Stalin Digital Archive

Table of Contents

Special summary report from the OGPU plenipotentiary representative for Middle Volga Krai on the progress of dekulakization in the krai as of 13 February 1930

- Export Citation
- Export Annotation

View:

By OGPU plenipotentiary representative for Middle Volga Krai

The War Against the Peasantry, 1927–1930: The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside

Image view

Print
Save
Share
Cite

Translation Transcription

Translation

DOCUMENT 67

Special summary report from the OGPU plenipotentiary representative for Middle Volga Krai on the progress of dekulakization in the krai as of 13 February 1930, 14 February 1930. TsA FSB RF, f. 2, op. 8, d. 823, ll. 342–51. Certified copy.

14 February 1930 Top secret No. 3

Active Participation of the Masses of Poor and Middle Peasants

The practical implementation of dekulakization continues to be accompanied by widespread active participation and initiative on the part of the masses of poor and middle peasants. Furthermore, these activities are mostly taking place in the villages and raions where ample preparatory

Page 247

work for dekulakization was done. Typically, “patrols” have been set up in some villages on the initiative of the masses of poor and middle peasants themselves; these patrols were assigned the task of not allowing those kulaks whose property was to be expropriated to leave their village (Promzino, Astradamovka and Tagai raions, Ulianovsk Okrug).

At the moment dekulakization was carried out, poor and middle peasants rallied in crowds, in some villages with red flags, approving the dekulakization, and demanded its swiftest possible implementation while taking an active part in the expropriation.

Here are typical examples:

1. In the village of Levzha (Mordvin) in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, 200 poor and middle peasants came out into the street in an organized manner, expelled the kulaks, and confiscated their property. 2. In the village of Mogilovka (Mordvin) in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, 50 members of the poor-peasant aktiv with red flags carried out dekulakization, and in the process a poor peasant named Admaikin addressed the other poor peasants participating in the dekulakization and said, “Now we are seeing that Soviet power is indeed fighting the kulaks not just in words but in deed.” 3. In the village of Zadnee Selishche in Zubova Poliana Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a general meeting of peasants considered the question of collecting funds to purchase a tractor. In the process the question of imposing a new levy on kulak farms was raised. The meeting unanimously approved this proposal and passed a resolution to immediately dekulakize eight kulak farms and demand the disfranchisement of a former merchant named Shchukin and a former lumber dealer named Palatkin, neither of whom had been disfranchised yet. 4. In the village of Bolshoe Kuzmino in Ardatov Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a general meeting of poor peasants passed a resolution to dekulakize eight farms and simultaneously elected a commission to distribute the lodgings and the livestock for feeding. 5. In the village of Vtoroe Krasnoe in Sorochinsk Raion, Orenburg Okrug, poor peasants have exposed five farms that are subject to dekulakization. 6. In the village of Kliuchevka in Sorochinsk Raion, Orenburg Okrug, poor peasants identified 14 kulak farms that are [now] being dekulakized. 7. In the village of Chufarovo in Buzuluk Raion, Samara Okrug, [politically] active poor peasants unanimously adopted a decision to disfranchise and exile from Middle Volga Krai a former large-scale landowner and Baptist preacher named Barsukov, who has yet to be disfranchised.

Page 248

8. In the village of Lipovka in Talyzino Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a general meeting of poor peasants passed a resolution to dekulakize 20 kulak farms. The next day the property was inventoried, and within two days the kulaks' families were evicted from their houses and their property expropriated.

Along with the active participation of the masses of poor and middle peasants, in a number of areas in some okrugs, due to a lack of mass explanatory work, some poor and middle peasants have treated the kulaks with either sympathy or indifference, and in isolated cases, with pity, helping them with lodgings and providing physical and material assistance.

In the village of Krutoe in Zubova Poliana Raion, Mordvin Oblast, those attending a meeting of the aktiv of poor and middle peasants raised for discussion the question of dekulakizing 10 kulak farms and exiling them from the oblast. This proposal met with approval, but because of a statement by a former party member named Laluev, who said, “This policy (of dekulakization) by the party and Soviet power is wrong, property must not be taken away from the laboring peasantry,” no one spoke out in opposition to this statement and as a result the question of dekulakization was derailed.

