MEASURES TO SOLVE THE GRAIN PROBLEM IN THE KRASNOYARSK REGION IN 1953–1964

The purpose of the study is to identify the specifics of grain production development in the Krasnoyarsk Region in 1953–1964. In the context of industrial modernization of the region carried out during this period, the need for a strong and productive agriculture capable of providing the local population with food increased. However, the rate of agricultural production was low, and the rural population was decreasing every year, which further created a threat of food shortage in the country. This paper analyzes a set of economic and managerial measures of the Soviet leadership in the field of agriculture and their results in the development of grain production. In 1953-1964, an attempt was made to solve a set of problems of agriculture in the country as a whole and in the Krasnoyarsk Region in particular. The extensive path of agricultural development chosen by the Soviet leadership was due to the need to obtain results in a short time, as well as a shortage of personnel and resources for the intensification of agriculture. As a result of reforms in agricultural production of the Krasnoyarsk Region, there were local improvements. The shortage of personnel became less acute, the system of training agricultural specialists expanded, agricultural technology and the state of regional seed production improved. However, N.S. Khrushchev's measures were unable to solve the main problem - grain. Crop yields remained low and even the expansion of sown areas did not lead to a significant improvement in the situation, as a result of which in the early 1960s the Soviet Union was forced to buy grain abroad. The failure of N.S. Khrushchev's reforms finally convinced the Soviet leadership of the need for widespread intensification of agriculture.