The socialist reconstruction of agriculture in such a vast territory as the Non-Chernozem region, including the use of its land fund in the 1930s, has not yet been sufficiently studied, especially in comparison with such regions as the North Caucasus, Siberia, the Middle Volga region, the Central Chernozem Zone, and others. Recently, the attention of Soviet historians to the peculiarities of collective farm construction and the development of agriculture in the Non-Chernozem region has increased. Collections on the collectivization of agriculture in the areas of this zone 1 were published , containing materials and documents on the socialist transformation of the countryside, on the organizational and economic strengthening of collective farms, and on the development of agricultural production in the 1930s. The introductory articles to these collections also address this problem. Of considerable interest to the researcher are essays on the history of regional party organizations in the Non-Chernozem zone 2 . One of the first attempts at a monographic study of this topic was made by A. K. Shustov3 . Against the background of the general picture of the implementation of continuous collectivization in the village of the Upper Volga region, the author identifies the features of this process in the region. V. I. Kulikov dealt with the problem of developing the land fund of the Non-Chernozem region 4 . One of the chapters of his monograph is devoted to Non-Chernozem.

The problem of using non-Chernozem lands for grain production has long attracted the attention of the country's most prominent scientists. The founder of the scientific school of agrochemistry, D. N. Pryanishnikov, as early as 1925, in his lecture "Malthus and Russia", recommended expanding the plow area to increase agricultural production, "which is possible in very large sizes for the Non-Chernozem zone of European Russia (and Siberia)" 5 . His article "Reserve billion (Chemicalization of agriculture in the Non-Chernozem zone)", published in June 1929 in the newspaper Izvestia, was devoted to the problem of development of the Non-Chernozem zone. The article emphasized that due to the chemicalization of agriculture, it becomes possible to use areas that do not need irrigation; the use of fertilizers can ensure sustainable yields of 30 days of grain per hectare. In the event of a drought in the steppe regions of the south-east of the country, the gross grain yield in the country may decrease by a whole quarter, i.e. by 16.6 million tons of grain, which, as the experience of 1891, 1911 and 1921 showed, threatens the lives of millions of people. To prevent such consequences of drought, it is necessary to grow an extra billion pounds of grain (about 17 million tons) in the Non-Black Earth zone, which does not know droughts .6 According to D. N. Pryanishnikov, the expansion of sown areas in this zone would also improve the geography of grain farming.

A new stage in the rise of agriculture is not yet complete.-

1 See: Collectivization of agriculture in the Northern Region (1927-1937). Vologda. 1964; Collectivization of agriculture in the Western district of the RSFSR (1927-1937). Smolensk. 1968; Collectivization of agriculture in the North-Western district (1927-1937). Leningrad. 1970; Collectivization of agriculture in the Central Industrial District (1927-1937). Ryazan. 1971.

2 See: Essays on the History of the Ivanovo Organization of the CPSU, Part II (1917-1967). Yaroslavl. 1967; Essays on the history of the Yaroslavl organization of the CPSU. Yaroslavl. 1967; Essays on the history of the Kalinin Organization of the CPSU, Moscow, 1971; Essays on the History of the Ryazan Organization of the CPSU, Moscow, 1974.

3 Shustov A. K. Victory of the collective farm system in the Upper Volga region. Yaroslavl. 1971.

4 Kulikov V. I. The Communist Party in the struggle for the development of new lands during the socialist transformation of agriculture. - Voprosy istorii CPSU, 1977, N 1; his. Historical experience of developing virgin lands, Moscow, 1978.

5 Pryanishnikov D. N. Izbrannye sochineniya [Selected Works], vol. 3, Moscow, 1963, p. 212.

6 Ibid., pp. 263-265.

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The Black earth zone is associated with the implementation of continuous collectivization. It was closely connected with the radical restructuring of the material and technical base of agriculture. Socialist industrialization and socialist transformation of agriculture are the conditions that made it possible to start developing new land in the North. After all, before the revolution and even later, in the pre-kolkhoz period, the main methods of clearing woodlands for crops were bollards, pasture clearing and manual uprooting; machines were almost not used. Small areas reclaimed by the peasants from the forest were sometimes obtained at the cost of the destruction of huge forest areas, destroyed by fires and annual fires. Only with the victory of the collective farm system, the peasantry, with the help of MTS equipped with modern equipment, was really able to take up the development of new lands.

