Written source Reasons for Collectivisation Wang Shi Lin (25) Ng Yi Pin (19) 3i3

Written Source “Telegrams are pouring in from numerous parts of the Soviet Union with the news that deeds of arson and murders of active Communists are being perpetrated by the Kulaks… Soviet farms, village libraries and Soviet bureaus have been burned down by the Kulaks in their fierce opposition against all measures undertaken by our Communist Party and our Soviet Government… Murderous attacks have been perpetrated against Communist village school teachers and social workers, women as well as men… Seven murders and four attempted murders took place in public assemblies or in Soviet bureaus. The roll of our Communist dead contains the names of four Chairmen of local Soviets and one Secretary… A destructive blow at the Kulaks must be delivered immediately!” Izvestia, November 1928

Question How useful is the above source in telling us why collectivisation was introduced? “Telegrams are pouring in from numerous parts of the Soviet Union with the news that deeds of arson and murders of active Communists are being perpetrated by the Kulaks… Soviet farms, village libraries and Soviet bureaus have been burned down by the Kulaks in their fierce opposition against all measures undertaken by our Communist Party and our Soviet Government… Murderous attacks have been perpetrated against Communist village school teachers and social workers, women as well as men… Seven murders and four attempted murders took place in public assemblies or in Soviet bureaus. The roll of our Communist dead contains the names of four Chairmen of local Soviets and one Secretary… A destructive blow at the Kulaks must be delivered immediately!” Izvestia, November 1928

Assertion The source is useful to some extent in telling us why collectivisation was introduced.

Inference: The source is useful by telling us that collectivisation was introduced to eliminate the kulaks as a class and as a source of political opposition. This is because the source says that the kulaks were “(fiercely opposed) to all measures undertaken by (the) Communist Party and (the) Soviet Government” and that “a destructive blow at the kulaks must be delivered immediately”. Hence, the source is strongly implying that kulaks were hindering economic development in the Soviet Union and that one of the aims of collectivisation was to remove the class of wealthy peasants in the USSR.

Reliability: However, this source is reliable to a certain extent. Its source comes from a November 1928 edition of the Izvestia newspaper, which was a highly-circulated daily paper which was the official paper of the Soviet government. Its audience was the Russian public and its message to them was that Kulaks were rebellious and murderous, setting fires to farms and murdering Communists, so it was important to destroy them. Its intended outcome was to nurture a hatred towards the Kulaks and also warn the Russian proletariat not to engage in activities that the Kulaks were doing as they would be dealt “a destructive blow”. Based on my contextual knowledge, the Kulaks were resisting against collectivisation by burning their farms and preventing the seizure of land by the Communist government. Hence this source is reliable to a certain extent and the source is reliable to an extent.

Limitations: However, the source does not tell us the other aims of collectivisation in the USSR. Collectivisation was introduced for a variety of reasons, and some of its other objectives included improving the efficiency of Soviet farming and increasing grain production in the USSR.

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