Class Notes Stakhanovite Simulation

Perspective of a Manager
This man is rewarded for his hard work so other workers are inspired and have something to strive for. He became famous in Pravda. This motivated workers across the USSR to work very hard, so they too could become famous. This compelled management to adopt new production methods and increase the rate of production. If managers failed to do this, they were regarded as pseudo leaders and had to be removed immediately. They were pressured from above into meeting targets and below from workers wanting to be Stakhanovites.
-Managers would do anything to meet their targets, including bribery and corruption.
-The needed the cooperation of the workers to do so.
-To make the workers happy, managers gave bonuses whenever possible to favored workers.
-The harsh laws on absenteeism were not enforced by the managers.
-Managers were desperate to keep skilled workers.
-Soviet managers had a saying, "It's necessary not to work well but to account well." They had to make sure they looked good, even if they weren't working well.
-Workers pressured managers into classifying them as Stakhanovites.
-They were pressured into getting good tools in order to be more efficient, but there was a lack of good tools.
-Managers faced resentment from workers who didn't want production norms to increase.
-They had to face distortions in the production process caused by resourced being focused on Stakhanovite workers.
-Managers were judged on total output, not output from specific areas within.

Pressures on a manager:
-targets
-increased labor norms
-books must balance: State subsidies to industry were cut substantially from 1936 onwards and enterprises were expected to pay for the fuel, raw materials and labor they needed from their own income. Managers who found themselves with a shortfall faced charges of wrecking.
-wage incentives- food more expensive, workers want to be paid more.
-labor shortage
-shortage of raw materials
-competition from military spending
-fall in foreign trade




My position at the moment:
-my aims
-fulfill targets
-keep workers happy without spending too much money
-control production
-what I have to do to achieve these aims and be successful
-keep workers happy without spending too much money on them and hurting themselves
-keep workers on task to meet targets
-the problems I face
-trying to fulfill targets and keep workers happy
-trying to make it look like they were doing well even though they may not be
-labor shortage
-shortage of raw materials

What are the implications of a successful attempt for me? How will this persons Stakhonovite status affect us?:
I would have to provide rewards for them such as a higher pay, a good apartment with a telephone and furniture and other luxuries like that.

Collectivization of Agriculture

1. Why was collectivization necessary?
Collectivization was the socialist solution for agriculture. You could not build a socialist state when the majority of the population were private landholders who sold their products on the market. Collectivization would socialize the peasantry. Mechanized agriculture requires fewer peasants to work the land. The peasants could go to the factories when they left the farms.

2. What is a kolkhoz?
A farm where all the land was collectively owned. It had 50-100 families. Everything (livestock, land etc.) was pooled. Each family had one acre for private use. Each farm had a set quota they had to give to the state.

3. Who is a kulak?
A kulak is a better-off peasant. They had moderate incomes. They might hire labor and have a small surplus of food to sell. They do not want to join collective farms because they worked hard to be somewhat successful on their own, they don't want to share their wealth. Kulaks were the most enterprising peasants or the peasants with good machinery or good animals.

4. How were the kulaks dealt with by the government?
The government wanted to get rid of the kulaks because they were resisting collectivization because they refused to join kolkhozes and other collective farms. The government got rid of them through force, terror and propaganda. A group of activists called "The Twenty Five Thousanders" told peasants that kulaks were the "class enemy."

5. How did the peasants resist collectivization? What happened as a result?
Peasants rioted, they burned crops, tools and houses rather than giving them to the state. The peasants stole back animals that had been put into collective farms. Peasants killed their animals and didn't give them to the government or collective farm.

Examine the collective farm as illustrated in the reading, "A plan of a collective farm.":
6. What is a MTS Station?
A machine and tractor station. Mechanized agriculture would require fewer peasants to work the land, this means they could work in factories instead.


7. What were the dual purposes of the MTS Stations?
They supported collective farms and also controlled the countryside. Each MTS had a political department that's job was to get rid of anti-soviet elements and troublemakers. It also made sure that each kolhkoz gave the state its quota of grain.

8. How did a kolkhoz work and what was its relationship with the nearby town and its MTS?
The first priority of a collective farm was to deliver quotas of grain and other products to the state. The state paid very low prices, then sold the produce to the towns at slightly higher prices. Once the state quota had been met, peasants could sell any surplus a the local market. This came mostly from the peasant's private plots and was the main source of dairy products for the urban population.