In the village of Shishkeevo in Staroe Shaigovo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, during the expropriation of kulak farms, 50 poor peasants, without putting up resistance to the expropriation, wept with the kulaks and helped them take out their household belongings and also [helped] with lodging them.

In the village of Yelovy Kust in [Novo-]Malykla Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, a general meeting had before it the question of the establishment of a collective farm and dekulakization, and it adopted a decision to join the collective farm, but 10–15 minutes later a crowd that was participating in the meeting demanded that the okrug executive committee's plenipotentiary, Umpelev, tear up the protocol, and under pressure from the crowd this protocol was torn up.

The Kulaks' Tactics and Their Activities

The kulaks' response to expropriation consists of the following basic features: (a) spreading various kinds of provocative rumors; (b) self-dekulakization and the distribution of [their] property to poor peasants; (c) flight; and (d) intensive counterrevolutionary activity (threats, arson, mass disturbances, making use mostly of women in the latter instance).

In order to win over the masses of poor and middle peasants, the kulaks spread various types of provocative rumors, such as: “a dark night is going

Page 249

to be declared soon, and the communists are going to slaughter the disfranchised and their children,” “girls are going to be sent to China,” “life on Solovki is good, people are getting four pounds of bread a day and making 4–5 rubles a day,” “they're going to stop withdrawals from savings accounts,” “confiscated property will be returned, since the communists have gotten frightened of the Chinese, who have come back to attack Russia,” and so forth.

In many cases these provocative rumors have not been adequately dispelled by local party authorities, and as a result the rumors are having an impact on poor and middle peasants.

In the village of Rucheiki, Syzran Raion, in the okrug of the same name, kulaks have unleashed a rumor that a message written in gold lettering has fallen out of the sky, saying that Judgment Day is approaching and therefore nothing else is needed, so people should join the collective farms without livestock. As a result of this agitation, people have increased the slaughter of livestock.

In a number of raions in Syzran Okrug, a rumor has been spread that withdrawals will not be allowed from savings accounts, and as a result of this there has been a big rush of depositors, demanding their deposits back, on the savings banks.

A rumor was circulated on the collective farms of Syzran Okrug that the collective farms are a venture by the landowners, who have entrenched themselves in power, that they are the ones who are collecting their land, livestock, etc., so that when war breaks out, the bolsheviks will be destroyed, the landowners will come to the collective farms, i.e., their estates, and will live a life of leisure, while all of the collective farmers will become their slaves. This rumor has caused an increase in pullouts from collective farms.

In Shigony Raion, Syzran Okrug, rumors are being spread that a dark night will soon be declared and the communists will slaughter the disfranchised and their children. The result of this agitation has been that disfranchised persons, women, and children are going to church in groups, confessing their sins and receiving communion in preparation for death.

In Bogdashkino Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, the kulaks have unleashed a rumor that girls will soon be sent to China; as a result of this, girls are getting married on a massive scale, and kulaks' daughters, as a rule, are marrying poor peasants.

In [Novo-]Malykla Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, kulaks are spreading a rumor that on Solovki people get four pounds of bread a day and are making 4–5 rubles a day. As a result of this there has been a mass exodus to the North not only of kulaks but also of poor peasants.

Page 250

In Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, kulaks have circulated a rumor that confiscated property will be returned, since the communists have gotten frightened of the Chinese, who have come back to attack Russia, and as a result there has been an exodus from the collective farms.

Self-Dekulakization

Self-dekulakization is being carried out primarily through the sale of draft animals and farm implements, the physical destruction of livestock, and the distribution by kulaks of their property among poor peasants.

In the village of Novo-Troitskoe in Staroe Shaigovo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a kulak named I. T. Sernov killed 120 of his 200 bee hives, and gave away the rest. In addition, he distributed 40 poods [655 kg] of honey and delivered his horse and a load of clothing and textile goods to citizen Kuzin in the village of Letka, Staroe Shaigovo Raion.

In Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, some kulaks are destroying their property and selling off their livestock in order not to give it to the collective farm.

Similar cases have been observed in other okrugs (Orenburg, Ulianovsk, and Syzran).

