"On the course of recruitment and resettlement of collective farmers in the steppe zone of Ukraine." December 9, 1933

Special report of the Secret Political Department of the OGPU of the USSR "On the course of recruitment and resettlement of collective farmers in the steppe zone of Ukraine." December 9, 1933

Archive: CA FSB of Russia. F. 2. Op. 11. D. 47. L. 461-466. Script.

№ 199

Top secret

1. Progress of recruitment

BSSR. In a number of regions of Belarus, the recruitment of 4,500 farms of collective farmers for resettlement in the Odessa region goes unsatisfactorily. The deadline for recruitment expired on November 10 this year, however, the target figures for the recruitment of collective farmers have not yet been fully met. RaiZO of individual districts approached recruitment formally; recruitment was planned on collective farms experiencing an acute shortage of manpower, and recruitment was canceled on those collective farms where the collective farmers had sold their property and were preparing to leave (Terekhovsky District).

The leaders of individual collective farms, not wanting to allow the resettlement of the best collective farmers, are campaigning against resettlement in the Ukraine, allocating loafers and old people for resettlement (Narovlyansky, Mozyrsky, Yelsky districts). A considerable part of the chairmen of the collective farms allocates to the collective farmers departing for the Ukraine completely unsuitable agricultural implements and the worst livestock. Individual collective farm boards did not make final settlements on workdays with departing collective farmers, which is reflected in the timely dispatch of recruits.

In a number of districts (especially in poor crops), the desire for resettlement in the Ukraine on the part of collective farmers, as well as individual farmers, significantly exceeds the control figures deployed for the districts.

Borisovsky d. According to the plan, 50 collective farms are subject to resettlement, and about 300 applications have been submitted to the resettlement commission. The selection is made at the expense of the best collective farmers-shock workers, taking into account the availability of manpower in the collective farms.

Lelchitsky r. In addition to the recruited 64 farms of collective farmers applied for resettlement in the Odessa region over 100 families of individual farmers. Some of them propose to immediately socialize all their property.

Narovlyansky district Lately, 151 farms of individual farmers have left for Ukraine in an unorganized manner, and a number of farms are preparing to leave.

In a number of places, a socially alien element enters the composition of the recruited: former. kulaks, ex. bandits, thieves, etc.

Yelsky r. Of the 130 farms recruited, the socially unreliable element of 27 farms, or 20.7%, was weeded out.

Vetkovsky d. On the collective farm "Red Putilovets" of the K.-Bolsunovsky village council, 40 families of collective farmers were recruited for resettlement, including 7 former. kulak farms.

Gorky region. In the process of recruiting collective farmers for resettlement to Ukraine in some districts of the region (Ardatovsky, Uninsky, etc.), a number of shortcomings were revealed: explanatory work is poorly developed, and in some cases is replaced by administration, cases of opposition to recruitment and intimidation of collective farmers by the heads of collective farms have been recorded, settlements are delayed with those leaving. In the Fominsky district before the collective farm, the communist Yashkov, in order to counteract the resettlement, agitated a group of women opposed to the resettlement to destroy the protocol of the general meeting of collective farmers on resettlement. As a result, a group of women staged an organized protest against the recruitment of migrants, the minutes of the meeting were taken away from the presidium and destroyed (informed by the Central Control Commission-RCI).

Ukrainian SSR. In 17 districts of the Chernihiv region. 6260 farms were recruited for resettlement in the steppe zone of Ukraine, of which 2200 farms were finally formed for resettlement. The recruitment of migrants from 6 districts (Nosovsky, Snovsky, Koryukovsky, Semenovsky, Repkinsky and N.-Seversky) has been completed. In a number of districts (Nezhinsk, Mensk, Putivl, Oster and Bereznyansk), individual collective farms in full force, including leaders and activists, expressed a desire to move to the steppe zone.

The latest government decree resettlement from the Chernihiv region. moved to 1 sq. 1934 This caused discontent among those already recruited, because. some of them liquidated their farms and were preparing to leave in the coming days (Ostersky, Repkinsky, Koryukovsky and other districts).

In connection with this situation, the regional resettlement committee began to partially send the settlers. From Koryukovsky r. sent 18 farms. In the coming days, it is planned to send from the Nosovsky district. 125 farms, Ostersky - 100, N.-Seversky - 50.

