928 and 1933?
By how much?
_______________________________________________________
3.
Looking at these figures alone, do you think that collectivisation was a
success?
Yes / No
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
37
Did you answer?
1.
Decrease; by 5 million tonnes
2.
Decrease; by 33 million
3.
No
Moreover the situation did not improve dramatically after 1933.
When Stalin died in 1953, Russian agricultural production, relative to the
size of the population, was still lower than it had been forty years earlier,
that is before World War I. Contrast this with 1925, during the NEP, when
production was higher than the pre-war level. J N Westwood puts it
bluntly: ‘Collectivisation did not raise labour productivity’ (1988: 299).
But before we jump to conclusions about the success or failure of
collectivisation, don’t forget what the government was mainly hoping to
achieve by collectivising agriculture.
1
2
3
38
Tick one or more of the following statements which you think
indicate the government’s aims with regard to collectivisation. They
are expressed as though they were being said by the government at
the time.
Ë
The government needs to collectivise agriculture in order to
‘procure’ more surpluses from the peasants.
Ë
Collectivisation is necessary because everyone in Russia has
the right to an improved diet.
Ë
The government needs to collectivise agriculture so that it
can sell more food overseas in order to obtain foreign
exchange to invest in industrialisation.
Ë
Collectivisation is necessary because at the moment the
Russian people aren’t getting enough to eat.
Highlight the correct answer or answers in each of the
following sentences.
a)
Between 1928 and 1933, government ‘procurements’
increased / decreased by approximately 50% / 100% / 150%.
b)
Between 1928 and 1933, grain exports increased / decreased
by approximately 60% / 600% / 6 000%.
Looking at the figures for ‘procurements’ and grain exports alone, do
you think that collectivisation was a success, at least in terms of
achieving the government’s aims? Yes / No
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Did you answer?
1
The government needs to collectivise agriculture in order to ‘procure’
more surpluses from the peasants.
The government needs to collectivise agriculture so that it can sell more
food overseas in order to obtain foreign exchange to invest in
industrialisation.
2
Between 1928 and 1933, government ‘procurements’ increased by
approximately 100%.
Between 1928 and 1933, grain exports increased by approximately
6 000%.
3
Yes
Another piece of information that may help you to decide how successful
collectivisation was is the fact that in 1937 one-third of all vegetables and
two-thirds of all meat and dairy produce came from the private plots
(of 2/5 of a hectare) which each farmer on the collective farms was
allowed to have.
The issue of how successful a particular policy or action was is a common
one in exam questions. This is true not just of the Russia module but of all
the modules in Modern History.
A question of this kind seems fairly straightforward but in fact it is quite
complicated. What you are being asked to do is to measure the success of
a policy or action in terms of the aims of that policy or action.
In other words, you are being asked to decide to what extent the policy or
action succeeded in achieving what it was aiming to achieve.
The Exercise for this Section involves you answering the
following question:
How successful was the policy of collectivisation? Give reasons for
your answer.
Let’s look at how you could approach this question. What we are about to
do is to plan the answer.
As you have just seen, what you are being asked to do in this question is to
decide to what extent the policy of collectivisation succeeded in achieving
its aims. Therefore the logical first step in planning your answer is to
work out what the aims of collectivisation were.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
39
Which of the following were aims of collectivisation?
Ë
to force the peasants onto collective farms. This would mean
the end of capitalism in the countryside and its replacement
with socialism.
Ë
to increase government ‘procurements’ of grain which they could
then export in order to get capital for industrialisation
Ë
to destroy the kulaks as a class
Ë
to make agriculture more efficient and productive in order to feed
the growing towns and cities
Ë
to make it easier for the government to plan and
organise agriculture
Did you answer?
You should have ticked all these answers. They were all aims
of collectivisation.
Now that we have worked out what the aims of collectivisation were, what
you need to do is to reread all the information in this Section and the
previous one and mindmap any information that helps you decide how
successful the policy of collectivisation was in achieving its aims. As much
as possible write this information in your own words.