The Flight of Kulaks

Kulaks are fleeing on a massive scale, according to information that is by no means complete or precise. Available information indicates that kulaks are fleeing not only on an individual basis, but also in groups, often abandoning their farms and families to the mercy of fate. They are mostly fleeing to Central Asia and Siberia.

There have been cases in which kulaks have fled to major industrial cities, in particular to Magnitostroi [Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Integrated Plant construction project] and Stalingradstroi [Stalingrad Tractor Plant construction project].

By okrug, the number of kulaks who have fled (as already indicated, according to incomplete information) is as follows: Buguruslan Okrug, 158; Ulianovsk Okrug, 164; Kuznetsk Okrug, 70.

In several raions of Ulianovsk Okrug, 90 kulaks were recorded as having fled to Magnitostroi and Stalingradstroi.

In the village of Novo-Troitskoe in Staroe Shaigovo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, 16 kulaks have fled.

Page 251

In Achadovo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, kulaks are abandoning their property and families and fleeing primarily to Siberia and Central Asia.

In the village of Kulikovo in Tengushevo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a kulak named Korobov has abandoned his farm and 10-year-old daughter and fled to an unknown destination.

In the settlement of Golovsky in Ilek Raion, Orenburg Okrug, as many as 50 families have departed, mostly for Central Asia.

In the settlement of Kindelia in Ilek Raion, Orenburg Okrug, six kulaks have fled, some of them with their families, abandoning their property.

In the settlement of Griazny Artek in Ilek Raion, Orenburg Okrug, 100 of 456 households have departed.

In the settlement of Rassypnoi in Ilek Raion, Orenburg Okrug, three kulaks have fled, and eight people from other settlements joined them at the Platovka station, headed for Central Asia.

(Some facts have been reported in previous special summary reports.)

In addition to overt antisoviet and counterrevolutionary manifestations (terror, mass disturbances, proclamations), the kulaks are attempting to undermine the activities of poor peasants through intimidation and threats. For example, in the village of Shishkeevo in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, as a kulak named Yevseev was being exiled, he threatened poor peasants, saying, “The poor peasantry has sold us out to Soviet power, but they won't get away with it.”

Similar incidents have been observed in other okrugs.

Besides this, there have been instances of feigned resignation by people being dekulakized, saying “obviously our time has come,” and thereby stirring sympathy for themselves on the part of poor and middle peasants.

Antisoviet and Counterrevolutionary Manifestations in the First 11 Days of February (information incomplete) May Be Summed up by the Following Data:

Acts of Terror

Okrug	Type	In Connection with	Total
Arson	Injuries
Orenburg	2	—	social activism	2
Penza	1	—		1
Ulianovsk	—	1		1

Page 252

Mass Disturbances

Okrug	In Connection with	Total
Penza	establishment of collective farms	1
Mordvin Oblast	dekulakization	1
Mordvin Oblast	dekulakization	1
Samara	dekulakization	1
Syzran	dekulakization	1
Total		5

Proclamations

Kuznetsk Okrug	threatening poor peasants	1
Buguruslan Okrug	calling for overthrow of Soviet power	1
Orenburg Okrug	opposing dekulakization	1
Total		3

In addition, there have been cases where kulaks have destroyed the livestock belonging to people who are carrying out dekulakization:

In the village of Staraia Sloboda in Staroe Shaigovo Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a kulak named Panov used a scythe to slit the throat of a horse that belonged to a candidate member of the VKP(b) and sales clerk at the local branch of the consumers' cooperative who was carrying out dekulakization.

In the village of Bulgaki, Mordvin Oblast, one night a horse and a cow that belonged to the secretary of the village soviet were ripped open with a pitchfork.

