Collectitvization was the transformation of Soviet agriculture, from independent .
farms into a system of large state collective farms. The Communist believed that .
collectitvization would improve agricultural productivity and would sufficiently produce .
enough grain to feed the urban labor force. Any surplus of grain was to pay for .
industrialization. Also it was to free up peasants to do industrial work in the cities. The .
party could also extend its political dominance over the peasantry. It would turn into a .
second serfdom for the peasantry, they would now be bound to the state instead of the .
nobles. The peasants would be the ones to shoulder burden of building the Soviet Union .
into an industrialization nation. .
Stalin thought the only way to achieve rapid industrialization and catch up with .
the rest of the modern world was through collectitvization. The Soviet Union needed .
capital to fund its push for industrialization, and the only thing they had to sell was grain .
and other agricultural products. The peasants were not producing enough grain farming .
individually though. So Stalin thought collective farms would be the only way to produce .
enough grain to meat his need of capital.
At first collectitvization was voluntary, or so the peasants were told, when .
actually they were told to go to collective farms. The peasants" objected to this, and .
Stalin back tracked and said it was the local leaders that were forcing them to go. Stalin .
also said they could leave and go back to where they were before, and many did just .
that. The harvest of 1928 did not yield what was expected though, and the government .
resumed forced requisitions and deliveries. By 1929 bread rationing was introduced by .
the government, and by the end of the year and the 16th party conference had decided to .
move to 100% collectivization. This would mean forced collectitvization.
Forced collectivization was met with fierce resistance, which resulted in grain .
