Background of the Holodomor: a Great Fracture

In the late 1920s, it became obvious that the NEP (the new industrial policy) would not be able to ensure a rapid and effective transition to an industrial economy from an agrarian one, and also provide a springboard for the country's defense in a possible war.

Therefore, the All-Union Bolshevik Party, led by Stalin, introduced a new economic regime. The period of existence of this policy was called "a great turning point."

Principles of the regime

The great turning point of 1929 was based on the general industrialization of production and collectivization of agriculture. This means that private farms and small cooperatives have been eliminated everywhere, and collective farms have been established in their place - collective farms. All resources were concentrated, according to the Bolsheviks, in the hands of the working class, and in reality - of the government.

Mass repression was carried out against certain social groups (in most cases against the peasant bourgeoisie - "kulaks"). Convicted peasants were later used as cheap labor in a large number of large-scale construction projects.

The "great turning point" meant that the country needed a global industrial revolution, and for this the state needed a large number of resources, both raw materials and workers. To this end, Donetsk, Krivoy Rog basins and many other manganese, coal, bauxite deposits were involved.

Real position

Contrary to all expectations, the actual state in the country was not so good. When Stalin began the "great break", he did not consider that the peasants would not simply give their property to the state so simply. Enforced grain procurements were accompanied by mass discontent, and as a result - by arrests and ruin of farms. In the end, this led to widespread insurgencies. The peasants, unwilling to give their livestock and property, intentionally slaughtered animals and cut crops.

The state responded to this riot very harshly, sending special detachments to the villages. With the support of the army, people were forcibly driven into collective farms and taken away all their property from them. The churches were massively closed, the buildings were used for household needs, and the church attendants were arrested, since the "great break" also meant the beginning of mass religious persecutions.

Effects

Attempts to suppress riots only led to an even more exacerbating situation in the country. In January 1930, there were 346 appearances, in February - 736, and in the first two weeks of March - 595. And this is only in the territory of modern Russia! In Ukraine, revolts covered more than a thousand settlements. The unrest became too numerous, so the government had to soften the "great crisis", laying the blame for what happened to local leaders. However, the insurrections only temporarily suspended the pace of the coup, and after a while the "fracture" of 1929 again resumed. This time it was easier to implement, since the organizers of the riots and the most active participants were deported to Siberia. Together with them, almost all the "kulaks" were repressed together with their families.