MIDDLE PEASANTRY DEVELOPING INTO KULAK CLASS IN HUNGARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2011
• Sequence Number: 52
• Publication Date: June 23, 1951
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
CLASSIFICATION
CONFIDENTIAL GONr~utr~ i ~u!
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN nOCUMEF:TS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
CD No.
COUNTRY
Hun(-ry
DATE OF
INFORMATION
1951
SUBJECT
HOW
Economic - Agriculture
DATE DIST.
Jun 1951
PUBLISHED
WHERE
PUBLISHED
Monthly. periodical
Budapest
NO. OF PAGES
4
DATE
PUBLISHED
Feb 1951
LANGUAGE
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTIMS INS NATIONAL DEFENSE
01 THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING or ESPIONAGE ACT SO
U. AND II. AS ANEROID. ITS TNANIMI3 SION OR THE REVELATION
01 ITS CONTENTS IN AMT MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PINION IS PRO.
VISITED TT LAW. REFAOD'UCTION Of THIS FORM IS 120 go.
MIDDLE PEASANTRY DEVELOPING
INTO KULAK CLASS IN HUNGARY
Peter Kovacs
The ray-material shortage in Hungarian i>.Ldustry and the increasing labor
shortage can be traced directly to the fact that the national economy is based
on socialized industry on the one hand and backyard agriculture of low produc-
tivity on the other. The system of small holdings does not satisfy industry's
demands for raw materials and the working people's demands for consumers'
goods. In addition, the system uses the labor of hundreds of thousands of
workers unproductively.. Only mechanized, large-scale socialized agriculture
is able to solve these problems. To strengthen socialism, this link in the
chain has to be reinforced first.
Substantial results were accomplished when socialist agriculture was a--
tablished. The network of machine stations was built up in 3 years. Today)
there are 361 machine stations (the average is more than two per county) with
7,500 power machines. Last year, 1904 percent of all land suitable for mech-
anized plowing was plowed by the machine stations.
The state farms have grown rapidly and have 15 times. more arable land to-
day than in 1948. Their livestock and mechanization have increased rapidly,
and 30,000 permanent workers are employed on 362 state farms. They render in-
creasing aid tc the socialist reorganization of agriculture (by improved
seeds, breeding of animals, etc.), although their full potential has not yet
been utilized.
By the end of 1948, the cooperative movement took deep root. At present,
100,000 families are grouped in 2,500 cooperatives whose arable land totals 8
percent of the total arable land. The bulk of the work remains to be done.
The state farms and cooperatives produced orly 8 percent of the chief crops
which were collected by the state in 1950, and 93 percent of the peasants are
still engaged in independent farming. Periodic functional disorders are
_ 1 - ~r nr T
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL. CONID N 1 IA
STATE NAW NSRB DISTRIBUTIQN
IARMY 129 AIR I)o FBI
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
inevitable in a situation like this. The acceleration of the building of so-
cialism in rural Hungary depends on the further strengthening of the worker-
peasant alliance.
The backwardness of agricultural statistics (the:^e are improvements this
year) and the lack of systematic accounting in agriculture make it impossible
to present an exact and all-embracing picture of rural social stratification.
The January 1949 census and the February 1950 livestock count are sufficient,
however, for estimates.
The land reform changed the previous state of affairs radically. More
than 350,000 agrarian proletarians and 300,000 small holders received land.
This can be seen clearly when the 1941 and 1949 censuses are compared. Almost
every third wage earner (30.8 percent) was a landowner in 1949.
Another important result of the land reform is that the l4orking peasantry
became the most important factor in agriculture. More than 80 percent of the
arable land was in their hands in 1949 as compared to the 40 percent in 1935.
Size of
Property 1935
1949
Increase
1935
1949
Increase
-
cadastral
(-
-Tcadastral 57
yokes)
yokes)
1-5
484,430
561,209
15.8
1,225,009
1,746,310
42.6
5-1.0
198,645
385,655
94.1
1,433,510
2,969,544
107.2
10-20
16C,339
203,026
26.6
2,266,451
2,800,715
23.6
The above table shows that the land reform primarily increased (at least
doubled) the number of 5-10 cadastral-yoke farms, and the others were increased
significantly at the same time.
