Production Activities of Agricultural Communes of the Irkutsk Province in the 1920s

The paper examines the organization and production activities of agricultural communes in the Irkutsk Province during the recovery period. A comparative analysis is provided between communes and other forms of collective farming. The study reveals political, socio-economic, and psychological factors contributing to the establishment of communes, with particular emphasis on economic motivations driving the creation of collective farms. The statutes of agricultural communes, which define the organizational and legal framework for their creation and operation, as well as the governing bodies, rights and obligations of commune members, and social composition, are explored. Special attention is given to the production activities of the communes, highlighting that most of them operated as subsistence farms, as evidenced by examples of internal consumption of the produced goods. The paper analyzes issues related to the distribution of material goods, which were primarily based on egalitarian principles. Internal reasons for the transition from egalitarian distribution to the principles of material incentives, which took into account the quantity and quality of labor expended, are discussed. The difficulties of introducing piece-rate wages in the communes, which led to wealth stratification within the collective, are noted. Internal conflicts within the collectives, driven by the spread of private ownership psychology, resulting in the dissolution of the farms, are also highlighted. The communes' production successes and their influence on the local population are particularly emphasized. In conclusion, the significance of communes as a phenomenon of the transitional period in history is determined.