Week 8-Chapters 5 and 8 of Red Famine, Anne Applebaum
Anne Applebaum argues that (!!!) the Soviet collectivization campaign in Ukraine was not simply an economic reform, but a violent political and social revolution imposed from above that destroyed traditional peasant life, dismantled Ukrainian cultural identity, and laid the groundwork for the Holodomor famine of 1932–1933.
Chapter 5 focuses on collectivization in 1930 and how Stalin’s regime transformed village life through coercion, propaganda, violence, de-kulakization, deportations, and attacks on religion and local culture.
Chapter 8 explains how, by 1932, Soviet leaders were fully aware that famine conditions existed, yet continued harsh grain requisitions and repression. Applebaum shows that the famine worsened because of deliberate political decisions, not simply poor harvests or natural disaster.
Author’s Arg
Collectivization was a forced revolution from above
Applebaum argues that collectivization was not voluntary, despite Soviet propaganda claiming peasants eagerly joined collective farms. Instead, it was imposed through state power, intimidation, propaganda, arrests, deportations, and violence.
The Soviet state:
destroyed private farming
confiscated land and livestock
turned peasants into dependent laborers
centralized agricultural control.
The Soviet regime intentionally targeted “kulaks” and dissenters
“kulak” = increasingly broad and political rather than economic. Anyone opposing collectivization could be labeled an enemy.
Author argues:
“kulaks” were often ordinary peasants,
accusations were arbitrary,
quotas forced officials to invent enemies,
de-kulakization became legalized theft and terror.
Collectivization destroyed the moral and social village life
Author arg. that collectivization was not only economic, it also destroyed:
trust,
family authority,
religion,
local traditions,
self-government,
community solidarity.
The Soviet state replaced traditional village culture with dependence on the Communist Party.
Violence and ideology worked together
Applebaum arg that ideology enabled ordinary people to commit cruelty. Revolutionary activists believed the “greater good” justified violence against peasants.
The regime framed peasants as:
enemies of socialism,
counter-revolutionaries,
national threats.
This language made repression appear morally acceptable.
The famine was tied to political decisions
Chapter 8 argues that Soviet leaders knew famine conditions existed but continued requisitions and repression anyway.
Author suggests:
the famine was not accidental,
leaders ignored warnings,
criticism was crushed,
Stalin treated resistance as political sabotage.
Chapter 5: Collectivization
Before collectivization
Ukrainian villages still had significant local autonomy in the 1920s.
Peasants owned land, livestock, and tools.
Religious and cultural traditions remained strong.
Villages blended Soviet and traditional life.
Stalin’s collectivization policy
Private farms were replaced with collective farms (kolkhozy).
Peasants lost ownership of land and animals.
Workers were paid through labor quotas (trudodni).
Twenty-Five Thousanders
Urban Communist activists were sent into villages to enforce collectivization.
They:
viewed peasants as backward,
often knew little about farming,
used propaganda and intimidation,
and were culturally alien to villagers.
De-kulakization
The campaign to “eliminate the kulaks as a class.”
This involved:
arrests,
confiscation of property,
deportation,
forced exile,
and executions.
The definition of “kulak” expanded constantly.
Violence and coercion
Collectivization involved:
public humiliation,
beatings,
threats,
torture,
rape,
confiscation of food and clothing,
and forced signatures.
Destruction of religion and culture
The regime:
closed churches,
arrested priests,
destroyed bells and icons,
attacked traditional holidays and rituals,
and suppressed Ukrainian folk culture.
Economic consequences
Collectivization:
removed incentives to work,
destroyed agricultural productivity,
made peasants dependent on state rations,
and removed their ability to survive independently.
Chapter 8: Famine Decisions
Soviet leaders knew about the famine
Senior officials saw:
starving peasants,
uncultivated land,
emaciated workers,
and social collapse.
Stalin ignored or denied warnings
Reports from officials and witnesses described catastrophe, but Stalin dismissed concerns.
Internal opposition existed
Some Communists criticized collectivization.
Example:
Martemyan Ryutin denounced Stalin’s dictatorship and collectivization policies.
Ryutin argued collectivization relied on:
coercion,
terror,
impoverishment,
and repression.
Stalin crushed dissent
Anyone criticizing policy was labeled counter-revolutionary and eliminated.
This shows:
fear within the Communist Party,
increasing authoritarianism,
and Stalin’s obsession with control.
Key Terms
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
Collectivization | Stalin’s policy of forcing peasants into collective farms controlled by the state |
Kolkhoz | A collective farm where peasants worked collectively rather than owning private land |
Kulak | Originally, a relatively wealthy peasant, but later, anyone was labeled an enemy of collectivization. |
De-kulakization | Campaign to eliminate kulaks through confiscation, deportation, exile, and repression |
Twenty-Five Thousanders | Urban Communist activists sent to enforce collectivization |
OGPU | Soviet secret police before the NKVD/KGB |
Trudodni | Labor-day wage system used in collective farms |
Komsomol | Communist youth organization |
Aktiv | Local collaborators and activists helping enforce Soviet policies |
Holodomor | The famine in Soviet Ukraine (1932–1933), widely understood as politically caused |
Ukrainization | Earlier Soviet policy allowing promotion of Ukrainian language and culture |
Counter-revolutionary | Label used for perceived enemies of Soviet rule |
Traditional Peasant Life vs Collectivized Life
Traditional Village Life | Collectivized Soviet System |
|---|---|
Private land ownership | State-controlled farming |
Religious traditions | State atheism |
Local self-government | Centralized Communist control |
Family independence | Dependence on state rations |
Cultural traditions | Soviet ideological culture |
Informal community support | Surveillance and political fear |
Soviet Propaganda vs Reality
Soviet Claims | Reality Described by Applebaum |
|---|---|
Collectivization was voluntary | Peasants were coerced |
Kulaks were rich exploiters | Many were ordinary peasants |
Collective farms would improve life | Villages became impoverished |
Socialism would modernize agriculture | Productivity collapsed |
Revolution benefited workers and peasants | Many suffered starvation and repression |
Urban Activists vs Peasants
Urban Activists | Peasants |
|---|---|
Believed in Communist ideology | Wanted to preserve village life |
Viewed peasants as backward | Viewed activists as outsiders |
Saw violence as necessary | Saw collectivization as theft |
Loyal to the state | Loyal to family/community traditions |
Themes
State Violence
The Soviet government used terror, coercion, and surveillance to transform society.
Ideology vs Reality
Communist promises of equality and modernization clashed with violence, hunger, and repression.
Destruction of Identity
Collectivization attacked Ukrainian religion, culture, language, and village traditions.
Fear and Collaboration
Ordinary people became participants in repression because of fear, ambition, ideology, or survival.
Human Cost of Modernization
The Soviet push for rapid industrial and agricultural transformation → millions of lives.
Applebaum’s central point: collectivization and the Holodomor =/= simply policy failures or economic mistakes. They were the result of deliberate political choices rooted in Stalinist ideology, fear of peasant independence, and the Soviet desire for total control over Ukrainian society. Collectivization destroyed both the material foundations and the moral structure of village life, making mass famine possible.