concequence

• • Women's Revolts: Women's revolts were particularly effective in opposing collectivization, as noted by politburo member Kaganovich.
  • Animal Slaughter: Peasants resisted by slaughtering animals to eat or sell the meat instead of handing them over to collective farms.
  • Impact on Cattle: The number of cattle in the Soviet Union fell by half from 1928 to 1933.
• • Collectivization Progress:
  • Half of the peasant farms in the USSR were collectivized during this period.
  • Peasant Resistance:
  • Millions of peasants resisted collectivization, leading to what amounted to a civil war in the countryside.
  • Official Figures for 1929-30:
  • Arson Attacks: 30,000 recorded arson attacks.
  • Rural Mass Disturbances: Organized disturbances increased from 172 in the first half of 1929 to 229 in the second half.
• Facing an agricultural disaster and knowing that further resistance could lead to the collapse of grain production, in March 1930 Stalin temporarily backtracked, writing in Pravda that Soviet officials had moved too far too fast. They had, he said, become 'dizzy with success'. Many of the peasants were allowed to return to their original holdings.
• However, the delay was only temporary and from 1931, collectivisation continued apace. By the end of the 1930s virtually the whole of the peasantry had been collectivised.
• Faced with the destruction of their traditional way of life, many peasants could not or would not co-operate. The majority of the peasants ate their seed corn and slaughtered their livestock. There were no crops left to harvest or animals to rear.
• The outcome of this widespread seizure of harvest – encouraged by exaggerated surplus estimates from local officials eager to win favour from Moscow – was widespread famine in 1932-33. Although difficult to estimate, demographers suggest up to 8.5 million died of starvation or disease.
• Kazakhstan was the worst hit. Forced denomadisation led to between 35% and 40% deaths from famine (approx. 1.4m)
• Livestock losses in Kazakhstan

  • Camels 1.06m – 73,000
  • Sheep 21.9m – 1.7m
  • Cattle 7.7m – 1.6m
• Ukraine 3.5m deaths out of 33m pop
• Livestock losses in Ukraine

  • 50% loss of cattle and pigs
  • 60% sheep
  • Horses 32.6m – 16m
• The impact of collectivisation on the peasants was massive social upheaval, widespread famine, and huge livestock losses