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“Kulak” and Food Crisis During the Civil War in Soviet Russia

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“Kulak” and Food Crisis During the Civil War in Soviet Russia ISSN 1712-8056[Print] Canadian Social Science ISSN 1923-6697[Online] Vol. 11, No. 3, 2015, pp. 96-100 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/6396 www.cscanada.org “Kulak” and Food Crisis During the Civil War in Soviet Russia LAN Jiang[a],*; ZHOU Dehua[b] a]Associate Professor, History and Culture College, China West Normal turned blind eye to food shortages of urban or the front- University, Nanchong, China. line troop boycotted it. Thus, Lenin thought “kulak” must [b]Postgraduate, World History Major, History and Culture College, China West Normal University, Nanchong, China. be “responsible” for the situation that urban workers and *Corresponding author. the frontline army soldiers had caught in starvation, and also must pay the price for their “sins”. Received 16 January 2015; accepted 14 February 2015 Published online 26 March 2015 1. CONCEPTIONS: “KULAK” AND Abstract “PROSPERING PEASANT” Food crisis was a very serious issue during the Civil War in Soviet Russia, which was mainly due to the revolt or Foremost, what was the Soviet kulak and prospering resistance of the kulak in the countryside of Soviet Russia. peasant, and also the distinction of the two conceptions, To some extent, “Kulak” allowed the hunger situation this is the basis of this research. in some regions of the Soviet Russia to go unchecked, Who was the Soviet kulak? For this question, some which was believed to be a very severe threat for the new Scholars of domestic and international Academia have Soviet regime. Therefore, to eradicate the menace, the made a full and accurate investigation. In my opinion, Bolsheviks led by Lenin adopted the policy of the resolute “kulak” is the one who was declared to be kulak by repression and deprivation of the kulak. As a matter of the authorities, which is a very vague term that anyone fact, in a word, according to the logic of the Bolsheviks, perhaps could be included. kulak was the culprit that engendered the famine, so kulak In nature, it could be roughly divided into two must be responsible for it, and kulak must pay the bill. distinct stages from June 1918 to the early 1930s: Firstly, Key words: Kulak; Food crisis; The civil war; Soviet from June 1918 to March 1921, Lenin believed those Russia who food (including newly harvested grain) doubled or more doubled than their own consumption (family Lan, J., & Zhou, D. (2015). “Kulak” and Food Crisis During the Civil rations, livestock feed, and seeds) could be regarded as War in Soviet Russia. Canadian Social Science, 11(3), 96-100. Available prospering peasants. (The Compilation and Translation from: http://www.cscanada.net/index.php/css/article/view/6396 Bureau of Marx, Para. 7, 1987, Vol.35, p. 28) Those who DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/6396 did not hand over their surplus grain must be repressed and deprived in the name of “enemies of the people”; Secondly, From the Middle and Late 1920s to the early 1930s, despite the Bolshevik introduced some relevant INTRODUCTION documents (i.e., the criteria for classification about After the October Revolution of Russia in 1917, food kulak) for assessing the “kulak”, but the content was so crisis tended to be serious in Soviet Russia. It evolved ambiguous that this concept was rather like the definition into a great famine in the spring of 1918, which had been of “saboteur”, which could include every person: a recurrent issue. For resolving the food crisis, winning Poor and middle peasants, peasants with large families (and the internal and external war, and then consolidating the therefore greater land or other resources), the families of Red nascent Soviet regime, the Bolshevik led by Lenin had army soldiers and industrial workers, members of the rural declared “food supply dictatorship”. However, the kulak intelligentsia (i.e., teachers, agronomists, doctors), byvshie liudi Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 96 LAN Jiang; ZHOU Dehua (2015). Canadian Social Science, 11(3), 96-100 (literally former people—notables from the old regime), and appropriation system” , because the first half of this word anyone who dared to object.” (Lynne Viola, 2007, p.36) (i.e., прод) is the abbreviation of “food”, and the later Who was the Soviet prospering peasant? After the part of it (i.e., разверстка) is equivalent to “distribution October Revolution of Russia in 1917, the “kulak” (i.e., or apportionment”. (Xu, 2011, p.47) Then, what was prospering peasant) was those who had developed into the “food appropriation system”? It was an economic the “wealthy peasant” within the principles of the “New policy that the entire surplus grain belonged to the Economic Policy”, let alone previously the individual had Soviet government who stipulated the price of grain and been the inferior kulak, middle peasants or poor peasants. prohibited all private sale of grain. A scholar pointed out that the source of the stratum