In 1930, bands of Party activists and officials, backed up by the state police, were sent to the countryside to organize peasants into collective farms. If the peasants refused to join the collective, they would be labeled Kulaks (rich peasants) and shot, deported or sent to labour camps. Sometimes whole villages were deported as lessons to others. ‘Dekulakisation’ was central to the collectivisation process. However even where Kulaks did not exist the Communists still insisted that they had to be found and cleaned out. Stalin used class hatred to whip up hysteria. The district authorities told local Soviets how many Kulaks they had to find and lists of names were drawn up. Peasants denounced others as Kulaks for revenge and children were encourages to inform on anybody, even their own parents.
So much disruption was caused to agriculture that there were severe food shortages. When, added to this there was a disastrous harvest in 1932, the result was a famine of unimaginable severity in the years 1932-33. To make matters worse, Stalin sent out requisitioning gangs to take what little grain there was. Grain was held in stores that were ‘almost bursting’, and even left to rot in the open while people nearby starved to death. It has been estimated at least 13 million peasants and possibly many more, died as a result of collectivisation – a human tragedy on an enormous scale. But Stalin had succeeding in breaking the peasants and obtaining the grain he needed for industrialization of the USSR. Stalin was expecting to go to war with Japan in the Far East. He wanted to build stocks to feed the Red Army and so sent in squads from the Communist Party and the secret police to seize more food. Soon there was no food to find in the countryside. The Soviet Union began to sell grain abroad to buy machinery and raw materials for industries rather than give it to the starving.
As a result of collectivization there were 11,260 tractors 824 combine harvesters and much more machinery was used on collective farms. But many tractors were broken as many peasants did not know how to use them, and the government tried to solve this problem by setting up training schools but peasants tried to avoid them because they were also COMMUNIST Propaganda centers. The amount of industrial workers doubled from 1928-33 from 11 to 22 million but the cost of lives as a result of collectivization was 13 million peasants. The table below shows the effect of collectivization on food production in the USSR
In 1927 the economists and financial experts of Gosplan were instructed by Stalin to draw up a detailed plan for developing the Soviet economy over the next 5 years. The aim of the plan was to transform Russia into an industrial giant and increase exports of goods. The Plan concerned every branch of Soviet economic life. It was a blueprint for the development of industry, agriculture, railways, canals, trade, energy, housing, education, and all the public services. In each of these areas the Plan set targets of the output which workers were expected to achieve.
Stalin introduced the 5 year plans for two main reasons. First in 1927 there was a ‘war scare’ in which the Government claimed that the USSR was under threat of attack by China in the East and by Britain in the West. Second, in 1928, Stalin claimed that ‘counter-revolutionary capitalists in the Western countries were paying saboteurs to wreck the USSR’s coal mines. Their aim, he claimed, was to weaken Soviet industry so much that the USSR could not defend itself against foreign attack. The USSR moreover, was surrounded by countries whose government’s hated Communism; Poland, Finland, Iran and Romania were particularly hostile. Stalin therefore brought about rapid industrialization because he thought industry was necessary for the country’s defense, as he said in a speech in November 1928:
“To achieve the final victory of socialism in one country, we need to catch up and overtake these countries in the technical and economic sense. Either we do it or we shall be crushed”. (Brooman; source A, page 10)
The first Five Year Plan emphasized heavy industries to lay the foundations for future industrial growth. The targets set were unbelievably high and unrealistic, but remarkable results were achieved. Coal and iron both doubled their output; electrical power production almost trebled; 1,500 new industrial plants were built. The building of over 100 new towns, some carved out of nothing, was started. The second Five Year Plan gave heavy industry top priority, but communications, especially railways, became important link to cities and industrial centres. New industries, such as chemicals and metallurgy, grew enormously. The third Five Year Plan ran for only three years, up to 1941, when Russia entered the Second World War. As war approached, more resources were put into developing armaments.
Stalin brought in specialist advisers from other countries to help develop industry. There were a lot of British and American engineers. The Dnieper dam project was carried out under the supervision of an American, as was the building of the Soviet asbestos industry. The Ford motor company helped the Soviet car industry to build 140,000 cars in 1932.