Preparation for the reception and the course of reception of migrants

Preparations for the reception of migrants continue to be unsatisfactory. The repair of residential premises allocated for resettlement and the equipment of outbuildings (sheds, cellars, etc.) are far from being completed, despite the fact that settlers have already begun to arrive in certain areas.

Melitopol r. November 10 at st. Svetlodolinsk arrived from Bryansk in a train with migrants in the amount of 56 families. The migrants are housed in the Krasnoe Pole collective farm of the Astrakhan village council. The repair of buildings is not fully completed due to the lack of glass, timber, nails. Measures have been taken to search for materials on the spot.

Reception of immigrants arriving in Ukraine in some places is unorganized. Transfer of migrants from the railway stations is complicated by the failure of the collective farms to provide the required number of vehicles and the refusal of the directorates of individual MTS and state farms in vehicles. Local organizations do not meet arriving migrants everywhere; as a result, migrants are forced to wait for a long time for their delivery to the railway. stations.

Sakhnovshinsky . On the night of November 15 at st. Sakhnovshchina, 8 families and 6 singles arrived from the Smolensk River, who were assigned to the state farm.

17th party conference. The settlers were not welcomed by anyone. The directorate of the state farm did not send a cart to deliver the settlers. The settlers remained on the railway. stations until 7 pm. 15th of November.

The attitude of collective farmers towards resettlement in most districts is healthy. Some collective farms not included in the resettlement plan apply to be included in the list of resettlement areas.

In areas where explanatory work has not been carried out sufficiently, there are negative sentiments and refusals to accept migrants among certain groups of collective farmers, as well as representatives of rural organizations. “Instead of leaving bread for collective farmers, it is reserved for migrants. What we have earned will be given to the katsaps. They are sent here on purpose to command us” (collective farm “Hammer and Sickle”, Sakhnovshchinsky District). On the collective farm "Pershcha vdacha" Akimovsky district. At the general meeting, a decision was made to refuse to accept the settlers. The pre-collective farm campaigned among the collective farmers: “We don’t need settlers, we don’t have enough land anyway.”

The facts of rough treatment, insults, and in some cases even beatings and mockery of the settlers by local collective farmers were also registered. As a result, migrants leave the collective farms and return to their homeland.

On the collective farm "Comintern" of the Apostolovsky district. normal living conditions have not been created for the migrants. Repeatedly, the settlers were given boiled rye and corn. Without permission, they were not allowed to enter the office of the village council and the collective farm. For a minor violation of the internal regulations, the brigadiers beat the settlers. As a result, out of 55 arriving families, 37 returned to their homeland (the perpetrators were brought to justice).

In some districts, there were cases when houses repaired for IDPs were destroyed by unknown persons the next day after the repair (Akimovskiy and B.-Vradievsky districts, Odessa region).

The course of dispatch and unloading of migrants

As of November 25 this year migrants were sent to Ukraine - from the Central Black Sea Region: 

35 echelons, 1862 families, 9441 people, 883 horses, 1159 cows, 1869 heads of small livestock; 

from the Western region: 33 echelons, 2150 families, 12,017 people, 1950 horses, 2429 cows, 5502 heads of small livestock; 

from the Gorky Territory: 24 echelons, 1488 families, 7332 people, 904 horses, 1306 cows, 1395 heads of small livestock; 

from the BSSR: 23 echelons, 1712 families, 8040 people, 1227 horses, 1958 cows, 3525 heads of small livestock; 

from NGOs: 9 echelons, 789 families, 3821 people, 349 horses, 564 cows, 542 heads of small livestock. Total: 124 echelons, 8001 families, 40,651 people, 5,313 horses, 7,416 cows, 12,833 heads of small livestock.

Of these, arrived at their destination and unloaded (according to incomplete data) - from the Central Chernobyl region: 9 echelons, 462 families, 2486 people, 214 horses, 369 cows, 466 heads of small livestock; 

from the Western region: 9 echelons, 560 families, 2892 people, 382 horses, 662 cows, 825 heads of small livestock; 

from the Gorky Territory: 3 echelons, 201 families, 891 people, 70 horses, 124 cows, 186 heads of small livestock. Total: 21 echelons, 1223 families, 6269 people, 666 horses, 1155 cows, 1477 heads of small livestock.

SPO OGPU Kagan