The XVI Congress of the CPSU (b) in its resolution "On the collective farm movement and the rise of agriculture" decided:: "In the next few years, expand the agriculture of the consuming strip, turning it into the most important dairy, horticultural, pig-breeding and flax regions" 7 . There is no mention of grain farming yet, but the problem of Non-Chernozem lands is already becoming the subject of careful research by scientific, party and state bodies. Opportunities for the development of grain farming are also being studied. The company created in 1929 was also involved in solving this problem. V. I. Lenin All-Union Academy of Agricultural Sciences (VASHNIL). From the very beginning of its activity, it paid serious attention to solving the problem of raising agriculture in the Non-Black Earth zone and promoting grain cultivation to the north. Its first president, N. I. Vavilov, whose constant ideal was the idea of "land renewal", described the development of new lands as a "grandiose task" in an article about the main tasks of the academy: "The promotion of agriculture to the north, to areas of more sustainable agriculture, is emerging in the European part of the Union" 8 .

In November 1931, an extraordinary session of the USSR Academy of Sciences was held in Leningrad, where N. I. Vavilov made a report on "The problem of Northern agriculture". The scientist considered the use of the Non - Chernozem zone, or, as it was then called, "the North" (as opposed to the steppe chernozem "South"), for agriculture as an integral part of a broader task-the use of all the resources of the region in the interests of the development of the national economy of the USSR. The development of the natural resources of the Non-Chernozem region (forests, minerals, water energy), the construction of railways and other tasks of the zone's development caused an urgent need for significant expansion and development of agriculture here. Like Pryanishnikov, Vavilov emphasized that there are some favorable conditions for this in the Non-Chernozem zone: "The most significant fact that determines the feasibility of moving north is the stability of crops here due to humidity in the northern regions, the lower dependence of northern crops on the conditions of the year, and the absence of droughts."

The President of VASHNIL cited specific data that some crops, such as rye, barley, spring wheat, and sometimes winter wheat, produce higher yields in the north than in the arid southern regions. A characteristic feature of northern agriculture, he considered the stability of crops over the years. He drew the attention of the session participants to the experience of the Nordic countries in the cultivation of bread, to high yields in Denmark and Germany, and also reported on the results of the work of the All-Union Institute of Crop Production led by him. The data of these studies showed that the latitude of the Arctic Circle (66° 30' N) can be considered the limit of maturation of the earliest modern varieties of cereals..), and such agricultural crops as potatoes, beets, rutabagas, carrots, cabbage, onions, radishes, even reached the coast of the Arctic Ocean. N. I. Vavilov expressed the opinion that "the limiting factor in the development of agricultural culture is not the cold, but swampiness, which can be controlled by drainage" 9 . He gave a positive answer to the question of whether it is possible to raise agriculture in the Non-Chernozem region, indicating the means and ways to achieve this goal: "Liming, soil fertilization

7 CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee. Ed. 8-E. T. 4, p. 455.

8 Agricultural Newspaper, 22. I. 1930.

9 Vavilov N. I. Problema severnogo zemeleliya [The problem of northern agriculture].

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and drying are the main prerequisites for the development of agriculture in the north " 10 .

N. I. Vavilov painted a vivid picture of the future of northern agriculture as he saw it-agriculture characterized by intensive forms with extensive use of fertilizers, drainage, mechanization and electrification: "These will be huge areas of drained and fertilized meadows and pastures on the former swamps and wastelands. Under the cities there will be vast glazed areas of greenhouses and greenhouses that use not only sunlight and manure as a source of heat, but also electricity for both warming and lengthening the growing season. " 11 The scientist considered animal husbandry to be the main branches of agriculture in the Non-Black Earth region, but he believed that grain crops would also move here, and their geography would change.

This foresight of N. I. Vavilov, who collected samples of bread and other agricultural crops all over the world (with the exception of Australia) and was a real connoisseur of agriculture not only in his own country, but also in almost all countries of our planet, in the conditions of the 30s could seem unrealistic and was really difficult to implement. But it was then that the scientist justified the problem of changing agriculture in the Non-Black Earth region. He envisioned it not as a short-term campaign, but as an extensive program that should be based on the use of factors and means of intensification. Developing the ideas of D. N. Pryanishnikov, N. I. Vavilov realized that only a socialist society can solve the grandiose tasks of changing a vast territory. In the pre-revolutionary past, the peasantry with its small-scale production could not cope with the task of developing the Non-Black Earth region, which required large investments; the landlords were not interested in this. For centuries, N. I. Vavilov noted, in the Arkhangelsk Region, for example, less than 1% of its territory was occupied by agricultural crops. Of the 58 million hectares of swamps in the Non-Chernozem zone, Tsarist Russia has developed a little more than 1 million over several centuries. 12 hectares .