The next step in planning your answer to this question is to decide your
general argument or judgement, in other words to decide to what extent
you think collectivisation succeeded in achieving its aims. There are many
possible general arguments and various ways of expressing them, but the
following are some examples:
40
•
Collectivisation was fully successful in achieving its aims.
•
Collectivisation succeeded in achieving its aims to a large extent.
•
Collectivisation was partly successful in achieving its aims.
•
Collectivisation succeeded in achieving some of its aims but failed
in others.
•
Collectivisation only succeeded in achieving its aims to a
limited extent.
•
Collectivisation failed to achieve any of its aims.
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
On the lines below, write your general argument or judgement about this
question. Make up your own mind and use your own words – don’t just
copy one of the statements from the above list.
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Now that you’ve gathered all the relevant information and worked out
your general argument, the next thing you need to do is to organise this
material.
Your answer will include:
•
an introductory paragraph which explains what collectivisation was
and includes your general argument or judgement as well as about
three examples of information which supports that argument
•
a concluding paragraph in which you restate your general argument
and summarise the information that you have included in support of
your argument
•
the body of your answer which will be in between these
two paragraphs.
Which of the following do you think would be the best structure for the
body of your answer?
Ë
one very long paragraph in which you describe the five aims of
collectivisation and say how successful it was in achieving
those aims
Ë
one paragraph in which you describe the five aims of
collectivisation and a second paragraph in which you say how
successful it was in achieving those aims
Ë
five paragraphs in each of which you describe one of the five
aims of collectivisation and say how successful it was in
achieving that aim
Ë
five paragraphs in which you describe the five aims of
collectivisation and another five paragraphs in which you say
how successful it was in achieving each of those aims.
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
41
Did you answer?
five paragraphs in which you describe the five aims of collectivisation and
another five paragraphs in which you say how successful it was in achieving
each of those aims
What we have just done is to plan your answer to the question. Obviously
in an exam you would have less time to do it than we have had here but the
approach is exactly the same. One way of saving time is to do your plan in
point form rather than in full sentences.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 5. Note that there
is only one question in this Exercise. This has been done deliberately
in order to give you enough time to do the Exercise carefully and
thoroughly.
42
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Exercises – Part 6
Exercise 1
Name: _______________________________
Changes to the economy
1
In you own words describe the main features of industrialisation.
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2
Why did Stalin introduce rapid industrialisation?
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43
3
Read the source below and answer the questions that follow. It is
from a book published in 1942 by an American engineer, John Scott.
It describes his experiences in the industrial city of Magnitogorsk,
which is in the Ural Mountains region, at the time of the First Five
Year Plan.
As the Arctic winter broke suddenly into spring, Magnitogorsk
changed beyond recognition. In early April it was still bitter cold;
we had hardly a single thaw; everything was still frozen solid.
By May, the ground had thawed and the city was swimming in
mud… Welding became next to impossible, as our ragged cables
short-circuited at every step… Bubonic plague had broken out in
three places not far from Magnitogorsk… the resistance of the
population was very low because of under-nourishment and
consistent overwork. Sanitary conditions, particularly during the
thaw, were appalling… Within two weeks the sun had dried the
earth and summer was upon us. By the middle of May the heat
was intolerable. In the barracks [where we lived] we were
consumed by bed-bugs and other vermin, and at work we had
trouble keeping to the job.
The history of the actual construction at Magnitogorsk was
fascinating. Within several years, half a billion cubic feet of
excavation was done, forty-two million cubic feet of reinforced
concrete poured, five million cubic feet of fire bricks laid, a quarter
of a million tons of structural steel erected… Brigades of young
enthusiasts from every corner of the Soviet Union arrived in the
summer of 1930 and did the groundwork of railroad and dam
construction…
Source: F W Stacey, 1972, Stalin and the Making of Modern Russia,
Hill and Fell, p. 17.
a) Is this a primary source or a secondary source? Give reasons for
your answer.
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b)
Underline or highlight the sentence in this source in which Scott
is most positive about what was happening in Magnitogorsk at the
time of the First Five Year Plan.
c)
Using a different colour, underline or highlight the sentence in
which Scott is most negative about the conditions faced by the
people of Magnitogorsk at the time of the First Five Year Plan.
