Two agricultural shocks in the former USSR, 60 years apart

Abstract

Besides wars and revolution, Russia and its neighbours suffered two major agricultural shocks in the last century: the collectivisation crisis of 1929–33 and the collapse of the collective farms in the 1990s. Both were in some sense policy-induced and linked with sharp declines in agricultural terms of trade. The crises were connected by the historical coincidence of the formation and collapse of the collectives, and the political and philosophical bases of Communist rule. This article investigates relative price changes, the consequences for rural people, and the political backgrounds of the crises. It draws attention to international aspects which many studies neglect.

Deux chocs agricoles dans l'ex-URSS, à 60 années d'intervalle

Outre des guerres et des révolutions, la Russie et ses voisins ont subi deux chocs agricoles d'envergure durant le siècle dernier ; la crise de la collectivisation de 1929-1933 et l'effondrement des exploitations collectives durant les années 1990. Les deux étaient en un sens induites par les politiques générales et liées à des déclins marqués des termes de l’échange agricoles. Ces crises étaient liées à la coïncidence de la formation et de l'effondrement des collectifs, et aux bases politiques et philosophiques du régime communiste. Cet article examine les changements relatifs des prix, les conséquences pour les populations rurales et les toiles de fond politiques des crises. Il attire l'attention sur les aspects internationaux, qui sont négligés par de nombreuses études.

Dois choques agrícolas na antiga URSS, 60 anos de intervalo

Além das guerras e revolução, a Rússia e seus vizinhos sofreram dois grandes choques agrícolas no século passado: a crise da coletivização de 1929–33 e o colapso das fazendas coletivas na década de 1990. Ambos foram, de certa forma, induzidos por política e estavam ligados aos acentuados declínios nos termos de comércio agrícola. As crises conectam-se pela coincidência histórica da formação e colapso dos sistemas coletivos e das bases políticas e filosóficas do preceito comunista. Este artigo investiga as mudanças de preços relativos, as consequências para a população rural e a base política das crises. Ele chama atenção para os aspectos internacionais que muitos estudos negligenciam.

Dos desajustes agrícolas en la ex URSS, uno a 60 años del otro

Además de guerras y revoluciones, Rusia y sus vecinos sufrieron dos grandes crisis agrícolas en el siglo XX: la crisis de la colectivización de 1929-1933 y el desplome de las granjas colectivas en los años 90. En cierto sentido las dos se debieron a cambios políticos y coincidieron con cambios bruscos en los modos de intercambio agrícolas. Ambas crisis tienen en común históricamente la formación y caída de las granjas colectivas y de las bases políticas y filosóficas del régimen comunista. Este ensayo investiga los cambios en los precios relativos, sus consecuencias para el campesinado y los antecedentes políticos de las crisis. También destaca los aspectos internacionales que muchos estudios suelen eludir.

Keywords:

• Governance and Public Policy
• Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS

Notes

The ‘October’ Revolution took place in October 1917 under the Julian calendar, which was still used in Russia. According to the Gregorian calendar, used today, it was in November.

In the 1990s I acquired some old 10-kopeck coins dated 1905 and 1923, and 15-kopeck coins dated 1873, 1915, and 1922. For both denominations, the size, colour, and weight of the pre- and post-revolutionary coins are identical, and the reverses are almost identical too. Few things carry more overt symbolism than coins, and the message of the 1922–23 coins seems clear: a return to the familiar world before 1917.

These are now understood to be central dilemmas of development. As Nove commented, ‘Development economics could be said to have been born here’ (Nove 1989: 119).

Citing Fortnightly Review, 1 May 1933.

Kolkhozy is the plural of kolkhoz, the Russian acronym for ‘collective farm’.

Some 25,000 urban activists were sent to act as supervisors, farm chairmen, and political officers (Nove 1989: 172).

The report added that ‘the greatest influence on farms’ success lies in the economic situation, followed by the quality of a farm's management'. This unpublished report was written by the present author and is available on request.

The author worked in Nizhny for the British aid programme in 1997–99 on the successor to the privatisation project.

This was in a chapter headed ‘The Nizhny Novgorod Agriculture Sector,’ written by this author. The page numbers are those in the chapter itself, which is available at www.tomlines.org.uk/page2.htm.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas Lines

Thomas Lines is an Agricultural Policy and Development Consultant who has also been an advisor to the European Parliament (1990–92), a Lecturer at Edinburgh University (1987–90) and an international business journalist (1978–85). < www.tomlines.org.uk>