N. I. Vavilov's report at the session of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR is not the only speech of the scientist on the issue of changes in agriculture in the Non-Chernozem region. He developed the same ideas in his articles and research 13. N. I. Vavilov did not limit himself to the theoretical formulation of the question. He and the staff of the All-Union Institute of Crop Production have done a lot to achieve this goal. It is impossible not to mention the work of one of the closest employees of N. I. Vavilov, the breeder V. E. Pisarev, who spent many years working on the creation of new wheat varieties for the Non-Black Earth zone of the USSR. In particular, he used hybrid populations bred at the Tulun station in Eastern Siberia. One of these populations-the result of crossing Canadian wheat "Preston" with the variety "prelyud" - gave rise to the variety of early wheat "Novinka", which matured in the Leningrad region in 94 days, in the Northern Territory-within 100 days. In the testing centers of the State Variety Network, the yield of "novosti" reached 30 centners per hectare, this variety gave high indicators in bakery production. Pisarev and the Institute's staff developed many other varieties of Siberian wheat 14 .

The activities of scientific institutions were supported by party and state bodies. In the resolution of the Board of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the USSR of March 13, 1933 on measures to promote winter and spring wheat crops to the north and obtain its high yields, it was stated: "In order to expand spring and winter wheat crops to the north and obtain its high yields, the Board of the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the USSR decides:" To oblige the regional (regional) land administrations of the Northern Territory, the Leningrad Region Moscow, Western Oblasts, Gorky Krai, and the People's Commissariat of Agriculture of the Tatar ASSR and Byelorussian SSR... focus special attention on the implementation of wheat crops in their districts." Seed-growing and other authorities were tasked with providing consumer areas with the scarce varieties of spring wheat "novinka"," cesium-0111 "and winter wheat shoskovskaya-02411" and " durable15 . In the software-

10 Ibid., p. 9.

11 Ibid., p. 14.

12 Ibid.

13 For some of these works, see N. I. Vavilov. Selected works. Vol. 5. Moscow, 1965.

14 See Pisarev V. E. More about the promotion of spring wheat to the north. - Seed production, 1931, N 15, p. 7-10.

15 TSGANKH SSSR, f. 8393, op. 1, d. 250, l. 3.

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the formation specifically addressed the organization of a new grain base in the Non-Chernozem zone and defined the tasks of breeding centers to create new wheat varieties and seed state farms to propagate these varieties, emphasized the need to organize expeditions to study the experience and traditions of bread cultivation and collect data on the most important wheat varieties, their qualities and cultivation conditions.

The XVII Congress of the CPSU(b) (January - February 1934) gave a new impetus to the development of work on raising agriculture in the Non-Chernozem zone, which put forward the task of correctly locating the main branches of agriculture and specializing the districts in crops and industries. The development of the Non-Chernozem zone, the creation of a stable wheat base here - a vast area of bread cultivation and obtaining a certain amount of marketable grain-was attributed to tasks of the same importance as irrigation in the Trans-Volga region16 .

The problems of the Non-Chernozem zone were discussed at a meeting held in the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) on December 5-8, 1935, which was attended by the first secretaries of the regional party committees of the regions of the Non-Chernozem region and Belarus, directors of MTS and state farms, and representatives of other organizations. The meeting developed measures to improve the management of collective farms and further boost agriculture in the Non-Chernozem zone. The main attention was paid to increasing yields, introducing crop rotations, using local fertilizers, developing clover sowing, mechanizing agricultural production, better use of tractors and agricultural machines, training personnel, promoting women to senior positions in collective farms and to work on managing complex machines, preventing crop losses in rainy weather conditions, and accurately implementing the Agricultural cartel Charter adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation. II All-Union Congress of collective farmers-udarnikov 17 .