Make sure you indicate which colour indicates the positive sentence and
which colour indicates the negative sentence.
44
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Exercise 2
Name: _______________________________
Russia’s ability to industrialise
1
Look carefully at the table below and then answer the question
which follows.
1927–8
1932
1937
Value of gross industrial
production
(thousand million roubles)
18.3
43.3
95.5
Value of producers’ goods
(thousand million roubles)
6.0
23.1
55.2
Value of consumers’ goods
(thousand million roubles)
12.3
20.2
40.3
Source:
Found in Alec Nove, 1986, An Economic History of the USSR,
Penguin Books, pp 192, 226.
The second row in this table is about the value of producers’ goods.
This means the value of the industrial goods which were used in factories
to produce other goods. The third row is about the value of the industrial
goods which were produced for consumers.
Use the figures in these two rows to answer the following question:
Between 1927–8 and 1937 there was a change from most industrial
production being for consumers to the majority being for use in factories.
Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons for your answer.
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2
Using the information in this Section and the previous one, write
on the lines below three or four paragraphs in answer to the following
question.
Overall, do you think that industrialisation in the late 1920s and the
1930s benefited Russia? Give reasons for your answer.
Before you start, make sure you carefully reread the information in
this Section about how to answer the question.
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Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
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Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
47
Exercise 3
Name: _______________________________
Collectivisation
1
2
Use the information in this Section to decide whether the statements
below are true or false.
Bukharin and Stalin disagreed about when agriculture
should be collectivised.
T/F
The government wanted to ‘procure’ grain surpluses
from the peasants in order to raise capital for
industrialisation.
T/F
Stalin was sympathetic towards the kulaks.
T/F
Stalin was particularly enthusiastic about the use of
tractors in agriculture.
T/F
Stalin refused to use force to set up the
collective farms.
T/F
The peasants accepted collectivisation without
any resistance.
T/F
Explain the change that occurred with the process of collectivisation
from 1928 onwards.
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Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
3
The photo below shows a meeting of the members of a collective farm
in the 1930s. It was taken by a communist official.
How useful and reliable do you think it would be for an historian
who is studying the collectivisation of agriculture? Give reasons for
your answer.
Hint: think about who took the photo and its motive or purpose
(ie why it was taken). Also, look carefully at what is shown in the
photo – the farmers’ body language, clothing, etc.
Meeting of members of a collective
Source:
Graeme Gill, 1989, Twentieth Century Russia The Search for Power and
Authority, Nelson, p. 76.
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Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
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Exercise 4
Name: _______________________________
Results of collectivisation
Using the information in Part 4, this Part and your own research, plan and
write an extended response to the following question.
Explain how the Soviet leaders changed their policies to strengthen
the Soviet economy between 1921 and 1934.
Your answer should begin with an introduction where you provide
background information; a body comprised of several paragraphs, each
focusing on one particular aspect of the changed policies; and a conclusion
where you sum up your answer.
Remember explain means to relate cause and effect; make relationships
between things evident; provide why and/or how.
a
Begin by brainstorming what you know about Russian economic
policies between 1921 and 1934. We have started a mindmap for you
below. Continue with that mindmap by adding new words and links.
b
Plan your answer in point form by using the scaffold over the page
c
Write your answer on the following pages
Five Year Plans
Industrialisation
Russian economic policies 1920–1934
New Economic Policy
50
Collectivisation
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Background information
Policy 1
Policy 2
Policy 3
Policy 4
Policy 5
Policy 6
Summary
Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
51
Explain how the Soviet leaders changed their policies to strengthen the
Soviet economy between 1921 and 1934.
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Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
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54
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Exercise 5
Name: _______________________________
How successful was collectivisation?
1
Using the information in this Part, write an answer to the following
question on the lines below.
How successful was the policy of collectivisation? Give reasons for
your answer.
Before you start, make sure you carefully reread the information in
this Section about how to answer the question.
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Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
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Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
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Part 6: Industrialisation and collectivisation
57