Kulak , also kurkul (Ukrainian: куркуль) or golchomag (Azerbaijani: qolçomaq, plural: qolçomaqlar), was the term which was used to describe peasants who owned over 3 ha (8 acres) of land towards the end of the See more

The term was first used in the 19th century as a pejorative to refer to wealthier peasants who owned land and offered credit to poorer peasants. Soviet terminology divided the Russian peasants into three broad categories:
1. See more

In July 1929, official Soviet policy continued to state that the kulaks should not be terrorized and should be enlisted into the collective farms, but Stalin disagreed: "Now we have the opportunity to carry out a resolute offensive against the kulaks, break … See more

• Conquest, Robert. 1987. The Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror-Famine.
• Douglas, … See more

Pre-Revolution
Various tsarist officials and their opposition had expressed negative views of kulaks as early as the 19th century. Judge Anatoly Koni compared … See more

From 1929 to 1933, the grain quotas were artificially heightened. Peasants attempted to hide the grain and bury it. According to historian Robert … See more

• Classicide
• Earth (1930), a Ukrainian film by Alexander Dovzhenko concerning a community of farmers and their resistance to collectivization. Earth depicts the social struggles between kulaks and a youth who introduces a tractor … See more