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A Level History > RUSSIA Agriculture > Flashcards

RUSSIA Agriculture Flashcards

1
Q

Why did Soviet agriculture need to be far more efficient and productive?

A

To support industrialisation

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2
Q

How would the improvement of agriculture help the industrialisation of the Soviet Union?

A

Food surpluses needed for growing population and foreign exchange; mechanisation of agriculture would provide labour for the new industrial centres

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3
Q

What was the political case for collectivisation?

A

Would help extend socialism to countryside

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4
Q

Since when had support for the Party in the countryside been declining?

A

Tambov Rising 1921

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5
Q

How much of farmland was collectivised by 1925?

A

Less than 1%

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6
Q

Kulaks

A

Richer peasants who seemed to benefit from the NEP; started to be applied to any peasant who refused to join the collectives

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7
Q

What appealing opportunity did collectivisation provide for the Party?

A

To get rid of the kulaks

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8
Q

When did arguments in the Party over agricultural production come to a head?

A

1928

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9
Q

When did the Party decide on a programme of voluntary collectivisation?

A

Fifteenth Party Congress December 1927

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10
Q

When was forced requisitioning of grain carried out as a temporary emergency measure due to food shortages?

A

1928

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11
Q

‘Ural-Siberian’ method

A

Forced requisitioning of grain as a temporary emergency measure; used increasingly as the pace of collectivisation accelerated

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12
Q

Russian name for a collective farm

A

Kolkhoz

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13
Q

Machine and Tractor Stations (MTS)

A

Government-run centres that supplied farm machinery to the collectives; provided advice on farming techniques and political lectures

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14
Q

What happened once enough peasants had signed up to join the collectives?

A

Collective could seize animals, grain supplies and buildings in the village as its property

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15
Q

What happened to the kulaks once they had been classed as ‘class enemies’?

A

Deported to Siberia and the Urals

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16
Q

Which areas of Russia in particular protested violently about the implementation of collectivisation?

A

Ukraine; Caucasus region

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17
Q

What did many kulaks do rather than hand over their property to the state?

A

Set fire to their farms; slaughtered their animals

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18
Q

Dekulakisation squads

A

Sent into the countryside to force the peasants into collectives, eliminating the kulaks in practice

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19
Q

Which organisation was also used to round up the kulaks and other refusers, deporting them to remote regions of the USSR, often labour camps?

A

OGPU

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20
Q

Which organisation was used occasionally to deal with extreme opposition to collectivisation?

A

Red Army- some troublesome villages were bombed out of existence

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21
Q

What did the peasant opposition to collectivisation result in temporarily?

A

A backing down by Stalin, who in March 1930 issued his article, ‘Dizzy with Success’, blaming overzealous local Party officials for ‘excesses’

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22
Q

How long did Stalin’s slowdown in the process of collectivisation last?

A

Only long enough to ensure that the peasants sowed the new year’s crop

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23
Q

What concessions were offered to the peasantry?

A

Members of the collectives were allowed to have some animals and a small garden plot for their own use

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24
Q

How many peasant households had been collectivised by 1932?

A

62%

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25
Q

How many peasant households had been collectivised by 1937?

A

93%

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26
Q

Up until when where many collectives without tractors?

A

Mid-1930s

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27
Q

Why was the removal of the kulaks so damaging?

A

Often the most productive farmers

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28
Q

How was the number of cattle affected between 1928-33?

A

Halved; wasn’t fully recovered until 1953- shortage of meat/milk

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29
Q

How much did grain production fall under collectivisation?

A

From 73.3 million tonnes in 1928 to 67.6 million in 1934

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30
Q

When did widespread famine occur as a result of collectivisation?

A

1932-33

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31
Q

Which areas did the famine particularly affect?

A

Ukraine; Kazakhstan; Caucasus region

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32
Q

How did the government prevent the peasants from leaving the countryside in search of food?

A

Introduced a passport system

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33
Q

When had the peasants supposedly been liberated from serfdom?

A

1861

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34
Q

How many famine-related deaths were there in 1933?

A

4 million

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35
Q

When did a slow recovery in agriculture begin after collectivisation?

A

After a relatively good harvest in 1933, but grain production rose very sluggishly

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36
Q

What helped the 1937 harvest?