Stalin reintroduced single managers to run state enterprises and factories. The idea of workers’ control was left far behind. Stalin thought he would get better results from individual managers who were directly responsible for the targets they had to fulfill. Trade unions were told not to interfere. Managers who did well were richly awarded, many receiving large houses and motor cars
A feature of all the plans in the 1930s were spectacular building projects, held up as showpieces of Soviet achievement. These included the dam on the River Dnieper in eastern Russia, the Moscow-Volga canal and the Moscow Metro – an underground train system with stunning stations built on a grand scale. Despite these apparent successes, the central planning was not very efficient. In some industries there was over production, in others underproduction, so that factories were kept idle for weeks, waiting for essential parts. Yet the drive was always to fulfil the targets at any cost. Some of the goods produced were almost unusable because they had been turned out so quickly by untrained workers. Mistakes were made: machines were wrecked by unskilled workers, many of them ex-peasants who had been used to only the most primitive levels of technology. But these mistakes could not be admitted – the system could not be at fault. So ‘wreckers’ or ‘saboteurs’ as they were called, were found and blamed. A s early as 1928 when the coal mine in Donbass region fell behind target, 53 engineers were accused of conspiracy to wreck the Soviet coal mining industry. This led to the famous Shakhty trial. The hysteria and fear created by the trials and accusations of sabotage had important effects. People covered up mistakes and faults. Output figures were inflated so that industries could not be accused of failing to fulfil their targets. Workers were intimidated so that they would work harder.
Due to low wages, shortage of food, poor working conditions and long working hours, Stalin needed ways to encourage workers to work hard. Many workers, especially the young, were inspired by the great task of transforming Russia. They volunteered to work on distant projects under arduous conditions. They believed in the worth of what they were doing and were prepared to make sacrifices and work hard. But not all were as enthusiastic, so Stalin began a huge propaganda campaign to encourage workers and to make them work hard
Awards and honours were given to individuals and groups who worked hard. Groups were also encouraged to compete against one another. Wages were also used as incentives. Wages were usually paid according to how much was produced. Skilled workers could get up to four times the wages of their unskilled comrades. Those who moved up into management got much more. Not all workers responded to the propaganda campaigns, and measures were introduced to deal with slackers. The fear of being accused of sabotage and sent to a labour camp encourages workers to carry out their tasks obediently. There was also a strict code of labour discipline with tough punishments. Absenteeism was punished by fines, loss of ration cards or dismissal. By 1940, it had become a crime and a prison sentence was given for second offences. Workers had to carry labour books, which recorded their jobs and unfavourable comments about them. A bad record could lose a worker food rations or lead to imprisonment.
As a result of the First Five Year Plan the number of industrial workers in the USSR doubled from 11.3 million to 22.8 million. Millions of them were peasants who came into the towns with little experience of time-keeping, factory discipline and safety. Most of them also lacked basic training as a factory worker observed:
“In the assembly shop I talked to a young man who was grinding sockets. I asked him how he measured, and he showed me how he used his fingers. We had no measuring instruments” (Brooman: Source C, page 13)
As peasants flooded into towns and cities, all the basic amenities became overcrowded. Trans and buses were packed to suffocation point. Flats had to be shared by several families, so that there was one family in each room, sharing kitchen, bathroom and toilet. In new industrial cities such as Magnitogorosk factories were built before the houses, so workers had to live in tents, huts and all sorts of makeshift structures.
Despite the problems, the harsh discipline and the bad conditions, Soviet workers were better off in on respect to millions of workers in what Stalin called the ‘advanced countries’. In the USA, Europe, Asia and the Far East, a massive economic slump put many millions of people out of work for the duration of the 1930’s. Unemployment in the USA reached 15 million in 1933. Millions of the unemployed queued in ‘breadlines’ for charity hand-outs of food. Many were forced to live in shanty towns made of rubbish. In the USSR, in contrast there was no unemployment. Every worker had a job. The Five Year Plans had managed to be a success despite all its negative effects. The tale below illustrates some of these.