The breakdown of farms of under 25 cadastral yokes, on the basis of 1949
data, is as follows:
Size of Property
No of Farms
Percentage
cadastral yokes)
0-1
66,662
6.3
1-8
660,001
62.8
8-25
325,094
30.9
C more realistic breakdown is obtained?] If the number of vineyards is
multiplied by five and if it is understood that a part of the farmers own
land in addition to their farms. Then, the following adjustments have to be
made in the breakdown:
Size of Property
No of Farms
Percentage
cadastral yokes)
0-1
20,703
2.0
1-8
609,698
59.1
8-25
401,417
38.9
1,031,818
100.0
- 2 -
CONFIDENT?AL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
1
The number of farms in the last table is smaller than in the previous
table. The explanaticn is found in the fact that some 20,000 farms have be-
come larger than 25 cadastral yokes,
It is certain that farms of over 8 cadastral yokes constitute medium-
sized farms. This assumption is borne out by the fact that the average live-
stock holdings of medium-sized farms consist of 2.3 head of cattle, 4.2 hogs,
0.9 horses, and 0.9 sheep.
All farmers having under 8 cadastral yokes, but with two or more head of
cattle, fall into the category of medium-sized farmers, because they also own
hogs, sheep, and other livestock in proportion. Approximately 40 percent of
the farmers who own only one head of cattle also own horses, in addition to
hogs and poultry. These farms are able to expand systematically. Thus,
207,000 farms of under 8 cadastral yokes constitute medium-sized farms, while
21,000 farms may be classified as kulak farms because of large ownership of
cattle, horses, and other livestock. Farms in the 8-25 cadastral-yoke cate-
gory with 9 or more head of cattle, 2 head of cattle and 4 horses, 3-5 head of
cattle and 3 or more horses, 5-8 head of cattle and 2 or more horses, or 8
head of cattle and several horses, belong in the kulak category. The distri-
bution of farms of under 25 cadastral yokes presents the following picture,
when examined from the viewpoint of stratification and not of area:
Size of Farm
No of Farms
Distribution
Small farms
423,556
41.9
Medium-sized
farms
587,278
58.1
Total
1.010,834
100.0
The above figures indicate that the majority of the working peasantry be-
long to the medium-sized farm group.
Index of Number of Livestock Owned by Working Peasants
(1935
Cattle
= 100)
Hogs
Horses
Sheep
1945
77.0
39.5
51.0
124.0
1947
148.0
97.7
99.0
227.0
1950
159.0
161.8
101.0
328.0
Total number of farmers who owned more than 25 cadastral
yokes of land in the summer of 1949
63,300
Farms of under 25 cad-..cral yokes with large livestock
holdings
21,000
4,000
Owners of 2 cadastral yokes of green-pepper and red-onion
gardens
500
C01v1FIDENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9
I
v
CONFIDENTIAL
Tractor and threshing-machine owners in the 5-cadastral-yoke
group
Landowners also engaged in other occupations (innkeepers,
butchers, millers, etc.)
Total 100,000
The above table is not exact, but very informative. Subsequently, the
following changes have taken place?
No of Farms Area
(cadastral yokes)
Summer 1949
Purchase of kulak holdings
by end of 1950
Beginning of 1951
63,300
16,800
46,500
500,000
1,760,000
The arable land in the hands of kulaks amounts to approximately 1,230,000
cadastral yokes, or 12.9 percent of the country's total arable land.
Of the 775,000 workers counted in the 1949 census, 374,000 were wage
earners. By the end of 1950, 180,000 were employed by state farms, 45,000
landless workers were employed by cooperative farms, and 90,000 changed to in-
dustry. These figures show the changes in the condition of agricultural work-
ers, but do not indicate the number of workers employed in the independent
sector of agriculture,. It may be estimated that kulaks employ about 40,000-
50,000 workers.
The number of kulaks is gradually decreasing. In the last 3 years, they
have lost 25 percent of their land. At the same time, kulak ranks are rein-
forced by the middle peasantry.
The number of middle peasants has grown. This sect 'r of the peasantry
has been introduced to a better kind of life. They dress better, eat better,
and have put their land and houses into good shape. Their children attend
secondary schools and even go to institutions of higher learning. The first
thirst for a better life has been satisfied, and wants give rise to new wants.
These peasants would like to have better entertainment and less physical la-
bor. They would like to have better and more comfortable furniture, paved
streets, anc' movies.
The medium-sized farm, which is not suitable for modern methods and ma-
chinery, cannot satisfy increased wants. The small farm, which was the peas-
ant's basis for economic strength, hinders him today. Only a few peasants un-
der3tand this at precseuL. Today, they are afraid of cc erativeR;b11+ tomorrow
they will realize that those who joined are ahead of them. They will see that
while they and their families sweat on their small. property, the work of the
cooperatives is done by modern machinery.
tOKFft M,
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000600400052-9