Episode Summary:

In this episode of Explaining History, Nick delves into the critical years of 1928-1929, exploring the mindset of the Soviet leadership on the eve of the Great Famine. Drawing from Robert Conquest’s seminal work The Harvest of Sorrow, we examine how StalinStalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician, dictator and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. Read More’s paranoia and Marxist-Leninist ideology filtered his understanding of the peasantry.

Why did the Bolsheviks view grain reserves as evidence of a “Kulak war” against the state? How did faulty statistics and a fundamental misunderstanding of village life lead to catastrophic policy decisions? We unpack the tragic logic of collectivization—a “second revolution” that was essentially a continuation of the Civil War by other means.

Plus: A special announcement for history students studying the Russian Revolution and Stalinism—don’t miss details about our upcoming live masterclass in January!

Key Topics:

• The Grain Procurement Crisis: Why grain exports ceased by 1928.
• The Myth of the Kulak: How hedging against famine was misinterpreted as capitalist speculation.
• Statistical Failure: How bad data fueled bad policy.
• The Second Revolution: Stalin’s view of collectivization as a class war.

Books Mentioned:

• The Harvest of Sorrow