Q2. what did stalin do to re-organise russia's agriculture/earning

(Collectivisation)

What were the effects (good and bad)

Stalin wanted farmers to join collective farms. Many farmers did not want as they did not want to abandon their traditional way of life. They had also experienced collectivisation during the Civil War years (1918 to 1920) and saw that it had led to food shortages. The farmers were thus unwilling to collectivise their farms. Stalin then adopted a policy of collectivisation by force. He order Communist Party members to go look around for food. They confiscate any crops that were found. The farmers reacted by assassinating Communist Party members. Collectivisation did help as government will provide them with modern agricultural machinery to speed up farming process. But they would sell a percentage of their crops to the government at a very low price to make it easier for the officials to get food supplies to the cities. However, many farmers did not like that idea. Stalin used force. Villagers who did not co-operate were forced to move from their villages. They were sent to the gulags (labour camps). Therefore there will be lesser farmers. Severe food shortages occurred because the farmers burnt their crops and grew less food rather than send them to the Communist officials. The decline in crop production was made worse by natural disasters such as droughts and floods. Severe famines occurred in the Soviet Union. Food from the Ukraine was usually send to million of people in other parts of russia that did not produce enough food. As a result of the famines in Ukraine, other areas in the Soviet Union also suffered food shortages.