Kolkhoz

A kolkhoz was a specific type of collective farm in the Soviet Union.

These farms served as a primary component of Soviet agriculture. They operated alongside state farms known as sovkhozes. The term "kolkhoz" is a portmanteau, which is a word made by joining parts of other words. While the Russian term was widely used, other languages created their own versions. For instance, Ukrainians used the term "kolkhozy" and Lithuanians used "kolūkis."

Members of these farms were called kolkhozniks if they were men. Women members were known as kolkhoznitsas.

Legally, a kolkhoz was organized as a production cooperative. The Standard Charter of a kolkhoz acted as a model for these cooperatives. It stated that peasants united voluntarily for joint agricultural production. The charter claimed that farms used principles of socialist self-management and democracy. Members were supposed to participate in decisions regarding internal life. However, the reality often differed from these official rules. After the collectivization campaign led by Stalin, many characteristics of true cooperatives disappeared. Membership was often forced rather than voluntary. Members could not freely exit the farm or take their assets with them.

To manage the massive workload, the farms used a specific organizational structure. The workforce was divided into groups called brigades.

By July 1929, large farms of 200 to 400 households were often split into units of 15 to 30 households. Authorities eventually preferred fixed brigades. These units kept the same personnel, land, equipment, and horses for a whole season. Each brigade was led by a brigadir, who was usually a local man. Brigades could be further divided into even smaller units called zvenos, or links, to complete specific tasks.

Economic life on a kolkhoz was strictly controlled by the state. Members received a share of products based on their "labor days." A labor day was an abstract measure of work rather than a strict count of hours. For example, thinning sugar beets might be assigned a specific number of labor days. In practice, one official labor day might require many twelve-hour workdays to complete. This system allowed the state to predetermine labor costs and production targets. Most members did not receive cash payments for their work. In 1946, 30 percent of kolkhozy paid no cash at all. Furthermore, 73.2 percent of farms paid workers 500 grams of grain or less per day.

The Soviet government used the kolkhoz system to fund national industrialization. The state required farms to sell crops at very low, fixed prices. In 1948, the government paid kolkhozes roughly 8 rubles for rye. However, the state charged wholesalers 335 rubles for 100 kilograms of that same rye. This massive price difference provided the government with income to buy foreign machinery. Stalin and the leadership believed this was necessary to modernize the USSR. They wanted to avoid military disasters like those seen in the First World War. Between 1929 and 1953, the prices paid to farmers hardly changed, even with inflation.

Despite these pressures, private plots played a vital role in food production. Members had the right to hold small areas of private land, usually about 0.5 hectares. These plots were small, but they were highly productive. In 1937, these private plots made up only 3.9 percent of all sown land. Yet, they produced 21.5 percent of the total gross agricultural output. Members also had to meet minimum labor day requirements. For example, one farm required 130 days per year for adults. If members failed to meet these minimums, they faced harsh penalties. These could include the loss of private plots or even hard labor in a camp.

After the Soviet Union dissolved in December 1991, the agricultural system changed rapidly. The country began transitioning from a planned economy to a market economy. The number of kolkhozes declined quickly in many regions. In Russia, the number of kolkhozes dropped from 12,800 in 1990 to 2,000 by 2005. In Ukraine, the number fell from 8,354 in 1990 to zero by 2000. In many Central Asian states, the kolkhoz disappeared almost entirely. In some places, like Turkmenistan, they were reorganized into peasant associations. In others, like Armenia, family farms began to replace the old corporate structures.