The Wall Between Two Gardens
“Dizzy from Success” written by Joseph Stalin and published March twelfth 1930 in Pravda magazine was written in response to wide spread peasant-protest against the program of collectivization as well as Dekulakization, and served as an offering of negotiation to the peasants that the proper intentions of the program in which the government initiated collectivization were not conveyed properly by local officials. In order to better understand soviet society, the historical pre conditions in which the letter was to be written must first be examined. Those conditions being that the failure of collectivization attributed because of a weak level of education within local officials, as well as a weak soviet state trying to drive for extreme economic success in such a short period of time. Also the effects of class must also be examined in the area of Dekulakization, which resulted in famine, the relocation of millions of Russian peasants, as well as the death of over fourteen and a half million peasants in the years ranging from nineteen thirty to nineteen thirty-seven.
An industrialized society cannot exist without nationwide schooling and education as a top priority in which the youth are able to run the state once of age. Stalin makes note in his letter that the men put into power to implement Stalin’s five-year-plan did not so effectively, due to the fact that they lacked the education to properly implement collectivization. Before the revolution formal schooling had become more common among the peasantry, however this is not to say for higher education. The average education consisted of simple basic skills and lacked the requirements for running a states government. “In 1927 less than one-percent of communists had completed higher level education.”(Fitzpatrick 378) With this many uneducated officials, the implementation of correct policy became skewed, and collectivization became known as a second coming of serfdom. Stalin makes note in his article that collective farms should not be established by force, but rather by voluntary action. Misguided officials however choose to enforce collectivization with violence as seen with the atrocities committed against the Kulaks. With this “Rebellion engulfed the countryside resulting in some thirteen-thousand riots with over two million participants in nineteen-thirty.”(Viola 4) With the state on the verge of anarchy Stalin had to take into account if the party really understood what they were doing. With this Stalin realized that in order to temporarily relieve pressure from the party and help restore order, collectivization had to be slowed in which is his main topic in “Dizzy from Success”.
The second issue was that do to the failures of collectivization, the central soviet state had become weakened which required Stalin to compose “Dizzy from Success” as a negotiation tool with the masses. Violence and crime increased rapidly during the early nineteen-thirty’s, which indicated that sufficient security was lacking in the soviet state as well as poverty was rising dramatically. Under pressure “along with Stalin’s article came the pause of collectivization until the summer of 1930.” (Siegelbaum 46) Afterword peasants began to leave the collective farms driving down productivity around twenty percent. Housing percentages decreased from 57.2% to 38.6% in one month, hitting an all time low of 21.5% by September of 1930. (Viola 28) Another issue that attributed to the rise and failure of collectivization was that of the crisis of nineteen-twenty-eight. Stalin claimed that the Kulaks had hoarded a majority of the grain supplies supposed to be given by the state in order to drive up prices, instead the government moved to enforce an emergency to help reacquire lost grain. As a result Stalin closed the open market and instilled collectivism as the primary source of agriculture. Stalin then turned his power the Kulaks, as he needed a scapegoat to use for his reasoning behind the mass shift in agricultural policy.
The genocides of the Kulaks began with the beginning of collectivism in which Stalin ended Lenin’s N.E.P (New Economic Policy) program in which he stated that “The pause has finished, and we are returning to socialism and communism.”(Lewis, Whitehead 61) The Kulaks, being the wealthiest of the peasant cast had no interests in this new economic policy. Stalin’s goal with collectivization was to seize all farmland and socialize it in order to increase grain productions, yet this violated the precedent that had been set in 1861 when serfdom was abolished and land was redistributed to the peasants. Essentially the government wanted to become the landlords and have the peasants sell their grain to the government for an unfair price. Within the beginning months of 1929 the majority or soviet peasantry was forcible collectivized and sent to work. Due to even further resistance Stalin implemented his policy of Dekulakization in which he intended to scatter the Kulaks along the collective farms without consent. Further resistance followed and “Some forms of resistance included stealing, ignoring instructions, refusal to sow the field and overall sluggishness.” (Fitzpatrick 5) As a result Stalin made it his top priority to eliminate the Kulaks as a class all together. Yet like collectivization the policy was enacted too far in which the government allowed Dekulakization to border genocides. Stalin claimed that the harsh conditions of collectivization lie within the officials that enforce the law. Even so by “February first 1931 31.7% of all households in the USSR were collective farms.”(Viola 27) in response to the Kulak’s protest the soviet government decided that one hundred and fifty thousand Kulaks were to be removed from the soviet state and relocated to areas such as Siberia and Kazakhstan, where as another half million were to be relocated within their own districts. (27-29) This issue gives insight that Joseph Stalin did not have absolute control over his government, he was unable to control his officials, which lead to poor treatment of the Kulaks as well as the death of millions. Although during the drive between 1929-1930 showed an increase in productivity the way in which success was achieved was not the way in which the government had intended they were ill prepared and the process had been pushed far beyond the limits in which it could operate smoothly.