A

Good weather; fall in demand for animal fodder meant more grain could be used for human consumption

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37
Q

What was agricultural recovery hampered by?

A

Continual government interference and hare-brained schemes

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38
Q

Who was giving the orders to the collectives?

A

Party officials in Moscow- took little account of conditions on the ground

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39
Q

How many people were estimated to have been kulaks in 1928?

A

About 15 million

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40
Q

What do historians’ estimates of the number of deaths caused by collectivisation vary between?

A

5-10 million

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41
Q

Holodomor

A

Murder by starvation- it’s applied to Stalin’s actions against Ukraine during the process of enforced collectivisation

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42
Q

Which region bore the brunt of the food shortage?

A

Ukraine- chief grain-growing region of the country

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43
Q

Why do historians today believe that Ukraine suffered the worst of the famine?

A

Ukrainian nationalism had been a worry to the Soviet government in the civil war

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44
Q

Which nomadic group was forced into the collectives against their will?

A

Kazakhs

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45
Q

When was the mir abolished and what was it replaced by?

A

1930; kolkhoz administration- headed by a Party member

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46
Q

How was Party control extended?

A

By the use of teenagers in Communist youth organisations

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47
Q

When did the German invasion of the USSR begin?

A

22 June 1941

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48
Q

What proved to be effective in mobilising the resources of the Soviet Union for WW2?

A

Centralisation of the economy

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49
Q

What was set up at a local level to co-ordinate war production?

A

Defence Committees

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50
Q

What was a children’s bicycle factory converted to in Moscow during WW2?

A

Flame-thrower factory

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51
Q

Where were whole factories evacuated to during WW2?

A

Safer areas of the USSR in the east, away from the invading Germans

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52
Q

What happened to industry in the immediate aftermath of the German invasion?

A

Initial collapse in industrial output- after 1941, Soviet production rose impressively, if unevenly

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53
Q

How many tanks and aircraft were were produced between 1943-45?

A

Over 73,000 tanks; 94,000 aircraft

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54
Q

What is an example of a product the Russian economy found beyond its capability during WW2?

A

Tinned meat was imported from Britain under the Lend-Lease scheme, whereby supplies were provided with payment deferred

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55
Q

What was the production of consumer goods like during WW2?

A

Virtually non-existent

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56
Q

By the end of the war, what had Nazi-occupied areas done to the country’s overall production?

A

Steel production had fallen to 12 million tonnes in 1945 compared with 18 million tonnes produced in 1940; oil production was less than 2/3; wool production less than 1/2 of that produced in 1940

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57
Q

Why was the impact of WW2 on food production so devastating?

A

Most able-bodied men from collectives were conscripted; farm machinery and draft animals requisitioned by Red Army

58
Q

What did grain output fall by during WW2?

A

From 95 million tonnes in 1940 to 30 million tonnes in 1942

59
Q

What did the government do during WW2 to provide an incentive for peasants to keep up production?

A

Lifted restrictions on cultivation of private plots

60
Q

What effect did WW2 have on the USSR?

A

Much of its western part was devastated

61
Q

What was another concession the government had given to the peasants to sustain food production during WW2?

A

A ‘Link system’ was promoted

62
Q

What did the Party leadership do as soon as WW2 was over?

A

Moved quickly to reimpose control; link system was abolished; taxes raised on private plots in a bid to reduce their importance

63
Q

What was supervision of agricultural resources concentrated into?

A

Hands of the Party through the Machine and Tractor Stations

64
Q

Up until when was it still possible to find villages entirely populated by women and children?

A

1950

65
Q

What natural disaster made the agricultural situation worse in 1946?

A

Drought

66
Q

When was there a second famine?

A

1947, in parts of Ukraine

67
Q

Up until when was the figure for grain production still below that of 1940?

A

1952- productivity was lower than it had been in 1913

68
Q

When did Stalin give Khrushchev some power within the Party?

A

Appointed him Party Secretary in the Moscow province in 1949

69
Q

What did Khrushchev do in an attempt to improve productivity as Party Secretary in Moscow?

A

Promoted idea of creating larger collectives, which would make it easier to use large-scale machinery; would also make the collectives easier to control

70
Q

How many larger collectives had been created by 1952?

A

Over 100,000- although they remained unpopular with the peasants

71
Q

What was one of Stalin’s grandiose ideas post-WW2?

