science

Sovkhoz

Sovkhoz is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sovkhoz rather than just read about it. In short: A sovkhoz was a form of state-owned farm or agricultural enterprise in the Soviet Union. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm.

Key takeaways

Sovkhoz belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sovkhoz to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sovkhoz from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A sovkhoz was a form of state-owned farm or agricultural enterprise in the Soviet Union. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm. Just as the members of a kolkhoz were called "kolkhozniks", the workers of a sovkhoz were called "sovkhhozniks".

History Soviet state farms started to be created in 1918 as an ideological example of "socialist agriculture of the highest order". Kolkhozes, or collective farms, were regarded for a long time as an intermediate stage in the transition to the ideal of state farming. While kolkhozy were typically created by combining small individual farms together in a cooperative structure, a sovkhoz would be organized by the state on land confiscated from former large estates (so-called "state reserve land" that was left over after distribution of land to individuals) and sovkhoz workers would be recruited from among landless rural residents. The sovkhoz employees would be paid regulated wages, whereas the remuneration system in a kolkhoz relied on cooperative-style distribution of farm earnings (in cash and in kind) among the members. In 1990, the Soviet Union had 23,500 sovkhozy, or 45% of the total number of large-scale collective and state farms. The average size of a sovkhoz was 15,300 hectares (153 km2), nearly three times the average kolkhoz (5,900 hectares or 59 km2 in 1990). Sovkhoz farms were more dominant in the Central Asian part of the Soviet Union. During the transition era of the 1990s, many state farms were reorganized using joint stock arrangements, although the development of land markets remained constrained by opposition to private ownership of land.

In other countries Angola China Czechoslovakia (státní statek) East Germany (Volkseigenes Gut) Ethiopia Mongolia Mozambique Poland (państwowe gospodarstwo rolne, PGR)

See also Collectivization in the Soviet Union

Notes

References

Sources

Smith, Whitney L.; Naylor, Rosamond L. (2014). "Land Institutions and Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa". In Rosamond L. Naylor (ed.). The Evolving Sphere of Food Security. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 202–238. ISBN 9780199354078.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sovkhoz

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sovkhoz claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sovkhoz before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sovkhoz ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sovkhoz

In research: Sovkhoz appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sovkhoz in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sovkhoz is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Agricultural labor, Agricultural organizations based in the Soviet Union, Government-owned companies of the Soviet Union, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sovkhoz outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sovkhoz in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sovkhoz means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sovkhoz out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sovkhoz in simple terms?

A sovkhoz was a form of state-owned farm or agricultural enterprise in the Soviet Union. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm.

Why does Sovkhoz matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sovkhoz?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sovkhoz.