In addition to a whole host of organizational shortcomings accompanying the work of wholesale collectivization in the Central Black Earth Oblast, the extremely flagrant violations committed by brigades sent to the countryside merit special attention. The most striking cases of this kind took place in Usman Okrug. A brigade comprised of 11 people that arrived in Anna Raion literally terrorized the population: prior to the start of a meeting on collectivization at the Zhelannoe village soviet, brigade leader Tatarinsky (a member of the VKP) declared, “If anybody talks a lot, we will not consider him, whether he is in a skirt or trousers, we'll tie him up and send him where he belongs.” The next day another member of the brigade in the same village said to the meeting: “We haven't tied up anybody yet, but I've brought enough rope for 20 people.” Before the meeting opened, 7 people who had been collecting signatures for the release of a group of arrestees were placed under arrest. A large number of peasants, intimidated by the brigade members, did not take part in the meetings. There are similar situations in other villages in Anna Raion. In the village of Berezovka, while delivering a report on collectivization, a member of the raion executive committee declared: “We will find a place on Solovki

Solovki was the popular name for the Solovetskii Islands in Russia's far north, the site of a notorious concentration camp in the 1920s and 1930s. Before the revolution, the island was host to a centuries-old Russian Orthodox monastery.

for whoever is against Soviet power, and his property will go to the collective farm.” After the report the question “Who is against the collective farm?” was put up for a vote, as a result of which it was “unanimously resolved to join the collective farm.” The next day, when peasants outraged by the raion executive committee member's behavior protested, the latter declared: “You don't want to know what we intend to do with the Nashchekino Village Soviet, they were very stubborn there; we're going to tie up 150–200 people, we have some rope, and the rest will unanimously join the collective farm.”

The abuses assumed especially crude forms in the villages of Mosolovka, Saburovka, and Pervaia Staraia Toida in the same Anna Raion. The organizational work on collectivization there began with arrests. To justify the arrests, fictitious reports on disruptions of meetings were created; the reports were signed under duress, and persons who were not present at the meetings at all were arrested. Afterward it was announced, “We have come to build a collective farm, and we will put whoever is against the collective farm on the road to the moon,” and so forth. As a result a majority of those attending left the meetings, and the remaining minority “unanimously” adopted decisions to join the collective farm. Following these resolutions, rounds were made of households, property was confiscated, and peasants were instructed to sign without question a statement that they had “joined the collective farm.” Those who were unwilling to sign were arrested and dispatched to the village soviet. As for the organizers themselves, they went on drinking binges with the wives of the arrested men.

All told, 144 people were arrested in Anna Raion between 24 December 1929 and 5 January 1930, 80 percent of them poor and middle peasants. This figure covers 16 village soviets out of a total of 25 in the raion. The arrests were carried out in bunches. For example, in the village of Sadovoe 35 people were arrested at one time, including women with babies. All of the arrestees were held without charges being filed. The reports drawn up by the brigades served as material for charges and for holding the arrestees in custody.

By these methods, collectivization in the raion rose from 26 percent to 82.4 percent in 10 days.

In addition to these and other types of arbitrary conduct and distortions cited above and a number of other forms, most areas have in common a lack of any comprehensive explanatory work among the principal segments of the peasantry.

Because of the flagrant distortions, the lack of organizational and mass work, and increased agitation by the kulaks, certain large collective farms were reported to have broken up by the end of 1929 in some okrugs of the Central Black Earth Oblast. The Gigant Collective Farm in Prokhorovka Raion, Belgorod Okrug, which had a land area of up to 15,000 hectares, now has only 6,000 hectares. About 70 percent of the members of the collective farm have quit, and an inclination to leave is apparent among the remainder. The New Path Agricultural Artel in Belgorod Okrug had 60 households; 18 remain. The Voroshilov Collective Farm in Belgorod Okrug had 218 households; 100 are left; and so on. Mass withdrawals from collective farms and refusals to join can be seen in other okrugs.