March 02, 2015

Dizzy with "Success": The Horrors of Collectivization


Dizzy with "Success": The Horrors of Collectivization

On March 2, 1930, Pravda published Stalin’s “Dizzy with Success” speech, in which the Soviet dictator called for a halt to the allegedly successful policy of collectivization – where “successful” actually meant “abysmal failure at a terrifyingly high human and social cost.” The halt was only temporary, and the horrors of collectivization continued into the next decade, as illustrated in the following memoirs by Zinaida Nikitichna Ilnitskaya.

When I started first grade (in 1930), the kolkhozes started to form. The church was closed, and my parents joined the kolkhoz. They gave up their land, their cow, and their horse, as well as the cart, plow, and harrow. Every day the kolkhoz would give us a free liter of milk, for which we had to stand in line. The kolkhoz took bad care of the livestock – it was half-starved and would often run back to where it still thought home was. The cow would moo by the fence, while the horse would stomp the ground. My father would lead them back to the kolkhoz, while my mother, my sister, and I cried – we felt so sorry for it. In 1929 and 1930 they started the dekulakization.

In 1932 my father was put in jail (he was the head of the kolkhoz) because a bale of unthreshed wheat burned out in the field: he’d “overlooked it.” At first they put him in the neighboring village of Yasynova (5 km away). Later they planned to send him to the district capital (Lyubashevka), then to Odessa. Mama would take care packages for my father to Yasynova. She asked the head of the jail about when my father was to be sent to Lyubashevka, but he said that my father should be freed, seeing as his guilt had not been proven.

Soon our family was dekulakized (it was the last one of 1932). All our property was inventoried. Mama was taken to the village Soviet and put in a room with a lot of other women like her. Everything from the house was carted away to the Soviet. The children were shooed out of the house: “Go wherever you like, just don’t come home.” […]

After finding out that the narrator’s father would probably not be released, the entire family fled to Yalta. On a tip from a family member, they returned to the village after a year, because the kolkhoz needed laborers.

We immediately arrived at our house. Someone was living there, but when we arrived it was immediately cleared. The kolkhoz would not accept Mama – they said the head of the house needed to come. Mama wrote urgently to my father [who was still in Yalta]. My father came, and we were immediately accepted into the kolkhoz. Our cow was no longer there – it had been slaughtered for meat. We were offered another cow, but my father refused. It was very hard for us, since we were left with no cow and no farm. […]

It was the spring of 1933. The kolkhozes were poor, with nothing to sow. Every evening they invited the heads of houses to the kolkhoz office and demanded their signatures that they would give up grain for the sowing. But no one could sign, since no one had grain. They would keep the heads there until late, demanding signatures, then let them go, having achieved nothing, and invite them back the next night; there was a special person going around, inviting people. A few times special representatives from the provincial government would be in the office. Some villagers would hide grain, but pike-carrying men would search yards for stashes of grain, find them, and confiscate them. They’d go around the houses, and wherever they found even a little beans or peas, they’d take everything.

 

Memoirs posted by Vadim Kachala, translated by Eugenia Sokolskaya

Image source: Wikimedia commons

 

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955