Soviet dispossession of big farmers

Protest against collectivising agriculture in Russia

In the Soviet Union the outgrowths of “Stalinism” reach new heights: On 1 February 1930 the Kremlin decides to dispossess and deport big farmers (“kulaks”) in favour of collectivising agriculture. With this blow Joseph Stalin destroys more than just the basis of existence for the affected population strata. The forced restructuring of the agrarian sector soon leads to an extreme slump in agricultural production. Famines will claim millions of human lives. Until its collapse over 50 years later, the USSR will continue to depend on food imports.