The Great Purges lasted from 1934 to 1938. During this period millions of Russians were arrested and either sent to labour camps or shot. A feature of the Purges was public show trials, where old Bolsheviks confessed to crimes against the USSR. In 1934 when a large group in the Communist Party decided to slow down the drive towards industrialization and improve relations with peasants, Sergei Kirov seemed to be emerging as a popular political figure and there was talk of removing Stalin as leader. Shortly after Congress, Kirov was shot outside his office in Leningrad. Stalin claimed that there was a conspiracy to murder him and destroy the party. Using the atmosphere of fear created by the murder he ordered arrests.
In 1936, Stalin set about purging the Communist Party to get rid of all the people who might oppose him, particularly Bolsheviks who had been important in the past. The first to go were old enemies –Zinvoviev and Kamenev. Along with fourteen others, they were accused of organizing the murder of Kirov and planning to assassinate Stalin. They were put on trial in full view of the world, in the so-called show trials, which were broadcast on radio. The accused confessed to laughable charges, including plans to murder Lenin.
Between 1936 and 1938, thousands of Communist Party members were denounced in meetings and expelled from the Party. Denunciations usually led to arrest and torture. Under torture, people often made confessions implicating others, who would then be arrested in their turn. The second main show trial took place in 1937, when senior Party members were accused of industrial sabotage and spying. The third and last great show trial in1938 included Bukharin, Rykov and Yagoda. It was dangerous to have men like Bukharin around, who knew too much about the old revolutionary days. He was shot along with Yagoda, who had been the previous head of the NKVD. By the end of the purges of the Party it has been estimated that over one-fifth of the members had been expelled or shot. Of the 1,961 delegates at the Seventeenth Party Congress in 1934, where Kirov was clapped fro longer than Stalin, 1,108 were arrested. Of the 139 Central Committee members, over 90 were shot. Five of the Politburo of 1934 were dead, some in mysterious circumstances. The Purges were not only restricted to the Party, people suspected of opposing Stalin was to be removed and nobody was safe. Scientists, doctors, actors, teachers, workers, all came to fear the knock on the door which announced the arrival of the secret police, the NKVD. An army of informers kept the NKVD busy. Children were encouraged to inform on their parents and neighbors denounced each other. Informing on others was a way of proving one’s loyalty or a way of setting old scores. It was part of the hysteria which was created by the atmosphere of terror. People lived in fear of denunciation in the factory, office, farm, street and home.
Stalin wanted to make sure that the army remained loyal and that any officers capable of opposing were removed. In 1937, Marshal Tukhachevsky, along with seven other generals, were executed. In the following months, thousands of army officers shared their fate. The navy and the air force were also purged. The consequences of this were almost disastrous for the USSR. So many top officers were removed, including 90% of all Soviet generals, that the Russian army found itself in a desperate situation at the beginning of the Second World War in1941. In 1938, Stalin called a halt to the purges. Things were getting out of hand. The purges had developed a power of their own and were pulling Soviet society apart. The NKVD itself was now purged so that its knowledge of what had happened could be conveniently forgotten. Soviet Historians have estimated that by 1939 over 20 million Russians had been transported to labour camps and that approximately 12 million of these died. Mass graves of people killed in the 1930s have been found.
As result of the terror, Stalin’s position was unchallengeable. He had created a Party which was composed of men and women who were totally loyal to him, who carried out his orders and had no memories of the old heroes of the Revolution. Moreover, all sources of opposition outside the Party had been crushed. The elimination of the Kulaks meant that the best farmers were shot or sent to labour camps. This all meant that Stalin by 1941 had almost got rid of all his opponents. Nobody could even threaten this rule and even during the Second World War the Soviet armies suffered defeats after defeats. Stalin was safe. Stalin was slowly moving further and further away from the original ideas of the Bolsheviks. The Purges had resulted in the USSR less able to cope with Hitler’s attack when it eventually came. Many of the country’s ablest people had disappeared. The particular purge of the Army in 1937-38 in which leading generals and over half of the officers had been removed left the country’s armed forces in a much weaken state.
In 1936 Stalin created a new constitution for the USSR. It gave freedom of speech and fee elections to the Russian people. This was of course a cosmetic measure. Only Communist Party candidates were allowed to stand in elections, and only approved newspapers and magazines could be published.