The main measures developed at the meeting were reflected in the Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) "On the organizational and economic strengthening of collective farms and the rise of agriculture in the regions, territories and Republics of the Non-Black Earth zone" of December 19, 1935. It concerned the development of agriculture in the Moscow, Leningrad, Kalinin, Western and Ivanovo-Voznesenskaya regions, Gorky, Northern and Kirov Territories, and Belarus. The Decree noted that, despite the favorable conditions of the zone, the yields of bread and other agricultural crops remain extremely low here. Grain yields were 7-9 centners, and only in some regions and territories-11 centners per hectare. Complex agricultural machines sent to the MTS zones were not fully used; the tractors ' productivity remained low, and the threshing machines were underloaded. This situation was created because regional and regional organizations did not train personnel to master these machines. The resolution also noted the insufficient development of animal husbandry on collective farms and private farms of collective farmers. In particular, it stated that the number of working horses in the territories and regions of the Non-Chernozem region "still continues to decline, and a significant part of the horses is in unsatisfactory condition" 18 . The situation with clover crops was considered extremely unsatisfactory, "the expansion of which is one of the most important conditions for increasing the yield of grain and especially flax and increasing the feed resources for livestock."

The Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) set the task for the Soviet and party bodies of the Non-Chernozem region to raise the yield of grain to about 16 centners per hectare (90-100 pounds) within three to four years, and to increase the yield of other agricultural crops. The size of new land development was also determined by each region as early as 1936: 700 thousand hectares of new land were to be developed by uprooting, clearing shrubs, and draining swamps. Given the level of mechanization at that time, this was a very difficult task. Prospects for the construction of new MTS and training of machine operators were also outlined. The resolution was supposed to be implemented in a short time, taking into account the importance of the overall task of improving the grain balance of the USSR. It contained the main aspects of the problem of prospective development of agriculture in the Non-Chernozem zone at that time.

Already in the 1930s, some of the-

16 Om. XVII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (b). Stenogr. otch. M. 1934 p. 23-24

17 Izvestiya,20. XII. 1935.

18 Ibid.

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The most important results are the promotion of wheat to the north, and the growth of the share of Non-Chernozem regions in the all-Union production volume of this crop. Wheat acreage in the zone increased from 344.9 thousand hectares in 1928 to 725.5 thousand hectares in 1935 and 2730 thousand hectares in 1937; the gross yield was 3104 thousand, 75.5 thousand and 29.775 thousand tons, respectively, i.e. 1.4%, 2.7% and 6.4% of gross output wheat in the USSR and 2%, 3.9% and 17.7% - to the gross output of all grain crops in zone 19 . In the Non-Chernozem zone, the production of potatoes, flax and vegetables increased. Moscow, Gorky and some other oblasts largely met their needs in bread and vegetables, and almost entirely in potatoes .20
However, there were many difficulties in implementing the program for the development of the Non-Chernozem zone. In 1933, the new land development plan was completed by 80%, in 1934 - by 78%, and in the first seven months of 1935 - by less than 60%. Non-fulfillment also concerned such crops as rye, barley, oats, etc., although the state plan provided for the expansion of their sown areas. In 1934, only the Northern Region fulfilled the plan for the development of new lands. In the BSSR, 54 thousand hectares were plowed instead of 110 thousand, the Moscow and Kirov regions, the Gorky Region 21 did not fulfill their tasks . One of the reasons for this situation was the low level of agricultural mechanization. For the development of new lands, brushcutters, uprooting machines, disc cultivators, ditch diggers, milling cutters, etc. were needed, but they were not enough; machine operators also had to be trained. Sufficient liming of acidic soils was not carried out 22 .

The material and technical base for carrying out such a grandiose task as raising the agriculture of the Non-Chernozem zone was clearly insufficient at that time. For the development of agriculture in the zone, huge financial and material resources were needed. It was impossible to allocate them during the second and third five-year periods, when industrialization continued and when the threat of war loomed over the country, which caused the need to redistribute funds and resources, including metal, to the needs of the country's defense. However, even then, a program for the development of agriculture in the Non-Chernozem zone was developed in basic terms by scientists and approved by the Communist Party and the Soviet State. In the 1930s, considerable results were achieved in its implementation and some experience was gained. The treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, as a result of which a significant part of the Non-Black Earth zone was temporarily occupied by the enemy, was the main reason that postponed the planned implementation of the Non-Black Earth development program for a later time.

F. Schrom

19 In accordance with the administrative-territorial division of the USSR at that time, the following regions were classified as Non-Chernozem: the BSSR, the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Gorky, Ivanovo, Kalinin, Kirov, Leningrad, Moscow, Murmansk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tula, Yaroslavl, Karelian, Komi, Mari, Udmurt, and Chuvash ASSR.

20 Socialist Agriculture, 20. XII. 1936.

21 Ibid., 9. IX. 1935.

22 See. Meeting of grain yield leaders, tractor drivers and thresher drivers with party and government leaders. Stenogr. otch. M. 1936, p. 240.

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