4 ms·

> The USSR famine of 1932 had while not exactly the same yet similar reasons Partly only. The 1932 famine was much more complicated, and a conjunction of what

by shakow 4y ago

> The USSR famine of 1932 had while not exactly the same yet similar reasons Partly only. The 1932 famine was much more complicated, and a conjunction of what you said, a weak economy a few years after WWI and the civil war, Stalin pushing on exporting massive quantities of grain to pay for industrial imports, bad weather, lack of information due to the fear within the state apparatus of being the shot messenger, and failure in resources allocation.

trhway 4y ago
>Partly only. of course. Though for precision sake: >a weak economy a few years after WWI and the civil war that wasn't really an issue as food production has been pretty much restored during 192x "New Economical Policies" >lack of information due to the fear within the state apparatus of being the shot messenger, and failure in resources allocation. in many senses that was exactly the consequences of the transfer of control from successful private farmers ("kulaks") to collective farms >bad weather one can argue that private farmers would have fared much better through it than collective farms exactly due to management issues you mentioned. As far as i remember agriculture in USSR had always had a lot of production issues and officially blamed "bad weather", and USSR had to import grain. Interesting that after end of USSR, Russia and Ukraine has again (like before 1917 Revolution) become large exporters of grain - as if "bad weather" magically disappeared :)
- shakow 4y ago
  > that wasn't really an issue as food production has been pretty much restored during 192x "New Economical Policies" Fair point; I meant that many efforts were devoted to the industrialization of the country, depriving the agricultural sectors from those – especially regarding resources allocation in brainpower and machinery. > in many senses that was exactly the consequences of the transfer of control from successful private farmers ("kulaks") to collective farms I disagree; it seems to me it was the consequences of Stalin's purges profiling at the horizon, and noone – especially among the low-rankers of the party hierarchy – wanting to find themselves on the wrong side of a Nagant for announcing a failure to fill the quotas. > as if "bad weather" magically disappeared :) Bad weather is a problem if (i), as you mentioned, the whole incentives for production are screwed up, and (ii) the agricultural infrastructure of the country is miles behind the state of the art. Imperial Russia was still relying mostly on human work for agricultural tasks in the 1910's, and 1930's USSR was miles behind 1950's-1980's USSR w.r.t. agronomical methods & knowledge, equipment, irrigation, mechanization, etc. So if bad weather would only be an inconvenience more recent USSR, it would become a compounding factor for a generalized famine in 1932.

by shakow 4y ago

trhway 4y ago

>Partly only. of course. Though for precision sake: >a weak economy a few years after WWI and the civil war that wasn't really an issue as food production has been pretty much restored during 192x "New Economical Policies" >lack of information due to the fear within the state apparatus of being the shot messenger, and failure in resources allocation. in many senses that was exactly the consequences of the transfer of control from successful private farmers ("kulaks") to collective farms >bad weather one can argue that private farmers would have fared much better through it than collective farms exactly due to management issues you mentioned. As far as i remember agriculture in USSR had always had a lot of production issues and officially blamed "bad weather", and USSR had to import grain. Interesting that after end of USSR, Russia and Ukraine has again (like before 1917 Revolution) become large exporters of grain - as if "bad weather" magically disappeared :)

shakow 4y ago
> that wasn't really an issue as food production has been pretty much restored during 192x "New Economical Policies" Fair point; I meant that many efforts were devoted to the industrialization of the country, depriving the agricultural sectors from those – especially regarding resources allocation in brainpower and machinery. > in many senses that was exactly the consequences of the transfer of control from successful private farmers ("kulaks") to collective farms I disagree; it seems to me it was the consequences of Stalin's purges profiling at the horizon, and noone – especially among the low-rankers of the party hierarchy – wanting to find themselves on the wrong side of a Nagant for announcing a failure to fill the quotas. > as if "bad weather" magically disappeared :) Bad weather is a problem if (i), as you mentioned, the whole incentives for production are screwed up, and (ii) the agricultural infrastructure of the country is miles behind the state of the art. Imperial Russia was still relying mostly on human work for agricultural tasks in the 1910's, and 1930's USSR was miles behind 1950's-1980's USSR w.r.t. agronomical methods & knowledge, equipment, irrigation, mechanization, etc. So if bad weather would only be an inconvenience more recent USSR, it would become a compounding factor for a generalized famine in 1932.