Overview

The video explores how the Soviet Union, particularly under Joseph Stalin, justified the policy of liquidating the kulaks (wealthier peasants/independent farmers). The creator contrasts Western/anti-communist narratives with Soviet explanations and historical sources, including encyclopedias, decrees, and propaganda pamphlets.

Who Were the Kulaks?

• The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979 edition) described kulaks as a “rural bourgeoisie” enriched through exploitation, loan-sharking, and speculation.
• Kulaks resisted collectivization, sometimes violently (murder of activists, arson, anti-Soviet rebellions).
• By 1941, many kulaks were resettled but later reintegrated into Soviet society, regaining rights and contributing to the war effort.

The Decree of December 27, 1929

• Stalin’s speech marked a shift from restricting kulaks to eliminating them as a class.
• Justification: the USSR was now able to replace kulak production with collective and state farms.
• Stalin declared kulaks could not join collective farms, branding them as enemies of collectivization.
• Expropriation was framed not just as an administrative act but as a grassroots initiative tied to collectivization.

The “Top Secret” Decree of 1930

• Issued January 30, 1930, ordering liquidation of kulak ownership in collectivized areas.
• Classified kulaks into different categories, with distinct measures for each (expropriation, exile, restrictions).

Soviet & Sympathetic Justifications

The video highlights Western communist sympathizer Anna Louise Strong’s pamphlets: