The reaction of Podillia population to the "improved" self-taxation: 1928

Abstract

The paper analyzes the moods and attitudes of the rural population of Podillia in 1928, which were caused by the Bolshevik regime’s intensified offensive against private ownership in the villages and aimed at its elimination. This policy was part of Stalin's “revolution from above," with self-imposed taxation becoming one of its important components. The methodology of the study is based on the principles of objectivity and historicism, employing both general scientific and specialized research methods: the problem-chronological, historical-comparative methods, and critical analysis. The scientific novelty of the study is defined by the authors' interest in a topic that has been insufficiently researched in Ukrainian historiography: the reaction of the rural population of Podillia to the initial measures of the Bolshevik occupation regime, which sought to eliminate private ownership in Ukrainian villages and impose collective farming by enforcing inflated self-taxation plans. Conclusions. The year 1928 marked an intensification of the struggle between Ukrainian peasants and the Bolshevik regime, which, in pursuit of the “socialist restructuring” of the village, deliberately brought peasant farms to ruins by increasing financial pressure through the method of “improved” self-taxation. This led to widespread discontent, which was mostly manifested in peasants’ protestations, refusals to vote for the self-taxation rates imposed by the authorities, etc. and threatened to escalate into violent resistance.