Communism -- Soviet Union; Soviet Union -- Economic conditions -- 1917-1945; Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1917-1936
At the time when the decree on Socialist land management was made
public, the fundamental elements of nationalization had hardly begun to
take shape: the territory affected by nationalization was by no means
defined; there was not the personnel necessary for the creation and
enforcement of any plan concerning production; the large masses of
laborers hardly understood the idea of nationalization and in some
instances were hostile to the measures by means of which the Soviet
power was carrying out the program of nationalization.
In order to summarize the results of the work, which began on a
nation-wide scale in March, 1919, and to estimate these results, one
must first realize the conditions which formed the starting-point for
the work of the People’s Commissariat of Agriculture at the time when it
commenced to carry out the nationalization of agriculture.
The extent of the capitalist heritage, which our organized Soviet
estates now have at their disposal, amounts to 615,503 dessiatins or
areable land, situated in the Soviet provinces and formerly in the hands
of private owners. Eighty-five per cent of the areable land, which
formerly belonged to the landed aristocracy was taken over for the
purpose of both organized and non-organized distribution—chiefly the
latter.
The equipment of the various estates was diminished and destroyed to no
lesser extent. Instead of the 386,672 privately owned horses, registered
in the Soviet provinces, according to the census of 1916, the Soviet
estates in the hands of the People’s Commissariat of Agriculture
received 23,149 horses—a number hardly sufficient for the cultivation of
one-third of the area under cultivation now belonging to the Soviet
estates. Of the 290,969 cows—only 43,361 came into the possession of the
Soviet estates. The entire number of horses and cows will yield
sufficient fertilizer for only 13,000 dessiatins of fallow land, i.e.,
about 10 per cent of the area intended to be converted into areable
land.
The supply of agricultural machinery and implements was in the same
condition.
The Soviet estates had almost no stocks of provisions. The workmen were
compelled either to steal or to desert for places where bread was more
abundant.
The winter corn was sowed in the fall of 1918 on very limited areas (not
over 25 per cent of the fallow land), very often without fertilizer,
with a very small quantity of seeds to each dessiatin. In 13 out of 36
Soviet provinces (governments) no winter corn has been sowed at all.
A considerable portion of the estates taken over by the People’s
Commissariat of Agriculture could not be utilized due to the lack of
various accessories, such as harness, horseshoes, rope, small
instruments, etc.
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