The Economic Life of the German Peasantry of the North-West of the RSFSR in 1918–1941 (Using the Novosaratovskaya Colony as an Example)

The subject of the research is the economic history of the Novosaratovka German colony in the first two decades of Soviet power (1918–1941). The main emphasis is put on the economic life of the German peasantry during the years of “war communism”, the New Economic Policy and the “great leap forward” of the 1930s. The purpose of the article is to characterize and analyze the economic life of the colony at different chronological stages of the Soviet interwar period. During the years of “war communism” Novosaratovka played a key role in supplying Petrograd and the Red Army with food, fodder, and horses. The food tax dealt a painful blow to its economic well‑being and led to a reduction in sown areas. During the NEP, the Novosaratovka colonists went through a path of economic rehabilitation. Its sources were found in the restoration of the agricultural market, side jobs, changes in the sphere of labor activity, strengthening of economic ties with Leningrad, and cooperation. In the 1930s, the Novosaratovka peasantry again found itself in extreme conditions. The Germans were not only able to overcome the difficult trials of collectivization, but also to achieve a prosperous life and outstanding economic results within the framework of the collective farm system. The economic life of Novosaratovka in the interwar period was typical for German colonies near Petrograd-Leningrad in most respects. But due to a higher level of social and property stratification and the acuteness of the land issue, revolutionary changes, the realities of the NEP and the economic transformations of collectivization affected the economy of the colony under study to a greater extent than in the daughter German villages. The article is intended for specialists studying the history of national minorities and the peasantry of the Leningrad region in the first decades of Soviet power, as well as for historians studying the socio-economic history of the North-West of Russia during the years of the Revolution of 1917, the New Economic Policy and collectivization.