Dekulakization
Encyclopedia
Dekulakization was the Soviet
campaign of political repression
s, including arrests, deportation
s, and executions of millions of the better-off peasants and their families in 1929-1932. The richer peasants were labeled kulak
s and considered class enemies. More than 1.8 million peasants were deported in 1930-1931.
The stated purpose of the campaign was to fight the counter-revolution and build socialism
in the countryside. This policy was accomplished simultaneously with collectivization in the USSR and effectively brought all agriculture
and peasants in the Soviet Russia under state control.
The "liquidation of the kulak
s as a class
" was announced by Stalin on 27 December 1929. Stalin had said that "Now we have the opportunity to carry out a resolute offensive against the kulaks, break their resistance, eliminate them as a class
and replace their production with the production of kolkhozes and sovkhozes." The decision was formalized in a resolution "On measures for the elimination of kulak households in districts of comprehensive collectivization" on January 30, 1930. All kulaks were divided into three categories: (I) to be shot or imprisoned as decided by the local secret political police; (II) to be sent to Siberia
, North, the Urals or Kazahstan, after confiscation of their property; and (III) to be evicted
from their houses and used in labour colonies within their own districts. OGPU secret police chief, Efim Georgievich Evdokimov, (1891-1939) organized and supervised the roundup of peasants and the mass executions.
A combination of dekulakization, collectivization, and other repressive policies led to mass starvation in many parts of the Soviet Union
and the death of at least 14.5 million peasants in 1930-1937, including 5 million who died in Ukraine
during the Holodomor
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
campaign of political repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
s, including arrests, deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
s, and executions of millions of the better-off peasants and their families in 1929-1932. The richer peasants were labeled kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s and considered class enemies. More than 1.8 million peasants were deported in 1930-1931.
The stated purpose of the campaign was to fight the counter-revolution and build socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
in the countryside. This policy was accomplished simultaneously with collectivization in the USSR and effectively brought all agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and peasants in the Soviet Russia under state control.
The "liquidation of the kulak
Kulak
Kulaks were a category of relatively affluent peasants in the later Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and early Soviet Union...
s as a class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
" was announced by Stalin on 27 December 1929. Stalin had said that "Now we have the opportunity to carry out a resolute offensive against the kulaks, break their resistance, eliminate them as a class
Social class
Social classes are economic or cultural arrangements of groups in society. Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, economists, anthropologists and social historians. In the social sciences, social class is often discussed in terms of 'social stratification'...
and replace their production with the production of kolkhozes and sovkhozes." The decision was formalized in a resolution "On measures for the elimination of kulak households in districts of comprehensive collectivization" on January 30, 1930. All kulaks were divided into three categories: (I) to be shot or imprisoned as decided by the local secret political police; (II) to be sent to Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, North, the Urals or Kazahstan, after confiscation of their property; and (III) to be evicted
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
from their houses and used in labour colonies within their own districts. OGPU secret police chief, Efim Georgievich Evdokimov, (1891-1939) organized and supervised the roundup of peasants and the mass executions.
A combination of dekulakization, collectivization, and other repressive policies led to mass starvation in many parts of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the death of at least 14.5 million peasants in 1930-1937, including 5 million who died in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
during the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
.
See also
- Red TerrorRed TerrorThe Red Terror in Soviet Russia was the campaign of mass arrests and executions conducted by the Bolshevik government. In Soviet historiography, the Red Terror is described as having been officially announced on September 2, 1918 by Yakov Sverdlov and ended about October 1918...
- DecossackizationDecossackizationDecossackization is a term used to describe the Bolsheviks' policy of the systematic elimination of the Cossacks of the Don and the Kuban as a social and ethnic group...
- Population transfer in the Soviet UnionPopulation transfer in the Soviet UnionPopulation transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
- Involuntary settlements in the Soviet UnionInvoluntary settlements in the Soviet UnionForced settlements in the Soviet Union took several forms. Though the most notorious was the Gulag labor camp system of penal labor, resettling of entire categories of population was another method of political repression implemented by the Soviet Union. At the same time, involuntary settlement...