Decollectivization in Occupied North Caucasus in 1942: Between Politics and Economics

This article examines the evolution of Nazi agrarian policy in the occupied territories of the North Caucasus during 1942–1943, identifying the mechanisms, tempo, and the specific geographic-chronological dynamics of de-collectivization. The study foregrounds the fundamental contradiction between the propagandistic pledges of Nazi Germany to abolish the kolkhoz system and introduce private property on the occupied territories of the North Caucasus, and the overriding economic necessity to maintain strict control over food resources. Particular attention is paid to the thesis regarding the implementation of an accelerated reform model in the foothill and mountainous regions. The research draws upon archival holdings from foreign, federal Russian, and regional repositories, as well as published documentary sources and memoirs. These materials allow for the reconstruction and characterization of propaganda tactics and the dynamics of the agrarian reform. The author employs historical-genetic, comparative, and other methodologies, including a synchronous analysis of propaganda and economic reality. It is established that, in practice, the occupation authorities retained the collective farms under the guise of “communal farms”. The study concludes that in the mountainous districts of the North Caucasus, the agrarian reform commenced earlier than in the lowland areas. It is demonstrated that the transition to private property was never completed, and not solely due to the Wehrmacht's retreat in early 1943. The article further argues that the thesis of a direct transition to individual land and livestock tenure in the national oblasts (Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay, Circassia) finds no confirmation in the source base.