What strategy did Stalin employ to manage agriculture in the Soviet Union?

Stalin's strategy for managing agriculture in the Soviet Union primarily revolved around collectivization, which involved consolidating individual landholdings and labor into collective farms, known as kolkhozes. This was aimed at modernizing agriculture, increasing productivity, and aligning it with the principles of socialism. Through collectivization, the state could exert more control over food production and distribution while trying to eliminate the class of wealthy landowners, or kulaks, who were seen as exploitative.

The collectivization campaign was part of a broader effort to industrialize the Soviet economy rapidly. The state believed that grouping farmers into collective farms would facilitate the implementation of mechanization and the use of modern agricultural techniques, thereby increasing overall food production and creating a surplus that could support urban industrial workers. However, this strategy also led to significant resistance, widespread famine, and considerable upheaval in rural areas.

While the other strategies mentioned—subsidization of small landowners, encouragement of individual farming, and importation of foreign agricultural products—were not a significant part of Stalin’s approach, collectivization was central to his vision for transforming Soviet agriculture and society in line with communist ideology.