The Study On The Agricultural Collectivization Movement In The Soviet Union (1927-1939)

The Soviet Union's collectivization of agriculture was a policy which aimed to massively establish collective economy (collective farms) under the leadership of the communist central committee headed by Stalin, it began in the late 1920s-early 1930s and ended in the late 1930s before World War II happened.Stalinian Pattern had three important components: High-speed industrialization, agricultural collectivization and political purge, among which there were closely internal connection, mutual cooperation and promotion. The basic characteristic of the modernization of Stalinian Pattern was to develop the heavy industry with ultra-speed, they launched agricultural collectivization and established the main source of collective farms'controlling funds-foodstuff in order to obtain the substantial funds required by the rapid industrialization. Agricultural collectivization was fiercely resisted by the Peasants who were uprising frequently throughout the Soviet Union, through mobilizing the police and Red Army and using the aircraft and artillery to harshly repress the uprising by the Government, farmers failed and were forced to join the collective under the powerful political and economic pressure. With the completion of the agricultural collectivization, a chain of transporting funds for national industrialization and modernization at the expense of the agricultural development potential and the interests of farmers were formed. At the same time, the rural kulak in the Soviet Union was"eliminated as a class". The political purge was the by-product of the high-speed industrialization and the agricultural collectivization, which Stalin implemented several times in order to repress against the inner party oppositions of his policies and to find scapegoats for alleviating the tense political situation which may break out at any moment. It came to the peak in the 1930s. The purge provided political security for the collectivization and industrialization.The study time of this paper is limited from 1927 to 1939, because of that"the Soviet Union agricultural collectivization"and"the Soviet Union whole-scale agricultural collectivization"are different concepts, the latter concept from 1929 to 1933 was only an integral part of the whole agricultural collectivization. The period from 1927 to 1929 was a preparation for Stalin to launch the whole-scale agricultural collectivization; and from 1933 to 1939, the Soviet Union agricultural collectivization had not been ceased, but was still continuing; the eradication of independent farms movement of 1939 was a crucial component of the agricultural collectivization. Stalin didn't announce"the completion of agricultural collectivization"in his report of the 18th Conference until March 1939. Therefore, involving these two periods, this paper elaborates and analyses the cause, background, course and consequence of the Soviet Union agricultural collectivization.The whole text is divided into six chapters:The introduction part provides an overview of domestic and overseas academics on the Soviet Union's collectivization of agriculture, and explains the subject meaning, methodology and material source.Chapter one, from new economic policy to agricultural collectivization (1927-1929). It elaborates the origin, background, fuse, launch and initial implementation of the Soviet agricultural collectivization. This movement caused by Russia's modern development model of catch-up mobilization was a personal decision of Stalin during his visit in Siberia. The background was under the interwoven between political and theoretical struggle in the Bolshevik party after the death of Lenin and the fuse was the outbreak of the grain procurement crisis in Russia in 1927.Chapter two, the whole-scale agricultural collectivization and dekulakization (Nov.1929-1933). It expounds the different stages of the implementation process in the whole-scale Soviet agricultural collectivization and dekulakization, and emphasises on the Great Famine caused by the whole-scale Soviet agricultural collectivization and profound agricultural crisis. In addition, the fate that kulak have been eliminated as a special immigrant is studied as well.Chapter three, agricultural collectivization in the middle 1930s (1934-1936). It focuses on the analysis of agriculture policy that the Soviet government turned from all-out attack to a limited compromise in the mid-thirties and the elaboration of three stages (drifting,transformation and return to the charge)in the agricultural collectivization during this period. After the Soviet government adopted a series of compromise policy ,the tight relationship between government and peasants were relieved and the agricultural production were also restored. Chapter four, agricultural collectivization in the late 1930s (1937-1939). It elaborates the agricultural collectivization in the background of the climax of Great Purge that the whole Soviet Union came to. In this period, limiting the economic development of individual members of collective farms and forcing the remnant individual peasants to join the collective farms were expressed as the characteristics of this movement. The Great Purge in agricultural field and "kulak campaign" in rural area since 1937 were the end of agricultural collectivization and dekulakization. In the Great Purge, leading cadres at various levels who once opposed or supported Stalin in the whole-scale agricultural collectivization were all arrested and shot.The conclusion summarizes the lessons of agricultural collectivization in the Soviet Union, and discusses the enlightenment that China's agricultural development learns from the unsuccessful agricultural transformation mode.The Soviet agricultural collectivization violates the level of development of productive forces in that time in Soviet Union. It is an agricultural reform which spoiled things by excessive enthusiasm and speed, and the collective farms become an effective means to extract funds from the countryside , but the system of collective farms imposed to set up through violent means is neither firm nor durable. The agriculture in Soviet Union gets involved into a heavy crisis and is unable to get rid of it until now. Soviet agricultural collectivization not only makes a vital and far-reaching impact on the Soviet Union's political, economic and social development, but also influences agricultural development of other socialist countries deeply and the fate of hundreds of millions of people of many countries in the world in a period of several decades. Subsequently, the former prevailing agricultural collectivization policy has been reformed or abandoned one by one. Facts prove that the sooner give up, the sooner will get rid of the crisis. We should have a long-term vision and not to evaluate any historical event in one day, but to analysis their historical significance in a relatively long period of time. A lesson from the past can guide for the future. Summarizing the lessons of the Soviet agricultural collectivization movement has an important historical significance for perfecting China's modern agricultural reform.