Stalin read a great deal. He thought of writers as ‘the engineers of the soul’. But he also regarded writers and artists as dangerous. Writers were censored: their books and articles had to be submitted to committees before they were published. They had much less freedom under Stalin than they had in the 1920’s. Artists were forced to produce work which glorified the achievements of Soviet workers and peasants, or of the Revolution. This was called ‘Socialist Realism’. Socialist Realist novels had as their heroes’ ordinary people helping to build the new Soviet society.
Any other work other than this was called ‘Bourgeois’. Writers and artists accused of bourgeois tendencies would find that their work was never published or seen. They might lose their livelihood, as the state paid their wages. If they went too far, they would find themselves in a labour camp. Some artists, so depressed by what had happened in the USSR, left the country or committed suicide.
Education was strictly controlled. In the 1920s, old forms of discipline and examinations had been abolished. But this created unruly, poorly educated pupils. In 1932 , rigid programme of education was introduced. Discipline was strict and examinations were brought back Teachers taught that Stalin was the ‘Great Leader and Genius of all time’. Children learned Stalin’s version of history. The Revolution had brought more informal and creative lessons in school. Stalin dropped all that. He brought back uniforms, compulsory pigtails for girls, single-sex classes, formal tests and examinations. He stopped ‘project work’ and he introduced a core curriculum in mathematics, science, a foreign language history and geography. Those who wanted to stay at secondary school for more than 3 years had to pay fees.
Attacks on the Orthodox Church and religious ideas increased in the 1930s. The ‘League of the Godless’ smashed churches and burned religious pictures. Members of religious groups, such as Baptists were arrested in large numbers and sent to labour camps. The Orthodox Church was hit harder as the purges continued, with most of its bishops being arrested. Trying to spread religion was a passport to prison.
By the mid-1930s some of the more liberal ideas – free love, easy abortion and divorce – of the early 1920s had been abandoned and family was back in favour. The upheavals of the early 1930s and the very high divorce rate had created a vast army of homeless children, who lived on the streets, begged on the streets and robbed passers-by. The state now encouraged families to stay together through propaganda. They also paid child allowances for married couples. Divorce was made much harder, and restrictions were placed on abortion. Ceremonial marriages also made a comeback. One the work front, the gains made by women in the Revolution were maintained. Women were now on much equal footing with men, able to gain jobs in all fields.
Living standards rose in the mid 1930s, but there were still shortages of food and other goods. Some Russians were doing quite well, in the new system, especially high ranking Party officials, skilled factory workers and peasants, who could get high prices for food grown on their private plots. There were great differences in wages.
The Government put a lot of resources into building a health service, although demands on it were overwhelming. It was very rigid, with people being forced to do as they were told, but there was a great increase in facilities and doctors.
Housing remained a problem and there was little overall improvement: in Moscow, only 6% of households had more than one room. However, there was progress in the new industrial towns by the end of the decade.
Another area in which life improved was leisure. Sports and fitness were encouraged to improve the general health of Soviet men and women. Every worker was entitled to taking a holiday each year – holidays had been unknown before the Revolution. Trade unions and collective farms played a big role in providing clubs, sports facilities, film shows, festivals and general entertainments.
Today Stalin’s rule is looked back on as a time of great terror and oppression. However, the average Soviet citizen admired Stalin. If asked about the purges, people would probably say that they were nothing to do with Stalin himself. For most Soviet citizens, Stalin was not a tyrant dominating an oppressed country. He and his style of Government were very popular. The Communist Party saw him as a winner and Soviet citizens saw him as a ‘dictator of the people’. The Soviet people sincerely believed in Stalin and this belief was built up quite deliberately by Communist leaders and by Stalin himself. It developed into what is known as the Cult of the Personality. The history of the Soviet Union was rewritten so that Lenin and Stalin were the only real heroes of the Revolution.
Stalin has been called the ‘gravedigger of the Revolution’. This means that he spoiled everything the original revolutionaries hoped to achieve in 1917 when they started to build the new Socialist Society. He is blamed for turning Russia into a totalitarian state and condemned as a mass murderer. I however thing, that Stalin was simply carrying on the work of Lenin who had ruled Russia ruthlessly, introducing the Cheka and labour camps. Stalin simply took things further. Stalin had many achievements during his rule; he turned Russia into modern industrialized country. This simply could not have been done without his drive and determination, although his methods were at times quite inhumane and immoral, he did what he thought was best for his country and he succeeded.
