- Larger units of land could be farmed more efficiently
- Mechanized agriculture would require fewer farmers, which means more laborers for the city
- Easier to collect the harvest and deliver to cities and for export\
- Collectivization was a socialist solution for agriculture
A kolkhoz is the term for collective farm
3. Who is a kulak?
Kulaks were the richest peasants who owned one or two horses and several cows and a larger than average farm. They were the better off peasants who opposed Stalin's plan for collectivization and they were the enemies of it.
4. How were the kulaks dealt with by the government?
- First group: "Actively hostile" kulaks, were handed over to the OGPU, political police, and deported to distant regions of the country (such as Siberia)
- Second group: Wealthiest kulak households, were deported to other regions of the country
- Third group: Least harmful of the kulaks, were allowed to stay in the region but were given land of the worst kind
- property of the first two groups were confiscated and given to local kolkhoz
5. How did the peasants resist collectivization? What happened as a result?
The peasants would start riots all the time. They burned their crops, tools, and houses instead of handing them in to the state. Women's protests were more organized with specific goals. They would also slaughter the animals and eat/sell them instead. The peasants had nothing to work for in the end.
Examine the collective farm as illustrated in the reading, "A plan of a collective farm." Answer the following question:
6. What is a MTS Station?
MTS stands for machine tractor stations and it was kind of like a giant garage for tractors. They maintained and hired out machinery.
7. What were the dual purposes of the MTS Stations?
Its purpose was to agriculturally support collective farms. Job was to root out anti-soviet elements and troublemakers. It was also there to ensure that every kolkhoz handed over their grain.
8. How did a kolkhoz work and what was its relationship with the nearby town and its MTS?
Peasants were credited 'workdays' in exchange for their labour and at the end of the year, the profits of the farm would be divided up according to the workdays each peasant had put in. The relationship with nearby towns was that the state would take the peasants' crops and sell them to the nearby towns for higher prices than what the state paid the peasants. Once the state quota has been met, the peasants could sell the extra crops at the local market.
