annals of communism Each volume in the series Annals of Communism will publish selected and previously inaccessible documents from former Soviet state and party archives in a narrative that develops a particular topic in the history of Soviet and in- ternational communism. Separate English and Russian editions will be pre- pared. Russian and Western scholars work together to prepare the documents for each volume. Documents are chosen not for their support of any single in- terpretation but for their particular historical importance or their general value in deepening understanding and facilitating discussion. The volumes are designed to be useful to students, scholars, and interested general readers. executive editor of the annals of communism series Jonathan Brent, Yale University Press project manager Vadim A. Staklo american editorial committee Ivo Banac, Yale University Robert L. Jackson, Yale University Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Czeslaw Milosz, University of Califor- Strategic and International Studies nia, Berkeley William Chase, University of Pitts- Norman Naimark, Stanford University burgh Gen. William Odom, Hudson Institute Victor Erlich, Yale University and Yale University Friedrich I. Firsov, former head of the Daniel Orlovsky, Southern Methodist Comintern research group at University RGASPI Mark Steinberg, University of Illinois, Sheila Fitzpatrick, University of Chicago Urbana-Champaign Gregory Freeze, Brandeis University Strobe Talbott, Brookings Institution John L. Gaddis, Yale University Mark Von Hagen, Columbia Univer- J. Arch Getty, University of California, sity Los Angeles Piotr Wandycz, Yale University Jonathan Haslam, Cambridge Univer- sity russian editorial committee K. M. Anderson, director, Russian N. S. Lebedeva, Russian Academy of State Archive of Social and Political Sciences History (RGASPI) S. V. Mironenko, director, State N. N. Bolkhovitinov, Russian Acad- Archive of the Russian Federation emy of Sciences (GARF) A. O. Chubaryan, Russian Academy of O. V. Naumov, assistant director, Sciences RGASPI V. P. Danilov, Russian Academy of Sci- E. O. Pivovar, Moscow State Univer- ences sity A. A. Fursenko, secretary, Department V. V. Shelokhaev, president, Associa- of History, Russian Academy of Sci- tion ROSSPEN ences (head of the Russian Editorial Ye. A. Tyurina, director, Russian State Committee) Archive of the Economy (RGAE) V. P. Kozlov, director, Rosarkhiv The War Against the Peasantry, 1927–1930 The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside Edited by Lynne Viola, V. P. Danilov, N. A. Ivnitskii, and Denis Kozlov Translated by Steven Shabad Yale University Press New Haven & London This is the first volume in The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside, 1927–1939, edited by V. P. Danilov, R. T. Manning, and L. Viola. A subseries of the Annals of Communism Series. This book is also in the Yale Agrarian Studies Series, James C. Scott, series editor. Copyright © 2005by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107and 108of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by James J. Johnson and set in Sabon Roman type by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc. Printed in the United States of America by Vail-Ballou Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The war against the peasantry, 1927–1930/ edited by Lynne Viola . . . et al. ; translated by Steven Shabad. p. cm. — (Annals of Communism. Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside, 1927–1939) (Yale Agrarian Studies Series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-300-10612-2(cloth : alk. paper) 1. Collectivization of agriculture—Soviet Union—History—Sources. 2. Peasantry— Soviet Union—History—Sources. 3. Soviet Union—Politics and government— 1917–1936—Sources. I. Viola, Lynne. II. Series. HD1492.S65W37 2005 3 8.7(cid:2)63(cid:2)094709041—dc23 2004058893 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Yale University Press gratefully acknowledges the financial support given for this publication by the John M. Olin Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Roger Milliken, Lloyd H. Smith, Keith Young, Jeremiah Milbank, the David Woods Kemper Memorial Foundation, the Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Foundation, and the Milton V. Brown Foundation. The documents reproduced in this book are from the following archives and are used with the permission of these archives: State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF) Russian State Archive of the Economy (RGAE) Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (RGASPI) Central Archive of the Federal Security Services (TsA FSB) Russian State Military Archive (RGVA) State Archive of Novosibirsk Oblast (GANO) Funding for The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside, 1927–1939 has been provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities Social Science Research Council Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada International Research and Exchange Program Australian Research Council Boston College Stalin-Era Research and Archive Project of the Centre for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Toronto University of Birmingham University of Melbourne Seoul National University Amsterdam University Praxis International Foreign Ministry of South Korea Contents Editor’s Acknowledgments ix Translator’s Note xii Note on Transliteration xiii A Note on the Documents xiv Glossary of Russian Terms and Abbreviations xvi Introduction 1 part i. The Grain Procurement Crisis 7 chapter 1.The Crisis of NEP: 7May 1927–14 January 1928 9 chapter 2.Extraordinary Measures and the Right Opposition: 18January 1928–23April 1929 57 chapter 3.The Great Turn: 4May 1929–15 November 1929 118 part ii. Collectivization and Dekulakization 169 chapter 4.The December Politburo Commission: 5December 1929–5January 1930 171 viii Contents chapter 5.The Campaign Against the Kulak: 5January 1930–1March 1930 205 chapter 6.Dizzy with Success: 2March 1930–1July 1930 264 chapter 7.Epilogue 319 Biographical Notes 371 Index of Documents 379 Notes 385 Index 411 Editor’s Acknowledgments This project (The Tragedy of the Soviet Countryside) began in 1993on a shoestring budget at a time when the Russian economy was collaps- ing. V. P. Danilov approached Roberta Manning and me, inviting us to participate in what at the time sounded like a far too grandiose re- search project that could very well outlive us all. Professor Danilov proposed the compilation of a five-volume documentary history of the Soviet countryside from 1927 to 1939. The documentary history would be based on research in the newly opening central archives of Moscow, research that would take years of scouring the archives and negotiating with complex bureaucracies. We were joined by a team of more than forty highly dedicated Russian historians and archivists who gave generously of their time and expertise. Over the next few years, several non-Russian historians joined the project: Kim Chang Jin, R. W. Davies, Michael Ellman, J. Arch Getty, H. Jeong-Sook, and Stephen Wheatcroft, contributing both expertise and funding. In 2001, Jonathan Brent of Yale University Press agreed to publish a con- densed version of the Russian-language series in English in the Annals of Communism series, and Steven Shabad joined the project as our translator. We have had many generous benefactors, and it is a pleasure to take this opportunity to thank them. The National Endowment for the Humanities has sponsored this project with a series of Collaborative Project Grants, providing roughly two-thirds of our funding. We are ix