RELIGION AND SOCIETY

Religion and Society ~ 394 ~ unnatural system—produce violence, but it was also an inhibiting factor in human endeavor. The country where the effects of this policy could be seen on the largest scale was the U.S.S.R., where one of the first departments to come under the influence of this “ideal” was that of agriculture. Ever since the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 there had been continual attempts in Russia and in other communist countries to collectivize agriculture, and bring farming entirely under the control of the state. The greatest thrust towards collectivization was initiated in the 1930’s by Joseph Stalin (1879-1953). It soon became clear, however, that the transition from private to public ownership would not be smooth. In order to ward off the threat of starvation, the state awarded plots averaging 0.3 hectares each, to collective farmers. These plots were to be farmed privately, in order to augment the farmers’ income and ensure that they were not swamped by the wave of sudden transition from individual to collective farming. This was considered as a “temporary evil”, a concession to necessity, which would be disbanded once the