of Why the grain crisis occurred? As for Lenin’s view, it prospering peasants consisted of three parts in the Era of was mainly due to the revolt or resistance of “food supply “New Economic Policy”: dictatorship” from the kulak in the village, although (a). Inferior kulak in pre-revolution or those who be called “tiny Soviet Russia “just inherited a collapse and severe kulak”. As are relatively adept in managements, they can rapidly economic destruction.” (The Compilation and Translation rebuild their own economy and get developing in the extent Bureau of Marx, para.7, 1987, Vol.34. p.342) permitted by law; (b) The estate of middle peasants; (c)Poor As Lenin pointed out, food crisis of urban was peasants.” (Liu & Jin, 1990, p.179) increasingly severe, which was due to “the condition that As to the distinction between the kulak and prospering kulak attacked on the urban region, Soviet regime, poor peasant, the Academic of domestic and foreign agreed that peasants got rampant, and more frenzied.” (Ibid.) the “kulak” was not the same as “prospering peasants”, Moreover, “kulak” resisted the Soviet regime by “not even though generally speaking of the kulak which has turning over food to the Soviet government, in addition already included the prospering peasant. In fact, the to the use of weapons.” (Ibid.) Wherein, so-called “not kulaks and wealthy peasants had constantly been confused turning over food” and “weapons” mean that: Firstly, the as a concept, and put as a political conception in any kulaks and prospering peasants protested “food supply event. Generally speaking, the term “kulak” is more dictatorship” who were unwilling to sell grain to the attribute of politics, but “prospering peasant” is more of Soviet government at a fixed low price; They acceded to an economic characteristic. Consequently, both of which the revolt by force which the oppositions organized in should be treated diversely, although the former more or many domestic grain producing regions. less contains a certain degree of economic component Kulaks and wealthy peasants (For the convenience (The term kulak dates to at least the middle of nineteenth of discussion, both hereinafter referred to as “kulak”.) century, when peasants and educated Russian used it to possessed surplus grain, but were reluctant to sell grain describe the most prospering peasants in the village). to the Soviet government at a regular price, and also (Cathy A. Frierson, Semen Samuilovich Vilenskiĭ, 2010, engaged in the speculative trade of food, which to some p.34) extent allowed the hunger situation of the urban workers, poor peasants, agricultural workers, frontline troops to go 2. “KULAK” WAS FORCED TO TAKE unchecked. In Lenin’s opinion, the reason of famine was not due to inadequate grain in Soviet Russia, but because THE BLAME FOR FAMINE the bourgeoisie and all the wealthy (including rich man, “Bread”—Food as one of three slogans (the other two kulak in rural areas) made a final struggle with the Soviet are “Peace” and “Land”) of the October Revolution of regime on the most important and most acute problem Russia in 1917, which illustrated the Bolshevik put an (i.e., commissariat). Breaching the monopoly of grain, emphasis on grain issue. Food collection mainly served the distribution methods of provision, the fixed price, and the front-line military and satisfied the need of urban executing the speculation. residents. Actually the tsarist and the interim government Lenin considered that although the Soviet government had taken such as fixed-price, deprivation, brute-strength, actualized “food supply dictatorship” which had been food monopoly, and other means for endeavoring to expressly stipulated by the law in Soviet Russia, effectively resolve food crisis, but its’ effectiveness was insignificant. it was suffered the destruction of the bourgeoisie and all Therefore, the Bolsheviks took over this heavy legacy the rich: from the former administration. the rich man, kulak, tyrant had oppressed the people of village for For the watchword “Peace” and “Land”, “Decree several decades in the countryside, and now preferred to rely on on Peace” and “Land Statute” was promulgated by speculation, illegally brewing wine to profit, the justification was the Soviet government, but no ordinance for the motto that it could make them get rich. As for bringing about the sin of “Bread”. If any, “surplus collection system” (i.e., “food supply dictatorship”) may be an edict. In fact, the Russian famine, they pushed it to the Soviet regime. (Ibid., Vol.34, p.336) word “продразверстка” is not be translated as “surplus “Kulak” who partook in the speculative trade of collection system”, an accurate translation should be “food grain could “earn one hundred, two hundred, or even 97 Copyright © Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture “Kulak” and Food Crisis During the Civil War in Soviet Russia more rubles per pood.” (Ibid., Vol.34, p.334) The Soviet In summary, Lenin believed it was an inextricable government set a fixed price of 6 rubles per pood on relation between famine and “kulak”.
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