Stalin’s Economic Policies Collectivization and Rapid Industrialization

Lenin’s New Economic Policy The 1917 Revolution was followed by 3 years of Civil War between the Communists and their enemies, during which Lenin had introduced a system of ‘War Communism’. Under this system, food for soldiers and town workers was seized without payment from peasants in the countryside. Factory workers were put under military discipline, including the death penalty for going on strike in order to ensure that the workers produced enough war material. The factories were confiscated from their owners and put under government control.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy War Communism helped the Communists win the civil war, but it ruined Russia The peasants decided that it was not worth growing food if the Communists were going to steal it, so they sowed less grain. The result was a famine in 1921, killing an estimated 6 million people and leaving millions more starving. Rebellions in the Russian Navy and a peasant uprising led Lenin to abandon the policy of War Communism in favor of his ‘New Economic Policy’.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) 1926 The NEP helped the economy recover by 1926, but at that point growth began to slow down. It had been presented as a temporary compromise between socialism and capitalism, but many in the party (Stalin) were in a hurry to create a “modern, industrialized socialist Russia” 1927 International developments threatened USSR security and seemed to highlight the need for Russia to catch up industrially with the West – - an anti-communist leader (Pilsudski) came to power in Poland, the breaking off of British-Russian relations and the brutal killing of Chinese communists by Chiang Kai- Shek’s nationalists in China

Stalin’s Collectivization “We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed. This is what our obligations to the workers and peasants of the USSR dictate to us.” -Joseph Stalin Stalin’s Collectivization Stalin argued that collectivization was essential in order for Russia to compete on an industrial level. Saw this as a way to provide surplus manpower, food and power for rapid industrialization Saw larger farm units (collectives) as more efficient and this grain could be used to feed the factory workers as well as for export (which would then pay for the machinery needed for industrialization) There was debate within the Party as to whether joining the collectives would be forced or voluntary- it ends up being forced (after extensive propaganda wasn’t convincing enough)

Stalin’s Collectivization Traditional Russian farming techniques were poor. Small plots of land meant that innovations such as fertilizers and tractors could not be used. Many peasants were still using horse-drawn plows. Stalin’s Collectivization In order to achieve his goals Stalin needed to: MAXIMIZE the production of grain by revolutionizing the METHODS of agriculture CONTROL the production. Since the NEP, the kulaks had controlled prices of grain and had hoarded their surplus to ensure that prices stayed high (high demand + low supply = high prices!) But…Stalin needed to ensure that the price of grain was cheap enough for the workers in town could buy it without Stalin having to increase wages. So he needed to destroy the power of the kulaks to control grain prices, in addition to the fact that having a class of “agricultural capitalists” posed a threat. The attack on the kulaks also served as an example to other villagers of what would happen if they resisted collectivization.

Stalin’s Collectivization Stalin’s motivation was also political… Peasants had never been enthusiastic supporters of the Communist Party – only limited party control in rural areas The new collectives (kolkhoz) were run by a Party-appointed chairman and each Motor Tractor Station had a NKVD (secret police) unit attached Pooled animals and tools Peasants received a wage, but 90% of production would be sold cheaply to the state Remaining 10% was used to feed the kolkhz This put the peasants more firmly under the Party’s control

Stalin’s Collectivization Stalin’s policy of collectivization constituted a revolution in the countryside, forcing 25 million peasant households into 240,000 collective farms. In the process, the peasants’ traditional way of life based on the village commune and attachment to the Orthodox Church was destroyed. Millions died in the process and millions more fled from the villages into the growing industrial cities. Those who resisted were sent to the gulags in Siberia. Collectivization and rapid industrialization were inextricably linked.

Stalin’s Collectivization Despite food shortages that led to famine (1932-1933), Stalin continued to forced collectivization, as well as continued to seize grain. By 1934, there had been almost total elimination of the kulaks. By 1941, almost all agricultural land was organized into collectives. “We kolkhoz workers call for the liquidation of the kulaks as a class!”