- On January 21, 1924, Lenin, leader of the Russian Revolution, died. succeeds him as head of Soviet Russia. He takes over a centralized administration, and quickly sets up a reign of terror based on the cult of personality.
- Soviet Russia is a predominantly peasant country. The State decided to abolish the large agricultural estates in 1922. The social class of the peasants was not balanced:there was a very poor section, poorly equipped with agricultural equipment, and also rich landowners, called the “kulaks”. They produce the bulk of grain and meat in Russia.
- The kulaks have little adherence to communist principles. Marked by requisitions during the civil war, they did not wish to sell their cereals to the State. The New Economic Policy (NEP) of relaxation put in place by Lenin, which was to revitalize the country after the First World War, will be stopped by Stalin.
1929 - 1933
Characters
Joseph Stalin
Procedure
Stalin launches his first five-year plan (over five years) on 1
st
October 1928:the objective is to industrialize the USSR, industrialization financed by agriculture. In January 1928, a requisition decree was signed:the kulaks had to give their crops to the state. Productivity was low, however, and Stalin, "the iron man", decided to set up the collectivization of the land under duress.
Thus, nationalized farms (sovkhozes) and farms grouped into cooperatives (kolkhozes ) are implemented. The collectivization of land is based on coercion and terror:peasants who refuse to join the kolkhozes are taxed or deported. The kulaks, considered as enemies of the people and of the Revolution, are also deported to Siberia in labor camps. This policy of "dékulakisation" led to 2 million displaced peasants.
Despite much resistance from the peasants (destruction of crops and slaughter of cattle), the majority joined the collectivized structures. The Soviet state takes almost half of the production in 1934 for a derisory purchase price.
Consequences
- The massive deportation of rich peasants and the rapid and forced collectivization led to a strong destabilization of the Russian agricultural world. This imbalance affected agricultural production itself:the USSR went through a period of famine between 1932 and 1933. Ukraine was particularly affected:4 million people died due to eating disorders.
- Kazakhstan, the Volga and Kuban regions are also severely affected by famine. In total, more than 6 million people die of malnutrition.
- Study of Stalin's correspondence after his death reveals that the Soviet leader consciously wished to aggravate the famine to punish peasants unwilling to adhere to his program of collectivization.