It should be clear that polices in which collectivization was implemented were ultimately destructive and damaging to the soviet economy as well its citizens. Yet the blame is not to be put on simply one man. The failures of his advisors as well as party members and officials attributed to the failure of the system. Persecution and terror tactics used on the Kulaks and lower peasantry to enforce the system of collectivism were a direct result of the failures of party members and local officials to enforce the system correctly. The fact that these men were not thoroughly educated enough gives light to the fact that they could not understand their order directly and implement the policies the way in which Joseph Stalin had intended they be done. The weakness of the soviet state also creates that issue that the government did not possess the power to implement its policies correctly which created mass peasant protest and unrest. Finally the relocation and genocides of the Kulaks created animosity between the peasantry and the soviet states which in turn lead to unpopular view of collectivism and the destruction of the soviet’s agricultural economy. In so Joseph Stalin’s “Dizzy from Success” was an act of ceasefire between the peasantry and the soviet states as they saw collectivism was a failure in total, and needed to address reworking the states agricultural policy. Collectivization was a clash of cultures. It threatened all that the peasants had to live for whether it be their traditions, institutions, or way of life Joseph Stalin had no room for it in his state. Stalin’s letter to the masses gives only a glimpse of peasant government relationships into what life in Soviet Union was truly like. It’s clear though that the leadership was far from perfect, and tried to achieve what was accomplished in one hundred years in only ten. The fault is not the direct result of one mans mission, but of him and his party as a unit.
An industrialized society cannot exist without nationwide schooling and education as a top priority in which the youth are able to run the state once of age. Stalin makes note in his letter that the men put into power to implement Stalin’s five-year-plan did not so effectively, due to the fact that they lacked the education to properly implement collectivization. Before the revolution formal schooling had become more common among the peasantry, however this is not to say for higher education. The average education consisted of simple basic skills and lacked the requirements for running a states government. “In 1927 less than one-percent of communists had completed higher level education.”(Fitzpatrick 378) With this many uneducated officials, the implementation of correct policy became skewed, and collectivization became known as a second coming of serfdom. Stalin makes note in his article that collective farms should not be established by force, but rather by voluntary action. Misguided officials however choose to enforce collectivization with violence as seen with the atrocities committed against the Kulaks. With this “Rebellion engulfed the countryside resulting in some thirteen-thousand riots with over two million participants in nineteen-thirty.”(Viola 4) With the state on the verge of anarchy Stalin had to take into account if the party really understood what they were doing. With this Stalin realized that in order to temporarily relieve pressure from the party and help restore order, collectivization had to be slowed in which is his main topic in “Dizzy from Success”.
The second issue was that do to the failures of collectivization, the central soviet state had become weakened which required Stalin to compose “Dizzy from Success” as a negotiation tool with the masses. Violence and crime increased rapidly during the early nineteen-thirty’s, which indicated that sufficient security was lacking in the soviet state as well as poverty was rising dramatically. Under pressure “along with Stalin’s article came the pause of collectivization until the summer of 1930.” (Siegelbaum 46) Afterword peasants began to leave the collective farms driving down productivity around twenty percent. Housing percentages decreased from 57.2% to 38.6% in one month, hitting an all time low of 21.5% by September of 1930. (Viola 28) Another issue that attributed to the rise and failure of collectivization was that of the crisis of nineteen-twenty-eight. Stalin claimed that the Kulaks had hoarded a majority of the grain supplies supposed to be given by the state in order to drive up prices, instead the government moved to enforce an emergency to help reacquire lost grain. As a result Stalin closed the open market and instilled collectivism as the primary source of agriculture. Stalin then turned his power the Kulaks, as he needed a scapegoat to use for his reasoning behind the mass shift in agricultural policy.
The genocides of the Kulaks began with the beginning of collectivism in which Stalin ended Lenin’s N.E.P (New Economic Policy) program in which he stated that “The pause has finished, and we are returning to socialism and communism.”(Lewis, Whitehead 61) The Kulaks, being the wealthiest of the peasant cast had no interests in this new economic policy. Stalin’s goal with collectivization was to seize all farmland and socialize it in order to increase grain productions, yet this violated the precedent that had been set in 1861 when serfdom was abolished and land was redistributed to the peasants. Essentially the government wanted to become the landlords and have the peasants sell their grain to the government for an unfair price. Within the beginning months of 1929 the majority or soviet peasantry was forcible collectivized and sent to work. Due to even further resistance Stalin implemented his policy of Dekulakization in which he intended to scatter the Kulaks along the collective farms without consent. Further resistance followed and “Some forms of resistance included stealing, ignoring instructions, refusal to sow the field and overall sluggishness.” (Fitzpatrick 5) As a result Stalin made it his top priority to eliminate the Kulaks as a class all together. Yet like collectivization the policy was enacted too far in which the government allowed Dekulakization to border genocides. Stalin claimed that the harsh conditions of collectivization lie within the officials that enforce the law. Even so by “February first 1931 31.7% of all households in the USSR were collective farms.”(Viola 27) in response to the Kulak’s protest the soviet government decided that one hundred and fifty thousand Kulaks were to be removed from the soviet state and relocated to areas such as Siberia and Kazakhstan, where as another half million were to be relocated within their own districts. (27-29) This issue gives insight that Joseph Stalin did not have absolute control over his government, he was unable to control his officials, which lead to poor treatment of the Kulaks as well as the death of millions. Although during the drive between 1929-1930 showed an increase in productivity the way in which success was achieved was not the way in which the government had intended they were ill prepared and the process had been pushed far beyond the limits in which it could operate smoothly.
