GCSE · History · AQA · Spec 8145

Collectivisation

Between 1928 and 1933 the Soviet state more than doubled the grain it collected. Yet in 1932–33 famine killed up to 10 million people. How can both be true?

Weigh it up

Did collectivisation transform Soviet farming?

The claim

Collectivisation successfully transformed Soviet agriculture.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

In 1927 just 1% of Soviet farms were collectivised. By 1939 the figure was 96%.
Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Total grain production fell. Until 1940, the Soviet Union produced less grain than it had in 1914.
Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
The grain secured by the state rose every year from 1928 to 1933, from 10.8 million to 22.6 million tonnes.
Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Roughly half of the tractors produced for collective farms soon broke down.
Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
Only 7,000 tractors were in use in 1927. During the 1930s, collective farms were supplied with 120,000.
Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence
In 1932–33 there was famine, especially in Ukraine, where it is known as the Holodomor. Up to 10 million people died.
Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?SupportsChallenges
Strong evidence

Exam line: In a 'how far' answer, the strongest judgement says which side outweighs the other — and names the piece of evidence that tips it.

Stalin's problem

How modern was Soviet farming in 1927?

The USA, with a similar population, had about half a million tractors. How many tractors were in use in the USSR in 1927?

Your estimate

250000 tractors

The USA, with a similar population, had about half a million tractors. How many tractors were in use in the USSR in 1927? Estimate between 0 tractors and 500000 tractors.

0 tractors500000 tractors

The plan

Reason it through

How was collectivisation supposed to fix Soviet farming?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Start in 1927. How was most of the land farmed?

Locked — reveal the link above first

Before and after

Before (1927)vsAfter (by 1939)

Compare each row across. Which changes are about organisation, and which are about results?

Focus

How farms were organised

Before (1927)

Mostly small individual plots, farmed by peasants

After (by 1939)

Large collective farms

The insight

This is the change the policy was named for — the land of many peasants merged into one farm.

Farms collectivised

Before (1927)

After (by 1939)

96%

Machinery

Before (1927)

Handheld tools; 7,000 tractors in use

After (by 1939)

120,000 tractors supplied during the 1930s

Getting grain to the state

Before (1927)

1927–28 grain crisis: collections missed the target by 2 million tonnes

After (by 1939)

The state's grain rose every year from 1928 to 1933

Why it mattered to Stalin

Before (1927)

An economy he claimed was 50 to 100 years behind Britain and the USA — leaving the USSR at risk of attack

After (by 1939)

Farming reorganised alongside the five-year plans for industry: his two policies to modernise the economy

The grain paradox

More grain for the state. More food for people?

Between 1928 and 1933 the grain secured by the Soviet state rose every single year — from 10.8 million tonnes to 22.6 million tonnes.

So what happened to the food people had? Pick the idea closest to what you think.

There was more food — the state was getting more than twice as much grain.There was more food, because the new tractors made the farms grow more.There was less food: the state took more grain while less was being grown.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

There was more food — the state was getting more than twice as much grain.

This is a common misconception

That's the trap. Those figures measure how much grain the STATE took, not how much was grown. Total grain production fell: until 1940 the Soviet Union produced less than it had in 1914, largely because peasants resisted collectivisation. The state's share grew while the harvest shrank.

There was more food, because the new tractors made the farms grow more.

This is a common misconception

The tractors did arrive — 120,000 of them during the 1930s — but roughly half soon broke down, and total grain production still stayed below its 1914 level until 1940. More machines did not add up to more grain.

There was less food: the state took more grain while less was being grown.

This matches the evidence

Exactly. Two figures moving in opposite directions: the state took more, while total production fell. Less was left for everyone else. The result was serious food shortages and famine, especially in Ukraine in 1932–33, where it is known as the Holodomor — Ukrainian for 'death by hunger'. Up to 10 million people died.

The state's grain going up and the country's grain going down is not a contradiction. Put those two figures together and you have the famine.

Your turn

Write your judgement

How far did collectivisation change Soviet agriculture? Write one short paragraph on what changed, one on what did not improve, and finish with your judgement. [6 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

Shows how the way farms were run changed, backed by a precise figure. (1 mark)
Shows a second change — in machinery, or in the grain the state secured — backed by a precise figure. (1 mark)
Shows that food production did not improve, with a date or figure to prove it. (1 mark)
Gives a second limit — poor-quality machinery or the famine — with supporting detail. (1 mark)
Explains WHY production fell or why people went hungry, not just that they did. (1 mark)
Ends with a judgement that answers 'how far' directly and says what kind of change it was. (1 mark)

Model answer

In one way the change was enormous. Almost every farm in the USSR had been collectivised by 1939, when in 1927 hardly any had been, and the countryside that had worked with hand tools was supplied with more than a hundred thousand tractors. The state also secured far more grain, just as it had wanted. Yet Soviet farms were not producing more. Peasants resisted, and until 1940 the country grew less grain than it had before the First World War. Many of the new machines were badly made and quickly stopped working. Because the state kept taking more from a shrinking harvest, the result was serious food shortages and famine — worst of all the Holodomor in Ukraine. My judgement: agriculture changed a great deal in how it was organised and controlled, but hardly at all in how much food it produced. It was a change in control rather than a modernisation.

