starter activity Study the Soviet posters that follow. What is their message? What links them? Let’s take them by storm – the last year of the five year plan. Government poster from 1931 Tractors and day nurseries – movers of the new nation, Soviet government poster from 1930 Mastering machinery – be in the first ranks of the builders of communism. Soviet government poster, 1934 Kolkhoznik, guard your fields against the class enemies. Government poster, 1933 Key words: The Great Turn (1927) collectivisation OGPU How did Stalin build socialism in the countryside? Learning objectives TBAT explain the reasons why Stalin introduced collectivisation To explain how Stalin collectivised Russia To evaluate the consequences Your task Read p.39-41 (Bunce) and note down the reasons why Stalin decided to collectivise farms In your opinion, what was the most urgent reason for Stalin? Reasons for collectivisation Economic factors – decline of grain production (1927-9), worsening standards of living for farmers, limited surplus grain to sell on to foreign countries Ideological factors – collectivisation would foster communism in countryside Political factors – collectivisation appealed to Stalin’s left-wing supporters; Grain Procurement Crisis (1927-9) showed how Stalin could be held hostage by Kulaks & failure of NEP Your task Read p.41-43 (Bunce) and explain how Stalin collectivised Russia. Use these subheadings to help: Emergency measures Liquidation of kulaks Twenty-five-thousanders Dizzy with success Famine Course of collectivisation Emergency measures – rationing reintroduced; grain hoarding criminalised; kulaks sent to labour camps Liquidation of kulaks – ‘dekulakisation’ introduced; collective farms formed BUT resentment led to destruction of crops, livestock & machinery Twenty-five-thousanders – socially conscious industrial workers sent into countryside Dizzy with success – Pravda article, blaming over enthusiastic local officials Famine – grain seizures, farmers executed or exiled, grain taken to cities or exported Imagine Stalin is holding a press conference with a handful of his trusted aids. Write at least 3 questions you wish to ask Stalin about collectivisation. You may want to think about these areas: his true motives, dekulakisation, the 25000’ers, the NEP Your task Read Bunce, p.43-5 and note down the consequences of collectivisation in Rural areas Urban areas Within Communist Party How similar were the consequences to War Communism? Consequences – rural areas 10,000,000 exiled as part of dekulakisation, 10% of peasants Unrealistic targets Productivity declined – no incentive to work hard; 1933 harvest 9m tonnes less than 1926; livestock numbers halved Mechanisation slow – expensive to hire tractors from MTS, struggled to meet demand By 1941 all farms collectivised Consequences – urban areas Grain procurement by state increased, e.g. 11m tonnes (1928) to 23m tones (1933) Grain exports increased, e.g. 0.03m tonnes 19298) to 5m tonnes (1931) Standard of living fell – prices increased, wages fell, meat consumed decreased 2/3 btwn 1928 & 1932 Growing suspicions of peasants by industrial classes Urbanisation increased, e.g. 22 to 63m (19221940) Consequences - political Fear of civil war - party leadership united behind Stalin Kulaks & peasant saboteurs blamed Left-wing Communists supported collectivisation as true communism Your task Study the source sheet your teacher provides. What can you learn from each sources about the effects of collectivisation & dekulakisation you get. Which source is most useful for historians investigating this period of Russian history? Extension task Read about the impact of collectivisation on Smolensk (Fiehn, p.216). How typical was collectivisation there compared with elsewhere in Russia? Key words: The Great Turn (1927) collectivisation OGPU How did Stalin build socialism in the countryside? Learning objectives Plenary TBAT explain the reasons why Stalin introduced collectivisation To explain how Stalin collectivised Russia To evaluate the consequences
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