Dekulakization

According to information that is by no means complete or precise, as of 12 February 1930 a total of 11,975 farms had been dekulakized in the Middle Volga Krai, with the following breakdown:

Orenburg Okrug	—4,403
Ulianovsk Okrug	—2,048
Samara Okrug	—2,070
Syzran Okrug	—1,600
Buguruslan Okrug	—824
Kuznetsk Okrug	—800
Mordvin Okrug	—230

Dekulakization by raion can be illustrated by the following facts from Ulianovsk Okrug:

In Ulianovsk Raion, 334 farms, which is 1.4 percent of the total number

Page 253

of farms in the raion, have been dekulakized within the territory of 47 village soviets. The confiscated property has been appraised at 231,000 rubles, of which…

The printed figures in the text of the document are unclear; the number may be 4,000.

rubles has been turned over for cultural institutions, 68,000 rubles to collective farms, 4,800 rubles to procurement organizations, and 490 rubles for the establishment of a seed fund. The confiscated property consisted of 315 houses, 40 industrial enterprises, 203 workhorses, 60 young animals, 170 cows, and 1,077 sheep.

In Bogdashkino Raion, 100 farms have been dekulakized, which is 2.5 percent of the total number of kulak farms.

In Popovka Raion, 400 farms have been dekulakized, which is 3.5 percent of the total number of kulak farms.

Raion Dekulakized

Koshki	300 farms
Sengilei	116 farms, or 1.25 percent
Melekess	141 farms
Novo-Malykla	70 farms, or 1.3 percent
Staraia Maina	109 farms
Cherdakly	89 kulak farms within the territory of 13 villages, or 1.5 percent
Promzino	216 farms
Tagai	173 farms, or 1.75 percent

Shortcomings and Excesses

In a number of raions, because of a failure in some places to understand the directives and an absence of mass explanatory work, dekulakization has assumed the form of naked administrative command methods, which in some villages has generated resistance to expropriation on the part of the masses of middle and even poor peasants.

Because of bungling by certain officials, middle peasants and even Red Army soldiers' families are being dekulakized. In addition, there are cases in which expropriated property is being divided among poor peasants.

In the villages of Voetskoe and Sosnovka in Popovka Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, four instances of dekulakization of middle-peasant farms have been recorded.

In the village of Putilovskoe in Insar Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a well-to-do peasant named Rzhevsky, whose son at present is a company commander in the Red Army, was subjected to expropriation.

In the village of Levzha in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, the village soviet distributed property taken away from kulaks to poor peasants.

Page 254

In the village of Bolshoi Uren in Tagai Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, 17 farms were dekulakized and their property divided among poor peasants.

In the village of Yakovshchina in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, plenipotentiary Moskin distributed confiscated property back to the former owners.

Besides this, there have been cases in which certain candidate members and full members of the party have harbored in their homes the property of individuals who are subject to dekulakization:

In the village of Podvalie in Sengilei Raion, Ulianovsk Okrug, a member of the VKP(b) named Churiaev hid his father-in-law's property.

In the village of Levzha in Ruzaevka Raion, Mordvin Oblast, a dekulakization commission was selected, which included a member of the VKP(b) named Golychev. A former large-scale landowner named Uchvatov got the whole commission drunk, and as a result the kulaks were exempted from expropriation.

In the village of Lipovka in Talyzino Raion, Mordvin Oblast, poor peasants persistently demanded the expropriation of property from a kulak named Shuvalov, who has a flax comb, a hulling mill, and complex agricultural machinery, but since Shuvalov is a relative of village soviet chairman Strukalev, the latter is not expropriating this property.

In the town of Ruzaevka in Mordvin Oblast, a member of the VKP(b) named Abozhanov harbored property (two trunks containing textile goods, a jug of honey, gold items, and gold) that belongs to a woman named Koralina who used to be a trader. […]

OGPU plenipotentiary representative for the Middle Volga Krai Bak INFO director Krestiankin INFO Section 2 director Romanovsky

Transcription

Document Details

Document TitleSpecial summary report from the OGPU plenipotentiary representative for Middle Volga Krai on the progress of dekulakization in the krai as of 13 February 1930

AuthorOGPU plenipotentiary representative for; Middle Volga Krai

RecipientOGPU - Unified State Political Administration; (state security), GPUs of autonomous republics and the Special; Department of the Volga Region Military District

RepositoryTsAFSBRF

ID #f.2, op.8, d.823, ll.342-51

DescriptionN/A

Date1930 Feb 14

AOC VolumeThe War Against the Peasantry, 1927–1930: The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside

Login Required

Your subscription has expired.