Change and improvement are different things. Collectivisation delivered plenty of the first and very little of the second.

Exam line: A judgement earns its credit when it separates what changed from what improved.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Stalin took control of Soviet farming. The state got more grain. So why did people starve?

What you need to know

Collectivisation reorganised Soviet farming: small individual peasant farms were replaced by large, modernised collective farms.
Why: Stalin claimed the economy was 50 to 100 years behind countries such as Britain and the USA, which seemed to leave the USSR at risk of attack. Farming was still done by hand — 7,000 tractors in 1927 against about half a million in the USA — and in 1927–28 the government missed its grain targets by 2 million tonnes.
The plan: big farms could use tractors and grow more food, and the state could take a fixed amount of grain from each farm to feed industrial workers in the towns. It ran alongside the five-year plans for industry.
What changed: collectivisation began in 1928 and was forced on peasants by the Red Army and the secret police. 1% of farms were collectivised in 1927; 96% by 1939. Collective farms were supplied with 120,000 tractors in the 1930s.
What went wrong: roughly half those tractors soon broke down. Total grain production fell — below its 1914 level until 1940 — largely because peasants resisted. The state took more while less was grown, causing famine, especially in Ukraine in 1932–33 (the Holodomor).

The big picture

From 1928 Stalin forced collectivisation on Soviet farming: peasants' small plots were merged into large collective farms, meant to use tractors, grow more food and hand the state a fixed amount of grain for the towns. It transformed how farming was organised — 96% of farms were collective by 1939 — and the state's grain rose every year to 1933. But total grain production fell, staying below its 1914 level until 1940, and roughly half the new tractors soon broke down. The state took more while less was grown, and the result was famine — worst in Ukraine in 1932–33, the Holodomor.

Key points

1Collectivisation = small peasant plots merged into large collective farms.

2Stalin's aims: modern machinery, more food, and a fixed grain supply for the towns.

3Forced through from 1928 by the Red Army and the secret police.

4Organisation transformed: 1% collectivised in 1927, 96% by 1939.

5State grain up every year, 1928–33 (10.8 → 22.6 million tonnes) — but total grain production down until 1940.

6More taken + less grown = famine, 1932–33, worst in Ukraine: the Holodomor.

.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-step]{display:flex !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-solution]{display:block !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-reveal]{display:none !important}

Worked example

Problem

'Collective farms were supplied with 120,000 tractors during the 1930s.' Does this show that collectivisation modernised Soviet farming?

⚠ Watch out

Reading 'grain secured by the state' as 'grain grown'. The state's share rose from 10.8 to 22.6 million tonnes between 1928 and 1933, but the total harvest fell. Treat those two figures as the same thing and a famine starts to look like a success.

🧠

Memory hook

Two arrows pointing opposite ways: the STATE'S grain went up, the COUNTRY'S grain went down. The space between those arrows is where the famine happened.

✓

Check yourself

Cover the page. Name one thing collectivisation changed completely and one thing it made worse — and back each one with a figure.

Flashcards

(14)

What was collectivisation?

The policy that reorganised Soviet farming into large, modernised collective farms, replacing small individual peasant farms.

How far behind did Stalin claim the Soviet economy was — and why did that worry him?

50 to 100 years behind countries such as Britain and the USA. A backward economy seemed to leave the USSR at risk of attack.

How was most Soviet farming done in 1927?

By peasants on small plots of land, using handheld tools, with very little machinery.

Tractors in use in 1927: USSR vs USA?

USSR: only 7,000. USA (a similar population): about half a million.

What was the grain crisis of 1927–28?

The government missed its grain collection targets by 2 million tonnes.

What were Stalin's two key policies from 1928 to modernise the economy?

Collectivisation (for agriculture) and rapid industrialisation through the five-year plans.

Why group peasants' land into large collective farms?

So farms were big enough to use modern machinery such as tractors, which would help increase food production.

How many tractors did analysts estimate the USSR needed to modernise its farming fully?

250,000.

Why did the state want a fixed amount of grain from each collective farm?

To feed industrial workers in the towns and cities.

How did peasants react to collectivisation, and how did Stalin respond?

Most disliked working on collective farms. Stalin used the Red Army and the secret police to force them to collectivise.

What share of Soviet farms were collectivised in 1927 and in 1939?

1% in 1927; 96% by 1939.

How much grain did the Soviet state secure in 1928 and in 1933?

10.8 million tonnes in 1928, rising every year to 22.6 million tonnes in 1933.

What happened to total Soviet grain production after collectivisation?

It fell. Until 1940 it was lower than in 1914, largely because of peasant resistance to collectivisation.

What was the Holodomor?

The famine in Ukraine in 1932–33 — Ukrainian for 'death by hunger'. Up to 10 million people died.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

Learning with Lightbulb is opening soon

You can use this lesson now. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know when the full Lightbulb experience is ready.

Keep me posted

Did collectivisation transform Soviet farming?

How modern was Soviet farming in 1927?

More grain for the state. More food for people?

Write your judgement

More AQA GCSE History topics