A2 FP1 : Reason for collectivisation

Question 1

Conceptual Awareness

What did Stalin say in 1931 in regards to the economic situation of Russia?

Answer 1

He stated that the USSR was “fifty to a hundred years behind the advanced countires” he warned that they needed to close the gap within ten years or else they would be crushed.

Question 2

What were Stalin’s plans for agriculutre?

Answer 2

• Collectivisation would increase the output of foodstuffs
• Provide stable food supplies for the towns
• Surplus grain would be exported to pay for the essential material needed for Industry
• Collectivisation would give the party greater control over the countryside and eliminate the Kulaks.

Question 3

What did Robert Service say about the plans for industry and agriculture?

Answer 3

That they were “two sides of the same coin.”

Question 4

Conceptual Awareness

What were the long-standing problems with argiculture in Russia?

Answer 4

• Farming techniques in the USSR hadn’t changed for hundreds of years.
• Most farmers used subsitence farming and there was little surplus
• Many farmers couldn’t afford tractors or combine harvesters and used wooden ploughs
• Hard to collect taxes from the number of farms in the countryside
• Peasants were growing less food and rationing had to be introduced in the towns.

Question 5

What were the ideological reasons for collectivisation?

Answer 5

• There was an ideological conviction that collectivisation was the right socialist path to follow and that the Kulaks were an obstacle to progress.
• Forced ‘ socialisation’ of the peasantry and the proletarianisation of society.
• MTS stations had party members asigned to them so that they could keep an eye on production and instill communism amongst the peasantry.

Question 6

What were the political reasons for collectivisation?

Answer 6

• Destroying the ‘mir’ enabled the party to exert its authority over the peasants.
• Capitalysing on the defeat of Bukharin and his supporters, this represented a move towards both a centralised economy and party ; with more focus on creating surplus labour for the cities and more easily procuring food supplies.

Question 7

What were the economic reasons for collectivisation?

Answer 7

• Grain procurement crisis 1927-1928, 25% down.
• Need for increased food supplies to support the expansion of the workforce for the Five Year Plans and rapid industrialisation.
• Machine and tractor stations would mechanise agriculture and make farming more efficient by reducing the number of peasants needed.
• Easier to procure the grain as there were less collection points.