Stalinism and Collectivisation
The period of the early Planned Economy was linked to the disasters of the collectivization of agriculture. The towns in Soviet Russia were facing an acute problem with grain supplies by 1927-28. The government had fixed prices at which grains must be sold, but the peasants refused to sell grains to government buyers at these prices assigned.
Stalin, who headed the party after the death of Lenin, had introduced some stern emergency measures. His belief was that rich peasants and traders in the countryside were in the hope of higher prices, speculations needed to be stopped and supplies confiscated. In the year 1928, Party members toured the grain-producing areas, supervising enforced grain collectors and raiding the “kulaks”. As the shortages continued, the decision was taken for collective farms. After 1917, lands were given over to peasants.
For the development of modern farms on industrial lines with machinery, it was necessary the elimination of kulaks, take away lands from peasants and establish state-controlled large farms. What followed was Stalin’s Collectivisation program. In 1929, Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms called kolkhoz. The bulk of land and machinery was transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Enraged peasants did resist the authorities and destroyed their livestock. Those who resisted collectivization were severely punished; many were deported and excited. For a variety of reasons, they did not want to work in collective farms; the Stalin government did allow some independent cultivation but treated those unsympathetically.
Despite the process of collectivization, production did not increase immediately. In fact, the bad harvests of 1930-1933 led to the most devastating famines in Soviet history when over 4 million people died. Within the party, many criticized the Planned Economy and the consequences of collectivization. Accusations continued throughout the country and by 1939, over 2 million were in prisons or labor camps, a large number of who were forced to make false confessions under torture and executed them.
What Changed After October?
Numerous changes were brought in by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution. The most important ones included, banks and industries that came to be nationalized; the land was declared as social property, thereby allowing peasants to seize the property from the nobility. In the urban areas, houses were partitioned according to the requirements of the family. Also, old aristocratic titles were banned and new uniforms were designed for the army and officials.