To what extent was collectivisation a success for the Communist Party?
There are many different factors, caused by collectivisation, which could be seen as things that were overall successes for the Communist party because of things like the Gulags which helped industrialise Russia to where it was the most industrialised state at the start of the Second World War. It also helped Stalin gain control of the party by defeating his rivals on the right. On the other hand, collectivisation had many disastrous effects for the Communist Party, such as the great famines that killed millions of people.
Stalin’s personal and political gains were one of the greatest successes for the Communist Party that came from collectivisation. For a start, the idea of collectivisation was in direct opposition to his, now, rivals on the right in Bukharin, Tomsky and Ryhkov. Stalin adopted the idea of rapid industrialisation and getting there by force (the ideas of the left, of whom he just defeated) and in 1928 attacked the right wing. The right had a strong defence but in the Party Congress of 1929, Stalin came out on top and absolutely crushed Bukharin’s NEP and also, removing him, Ryhkov and Tomsky from the Politburo making sure they were no longer a threat. Furthermore, by 1930, over 60% of the farms were collectivised and in the elimination of the Kulaks, the Communist Party were on their way to becoming a true socialist state. However, the work effort by the peasantry on the whole was very small and this can be seen by the private areas of land given to the peasants, because there was a higher percentage of products grown on the small private plots of land compared to the big areas of collectivised farms. This in turn shows the overall positive outcome collectivisation had for Stalin and the political aspects.
In terms of social aspects, collectivisation had many different effects for the Communist Party in that there were as many negative aspects as there were negative aspects. Firstly, the Gulags which were introduced. During the time of
Stalin’s personal and political gains were one of the greatest successes for the Communist Party that came from collectivisation. For a start, the idea of collectivisation was in direct opposition to his, now, rivals on the right in Bukharin, Tomsky and Ryhkov. Stalin adopted the idea of rapid industrialisation and getting there by force (the ideas of the left, of whom he just defeated) and in 1928 attacked the right wing. The right had a strong defence but in the Party Congress of 1929, Stalin came out on top and absolutely crushed Bukharin’s NEP and also, removing him, Ryhkov and Tomsky from the Politburo making sure they were no longer a threat. Furthermore, by 1930, over 60% of the farms were collectivised and in the elimination of the Kulaks, the Communist Party were on their way to becoming a true socialist state. However, the work effort by the peasantry on the whole was very small and this can be seen by the private areas of land given to the peasants, because there was a higher percentage of products grown on the small private plots of land compared to the big areas of collectivised farms. This in turn shows the overall positive outcome collectivisation had for Stalin and the political aspects.
In terms of social aspects, collectivisation had many different effects for the Communist Party in that there were as many negative aspects as there were negative aspects. Firstly, the Gulags which were introduced. During the time of