It should be clear that polices in which collectivization was implemented were ultimately destructive and damaging to the soviet economy as well its citizens. Yet the blame is not to be put on simply one man. The failures of his advisors as well as party members and officials attributed to the failure of the system. Persecution and terror tactics used on the Kulaks and lower peasantry to enforce the system of collectivism were a direct result of the failures of party members and local officials to enforce the system correctly. The fact that these men were not thoroughly educated enough gives light to the fact that they could not understand their order directly and implement the policies the way in which Joseph Stalin had intended they be done. The weakness of the soviet state also creates that issue that the government did not possess the power to implement its policies correctly which created mass peasant protest and unrest. Finally the relocation and genocides of the Kulaks created animosity between the peasantry and the soviet states which in turn lead to unpopular view of collectivism and the destruction of the soviet’s agricultural economy. In so Joseph Stalin’s “Dizzy from Success” was an act of ceasefire between the peasantry and the soviet states as they saw collectivism was a failure in total, and needed to address reworking the states agricultural policy. Collectivization was a clash of cultures. It threatened all that the peasants had to live for whether it be their traditions, institutions, or way of life Joseph Stalin had no room for it in his state. Stalin’s letter to the masses gives only a glimpse of peasant government relationships into what life in Soviet Union was truly like. It’s clear though that the leadership was far from perfect, and tried to achieve what was accomplished in one hundred years in only ten. The fault is not the direct result of one mans mission, but of him and his party as a unit.
Primary Source: "Dizzy from Success"
The source, “Dizzy from Success” was written by Joseph Stalin and first published in a popular Soviet magazine Pravda on March 2nd 1930 in response to wide spread peasant-protests against the program of collectivism. The article begins with the listing of all of the achievements of collectivism, and praising its progress for achieving so much in such little time. Stalin continues in saying that collectivization should now be implemented on a voluntary basis, as to not further upset the peasants, which would eventually allow the process to come to a temporary halt as the Russians had already produced the necessary grain supplies. Stalin also mentions the failures of policy regarding collectivization in regard to his officials. Stalin claims that his officials had not had the proper training and sufficient education to implement his five-year plan resulting in some of the failures in collectivization. It’s fair to conclude that the mandate from the letter lead people to question local officials who ran collectivization in their little sect of the country. This therefore allowed many peasants to leave collective farms, and resume their traditional farming styles.
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Siegalbaum, Lewis and Sokolov, Andrei. Stalinism as a Way of Life: A Narrative in
Documents. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. Pg (46)
Stalin, Joseph “Dizzy from Success”. Pravda, No. 60, March 2, 1930. Translation from J. V. Stalin, Works, Vol. 12, pp. 197-205, Foreign Languages Publishing House: Moscow, 1955.
Secondary Sources:
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. Stalin's Peasants: Resistance and Survival in the Russian Village after Collectivization. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. N. pag. Print. Pgs (5, 378)
Lewis, Jonathan and Whitehead, Phillip. Stalin: A Time for Judgement. New York:
Random House, 1990. Pg (61)
Viola, Lynne. Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. N. pag. Print. Pgs (4, 27-30)
"О ликвидации кулачества как класса." О ликвидации кулачества как класса. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Siegalbaum, Lewis and Sokolov, Andrei. Stalinism as a Way of Life: A Narrative in
Documents. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000. Pg (46)
Stalin, Joseph “Dizzy from Success”. Pravda, No. 60, March 2, 1930. Translation from J. V. Stalin, Works, Vol. 12, pp. 197-205, Foreign Languages Publishing House: Moscow, 1955.
Secondary Sources:
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. Stalin's Peasants: Resistance and Survival in the Russian Village after Collectivization. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. N. pag. Print. Pgs (5, 378)
Lewis, Jonathan and Whitehead, Phillip. Stalin: A Time for Judgement. New York:
Random House, 1990. Pg (61)
Viola, Lynne. Peasant Rebels under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance. New York: Oxford UP, 1996. N. pag. Print. Pgs (4, 27-30)
"О ликвидации кулачества как класса." О ликвидации кулачества как класса. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
The clip above gives an excellent overview of why Stalin imposed collectivism upon the USSR, and to what his true intentions were. The clip also gives oversight into the famine that plagued the soviet countryside as well as satellite states that caused the deaths of millions of innocent civilians.
This image of a man sowing the fields is what a normal peasant in ether the USSR or in neighboring soviet satellites states would be doing during their day. By examining his his attire and facial expressions the hardships that most Russian peasants faced were quite severe.
Even children during the era of collectivism suffered greatly do not having access to adequate food supplies. These kids are literally skin and bone.
Similar to the above the famine of 1932-1933 in the Ukraine, and persecution of millions of peasants left many to starve to death. The era of collectivization even though it showed a spike in soviet economic growth left a devastating toll on its population.