A

Utilising large areas of semi-desert regions by planting them with trees- the trees died

72
Q

When were individual collectives given greater powers to make decisions at a local level?

A

1955

73
Q

What did Khrushchev do to the MTS?

A

Abolished them- the peasants hated them as instruments of central and political interference

74
Q

What were the MTS replaced with?

A

A system that expected a collective to buy its own machinery- naive

75
Q

Russian word for large agro-industrial villages

A

Agrogoroda

76
Q

What changes were made by Khrushchev to the economy to increase productivity?

A

Prices given for state procurement were increased; system of compulsory seizure of food was replaced by planned state purchases

77
Q

What greater concessions were given to the peasants by Khrushchev?

A

They could use the produce from their own private plots- encouraged peasants to grow more food and played an important role in ensuring more regular food supplies

78
Q

Which food product came almost entirely from private plots under Khrushchev?

A

Eggs

79
Q

When was the Virgin Lands Scheme introduced?

A

1954

80
Q

Virgin Lands Scheme

A

Encouraged the opening up of new areas to agricultural production

81
Q

How many tractors were provided for the Virgin Lands Scheme?

A

Over 120,000

82
Q

Which areas were the focus of the Virgin Lands Scheme?

A

Siberia; Kazakhstan

83
Q

How many acres of land were brought under cultivation with considerable investment during the Virgin Lands Scheme?

A

6 million

84
Q

How did the incomes of farmers change between 1952-58?

A

Doubled- still remained far below those of industrial workers

85
Q

How did food production change between 1953-58?

A

Increased by 51%

86
Q

What was the first sign that the Virgin Lands Scheme was failing?

A

Target for grain production in Kazakhstan failed to be met in 1959

87
Q

What also didn’t help many areas cope with the poor harvest of 1963?

A

Poor roads; inadequate storage facilities

88
Q

What did the shortage from crop harvests under Khrushchev also have an impact on?

A

Supplies of animal fodder- millions of livestock were slaughtered as a consequence

89
Q

What was the ultimate sign of failure of Khrushchev’s agricultural policies?

A

USSR had to import grain from North America and Australia

90
Q

What happened to Khrushchev’s economic policies when he was dismissed as General Secretary?

A

His most contentious policies were abandoned, but otherwise economic policy remained much the same

91
Q

What did the new leadership do in 1965?

A

Abolished Regional Economic Councils set up by Khrushchev; placed more power back into the centre of the planning apparatus

92
Q

What happened to Gosplan under the new leadership of 1965?

A

Given greater powers of co-ordination- this system echoed Stalin’s and showed that influence lay with conservatives like Brezhnev

93
Q

Who was the Prime Minister in 1965?

A

Alexei Kosygin

94
Q

What did Alexei Kosygin launch in 1965?

A

Series of reforms that aimed to unleash creativity within the decision-making process and improve productivity

95
Q

Who did the ‘Kosygin reforms’ give incentives to?

A

Enterprise managers, to use their resources more productively

96
Q

How did Kosygin’s central planning system differ to Stalin’s?

A

Attempted to make central planning take more notice of cost and profit; rather than Stalinist focus on quantity

97
Q

Why were Kosygin’s reforms unsuccessful?

A

Officials who implemented them were often hostile

98
Q

Which reforms did central planners dislike?

A

Those that made them accountable for policies they had less control of

99
Q

Who was Kosygin sidelined by?

A

Brezhnev in 1968; given a role in foreign affairs

100
Q

What did the focus on bonuses for profit under Kosygin encourage?

A

Some enterprises to make fewer, more expensively-priced items; rather than mass produce cheaper necessities

101
Q

When was the system of targets further centralised under Brezhnev?

A

1974- new targets attempted to move away from merely using output figures to focus more on cost and profit

102
Q

What happened to Khrushchev’s agricultural policies under Brezhnev?

A

Reversed- power returned to the Ministry of Agriculture; Virgin Lands Scheme was dropped

103
Q

How much investment was in agriculture by 1976?

A

26%

104
Q

Which part of agriculture received particular attention under Brezhnev?

A

Fertilisers

105
Q

What were the results of Brezhnev’s economic policy?

A

Steady rise in overall production; accompanied by a steady decline in workers’ productivity

106
Q

What was Brezhnev’s agricultual workforce like?

