В«VIRGIN LANDS PROJECT» AND RESTRUCTURING THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF THE SOVIET ECONOMY IN THE MID-1950S - EARLY 1960S
S.N. Andreenkov
Institute of history SB RAS, 8, Nikolaev Str., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
Keywords: development of virgin and fallow lands, kolkhozes, sovkhozes, machine-tractor stations, agriculture, N.S. Khrushchev
Abstract
One of the symbols of N.S. Khruschev’s rule was the virgin lands campaign carried out in the eastern areas of the USSR and aimed at producing large amounts of cheap grain within a short period of time. It had significant economic, socio-demographic and environmental implications reflected in numerous publications. However one of these implications has been neglected by the researchers - the campaign’s impact on the production and organizational structure of agriculture. The article addresses this problem. After I.V. Stalin’s death the Head of the Soviet government G.M. Malenkov advocated for using material incentives in the agricultural sector, development of kolkhozes and machine-tractor stations, intensifying agricultural production in the old-arable areas of the country. This strategy was opposed by the virgin lands project of N.S. Khrushchev. Growth in grain production was achieved by means of cultivation of the undeveloped lands based on the urban dwellers’ labour enthusiasm and industrial forms of economic activities. Mass construction of the state agricultural enterprises was launched on the new lands. After the XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) sovkohozes were also established in the old-arable areas of the USSR on the basis of economically weak agricultural artels. Kolkhozes were enlarged and their work was reorganized in accordance with the sovkhoz model. In 1958 machine-tractor stations were abolished and their machinery was sold to these kolkhozes. Nevertheless the economic and financial performance of the large part of kolkhozes and sovkhozes was below the expected level. Labor productivity of agricultural workers was low. In the early 1960s crop yields of the virgin lands significantly decreased. The growth rate in the agriculture slowed down significantly. Extensive factors of the production growth reached their limits. Analysis of reconstruction of the production and organizisational structure of agricultural sector allowed to conclude that its major implication was acceleration of depeasantization of the Soviet village.
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