The moods and behaviour of Red Army soldiers during the campaign to ‘eliminate the kulaks as a class’ in Podillia during the period of continuous collectivisation

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyse the moods and behaviour of Red Army soldiers during the campaign to eliminate kulaks as a class in Podillia during the period of continuous collectivisation. Research methodology. The study used historical (chronological, comparative, historical-genetic, historical-typological), source studies (analysis of archival documents, content analysis of the press and propaganda materials), socio-psychological (method of reconstructing a socio-psychological portrait, method of historical empathy) and statistical (quantitative analysis, method of sociometry) methods.The scientific novelty of the study is an attempt to trace the dynamics of the moods and behaviour of the Red Army during the campaign of liquidation of the kulaks in Podillia based on the analysis of previously classified archival documents. Conclusions. The decision taken by the party to move to a policy of ‘liquidation of the kulaks as a class’ in the areas of continuous collectivisation involved the united efforts of the party and Soviet bodies and law enforcement agencies to implement it. In the war declared by the Bolsheviks against the peasant owners, the authorities counted on the support of the Red Army, which was always seen as an important institution for the establishment of the communist regime. Military units stationed throughout Ukraine, including in Podillia, were tasked with suppressing peasant resistance by force if necessary. In view of this, the political departments of military units were tasked with closely monitoring the moral and political attitudes of the command and rank-and-file of the CA and their reaction to the practical implementation of the party's measures to eliminate the kulaks as a class. Political departments were obliged to systematically send information to the political department of the Ukrainian Military District and take the necessary measures. Foreseeing the negative reaction of the Red Army to the repressive measures against the peasantry, the political leadership of the UMD in its directives to military units proposed not only to strengthen ideological and political work among the personnel, but also to carry out ‘purges’ by removing from the army people from wealthy peasant families. It was proposed to create ‘operational bases of malicious anti-Soviet elements’ within military districts and to put special units of troops on alert. Red Army soldiers from rural areas were encouraged to write letters to their families to convince them of the correctness of the party's decision. In their letters to village councils, the soldiers had to specify the names of wealthy villagers, demanding the requisition of their property and eviction from their settlements. As a result of propaganda activities, combined with political violence against Red Army soldiers from wealthy peasant families, the number of open protests by Red Army soldiers significantly decreased. In general, the moods and behaviour of the Red Army were ambiguous and depended on many factors, including personal beliefs, social background, party affiliation, and the nature of propaganda work among the military.