A

Large; unskilled

107
Q

What was the result of Brezhnev’s failure of food production to meet demand and how was this gap met?

A

Shortage of foodstuffs available in state shops; made up by private production, as peasants sold their garden produce at private markets for considerably higher prices

108
Q

When was the price of food in markets double that of the food in state shops?

A

1978

109
Q

Under Brezhnev, how much of cultivated area was made up of private plots?

A

1%; but they were producing 25% of all produce

110
Q

What was one of the ways Brezhnev’s government attempted to increase productivity?

A

Brigade system was introduced- this allowed peasants on collectives to form work brigades that could decide how profit was used and distributed

111
Q

Why did signs that the brigade system was successful worry Party officials?

A

Feared a return to family farming- the experiment was abandoned

112
Q

What was a key sign of failure in Brezhnev’s economy?

A

Continued import of US wheat

113
Q

When was Andropov General Secretary?

A

1982-84

114
Q

What else did Andropov also wish to improve?

A

Labour discipline- this approach made him unpopular

115
Q

When was economic growth in the USSR in steady decline?

A

1980s

116
Q

What had growth been like in the 1950s?

A

7%

117
Q

What had growth been like in the 1960s?

A

5%

118
Q

What had growth been like in the 1970s?

A

3%

119
Q

By the 1980s, how much of the workforce was used by agriculture?

A

Over 25%

120
Q

Where does the power lie in a command economy?

A

Largely at the centre of the government apparatus

121
Q

Which areas of Soviet production had overtaken the USA by the end of the 1970s?

A

Steel; cement; oil; pig iron

122
Q

What did Brezhnev’s foreign policy do?

A

Increased intervention in the developing world

123
Q

When had the command economy performed well?

A

When the focus was on improving output of a limited number of products

124
Q

Why would ripping out the hedgerows and boundaries between farms make agriculture more efficient?

A

Larger units would make the use of machinery more viable and cost-effective

125
Q

What would the formation of collective farms create?

A

Economies of scale

126
Q

Contributing to collectivisation, when had state procurements been falling since?

A

1926

127
Q

What was Khrushchev genuinely committed to?

A

Raising priority of agriculture in the Soviet economy

128
Q

How were individual collectives given greater powers to make decisions at a local level under Khrushchev?

A

Flexibility over how directions from the Ministry of Agriculture were implemented was allowed

129
Q

What did Khrushchev do with the collectives?

A

Increased them in size, many becoming Agrogoroda that linked food production with food processing

130
Q

How effective were Khrushchev’s Agrogoroda?

A

Enabled much greater investment in agriculture to take place; rapid increase in mechanisation, fertilisers and irrigation

131
Q

What remained low under Khrushchev’s agricultural policies?

A

Productivity

132
Q

What did Brezhnev do to the ‘Kosygin Reforms’?

A

Sabotaged them, as he sympathised with the conservatives in the Party; reforms watered down to the point where they were ineffective

133
Q

When could the command economy not cope?

A

When continued growth depended on gains in quality and efficiency

134
Q

What were the key features of NEP in agriculture?

A

End to requisitioning replaced by taxation, allowing peasants to sell remaining food for profit; no forced programme of collectivisation meaning that the Mir would retain control of farming activities

135
Q

What is an example of one of the government’s hare-brained schemes which hindered the nation’s recovery from collectivisation?

A

Growing crops of a plant that allegedly produced rubber

136
Q

How were the Kazakhs affected by collectivisation?

A

Sheep flocks were virtually wiped out; typhus epidemic reduced the Kazakh population by 40%

137
Q

How many Soviet people were made homeless by WW2?

A

25 million

138
Q

What was the ‘Link system’?

A

Small groups of peasants were given responsibility for areas within the collective farm- as long as targets were met, peasants could sell the remainder for profit

139
Q

Who was put to work on the Virgin Lands Scheme?

A

Komsomol

140
Q

Why did the Virgin Lands Scheme fail in Kazakhstan?

A

Land was dry and only suitable for grazing; successful cash crops, such as cotton, were replaced by food crops in a ‘maize mania’- without irrigation the plants died

141
Q

How many Soviet people did the military-industrial complex employ?

A

30/150 million

A Level History (34 decks)

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