After the end of the war with the Nazis, the Soviet Union was in dire need of food. For several years, the country's agriculture has lagged very far behind other sectors of the economy in terms of its indicators. Under these conditions, the party mapped out the ways for a sharp increase in grain production. One of the solutions was the development of virgin lands.
Instructions
Step 1
In the early 50s of the last century, the Soviet leadership decided to develop virgin and fallow lands. It was supposed to enter into economic circulation the vast territories of the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East and Kazakhstan. The aim of the events was a significant increase in grain production, capable of meeting the needs of the population for food. The intensified development of previously untouched lands lasted from 1955 to 1965.
Step 2
There was no time to develop detailed plans and prepare the necessary infrastructure. In fact, the development of virgin lands began spontaneously, without preparatory work. The first stage of large-scale reforms in agriculture was the creation of state farms in those areas where it was planned to plow the land. Roads, storage facilities for grain, bases for the repair of equipment and housing for workers were already built in the course of the development of new territories.
Step 3
The difficulties were not only organizational, but also natural. We had to take into account the climatic conditions in the virgin regions. Dry winds and sandstorms often occurred in the steppes. The land was not adapted for the cultivation of traditional crops. It was required to develop and introduce special gentle methods of tillage and prepare seed material.
Step 4
The development of virgin lands was often carried out in an emergency mode, at the limit of the capabilities of man and technology. At the first stages, there were often confusion and a variety of discrepancies. There was a shortage of materials, equipment was out of order, the life of the workers was unsettled. But organizational problems could not prevent the implementation of the plans outlined by the leaders of the state.
Step 5
The virgin land development project was so ambitious that in several years it absorbed at least one fifth of all resources invested in agriculture throughout the country. The leadership of the USSR sent the best equipment and the most trained machine operators to the virgin lands. During the summer holidays, student groups mobilized for work worked here. Very often, work on fallow lands was carried out to the detriment of agriculture in other regions of the Soviet Union.
Step 6
The concentration of resources allowed the new arable land to provide very high yields. A few years after the beginning of the development of these territories, virgin lands began to give almost half of all the grain produced by the Land of the Soviets. However, there was no stability in the results: in some dry years, virgin lands barely managed to fill the sowing fund for the next season. On the whole, the development of virgin lands became a significant stage in the development of the Soviet national economy. This large-scale labor epic was also reflected in works of art, where the feats of the village workers were glorified.
