Face to the Village : The Riazan Countryside Under Soviet Rule, 1921-1930

In the summer of 1924, the Bolshevik Party called on scholars, the police, the courts, and state officials to turn their attention to the villages of Russia. The subsequent campaign to 'face the countryside' generated a wealth of intelligence that fed into the regime's sense of alarmed conviction that the countryside was a space outside Bolshevik control. Richly rooted in archival sources, including local and central-level secret police reports, detailed cases of the local and provincial courts, government records, and newspaper reports, Face to the Village is a nuanced study of the everyday workings of the Russian village in the 1920s. Local-level officials emerge in Tracy McDonald's study as vital and pivotal historical actors, existing between the Party's expectations and peasant interests. McDonald's careful exposition of the relationships between the urban centre and the peasant countryside brings us closer to understanding the fateful decision to launch a frontal attack on the countryside in the fall of 1929 under the auspices of collectivization.

In the summer of 1924, the Bolshevik Party called on scholars, the police, the courts, and state officials to turn their attention to the villages of Russia. The subsequent campaign to 'face the countryside' generated a wealth of intelligence that fed into the regime's sense of alarmed conviction that the countryside was a space outside Bolshevik control.

Richly rooted in archival sources, including local and central-level secret police reports, detailed cases of the local and provincial courts, government records, and newspaper reports, Face to the Village is a nuanced study of the everyday workings of the Russian village in the 1920s. Local-level officials emerge in Tracy McDonald's study as vital and pivotal historical actors, existing between the Party's expectations and peasant interests. McDonald's careful exposition of the relationships between the urban centre and the peasant countryside brings us closer to understanding the fateful decision to launch a frontal attack on the countryside in the fall of 1929 under the auspices of collectivization.

Contents 7 List of Illustrations and Maps 9 Word Choice and Translation 11 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 19 PART ONE. The Battle for Space: What Physical and Virtual Space Reveal about the Countryside 49 1. The Setting 49 2. The Police 69 3. The Police 101 4. The Rural Soviet 117 PART TWO. The Battle for Resources: What Non-Violent Crime Reveals about the Countryside 143 5. Taxation: Talking with the Taxman about Subsistence; or, Feeding the Proletarian Cat 143 6. The Forest: Wood, Warmth, and Repair 165 PART THREE. The Battle for Souls: What Violent Crime Reveals about the Countryside 203 7. Bandit Tales: The Steam of the Still and the Lure of Easy Profit 203 8. Hooliganism: Toward the Cultured Life 224 9. Rough Justice: The Village Disciplines Its Own 243 10. Pitelino 277 Conclusion 316 Appendix 323 Glossary 329 Notes 333 Bibliography 399 Index 423