Grain Collection Campaign of 1936/1937 in the West Siberian region
The article focuses on a detailed reconstruction of the course and results of the grain collection campaign of 1936/37 in the West Siberian region. The topic was analyzed in the context of the agrarian policy of the Soviet state. It was found out that in 1936/37 the ruling regime eased pressure on the village. Grain supply rates were decreased and arrears were written off from collective farms. This should have contributed to their organizational and economic strengthening. In addition, it was decided to abandon forcing and emergency methods of grain procurement. However, authorities of the West Siberian region did not immediately accept the Center’s instructions. The scope of repressions during the spring sowing campaign in the region significantly surpassed its number in other regions of the country. At the end of summer and at the beginning of autumn 1936, calendar tasks for the grain procurement were failed. The main reasons for the disruption of the state plan were untimely harvesting, unprecedented protraction in grain thrashing, and notable grain losses as a result of the bad labor organization in collective and state farms. The situation was also complicated by crop failure in the south-west of the region. In order to intensify the procurement, the pressure on the lagging areas, collective farms, and individual farms, increased. But in general, the scope of repressions during harvesting and the grain collection campaign of 1936 decreased both in comparison with the similar campaigns of previous years and the spring sowing campaign of the current year. In late October and November, regional authorities got from the Center the decline of annual procurement plan rates. But despite this, many collective farms affected by crop failure were left without seeds and food grain. It was possible to prevent famine and breakdown of spring sowing solely by issuing grain and seed loans to the areas affected by crop failure.