i cele ae en ee a TE Re 6. THE KUZNETSOVS VISIT A FARM This is the sixth in a series of articles on the mir Kuznetsov, his wife Natasha, formerly Moscow correspondent for ‘the ‘How could we've done it without collective effort? life of a typical Soviet family, the Kuznetsovs—V ladi- his son Sasha and his daughter Galya. New York Times, is now resident correspondent in the capital for the London Daily Worker. . By RALPH PARKER Ralph Parker, the author, was Soviet MOSCOW As she served them with fluffy-soft pancakes and thick sour cream, Agripina Grigorievna told the Kuznetsovs the story of her life. And her life is that of the man of the farm’s board of management. “Who. am I? A peasant’s daughter. was small and'the family big, nine “As a child I did everything a peasant up tree stumps, ditched and dyked, Shifted snow.” Now, nearing 50, Agripina Grig- Orievna is a strong, well-built, en- ergetio woman. She wears a can- vas coat and high rubber boots, 4 Scarf turban-wise ‘round her short- cut hair, a cotton dress with a tartan pattern. “In 1932,” she continued, “a col- lective farm was organized at Troitskoye. “There was some hesitation at first, but by the fall we were al- ready a big family and by the next year we were all in it. “At first the men used to say I ought to keep to a woman's job, but I went on looking after the horses and was soon doing it better than the men, x x * “Then there were the war years. By the time we got rid of the Ger- Mans I was a brigadier. Hard times! j “They weren’t here long but they destroyed everything. Thirteen houses burned, all the farm build- ings. No cattle or tools, the men in the army, It’s terrible to think of now, : “But we had to live, we had to help to beat the Germans. We began i a small way. Used bullocks for ploughing. : “The boys got six horses that Were too sick for the army. We nursed them round. “The harvest was good that year. € got wheat for ourselves and alle to the government. All hrough the war years we were Siving_an extra 25 to 30 tons to the front, “We had to work in the fields and at the same time rebuild, the farm. As you've seen, all the houses have been rebuilt now. We built a vegetable store, a granary, cies Five years I've been chair- “Was it hard? Of course it was. “Though I’ve worked ,at every- hie: on the farm since I was 2 ild, I feel the lack of culture. vith the old three-year school- ik 8, you can’t get very far, but be- eae me, responsibility is a good sae If they make you their er, you" mark. you’ve got to be up to the “People put their fate in your nds, so you can’t let them down, Seely if youre a woman, Cir sister, as it were. ~~ “I think the q people trust me. they've elected me to the village, eappal and county councils, With ch trust in me I can’t work badly. You can see for yourselves what tere a simple peasant woman, half Pate not a party member Ough the party trusts me as one of their own. When you compare with the past yOu see what Soviet power means. ne We lived in the old way we'd be ar begging all the time. ites at any of our yards, and Gee ond a cow, a pig or two an course chickens, goats, sheep. d|from @ Gorki collective-farm. For some years she has been thé elected chair- of us. Born in Tartarovka, not far away. Our father’s holding Father worked in Moscow as a porter. A fine crop of corn on the Kirov “And every one has his individual tract. It’s called individual but what would it be worth without the collective ? “How could we have reached this standard after the German devasta- tion without common collective ef- fort? a * * “As in the fields, so in the homes. We live quite differently than in the past. We have electricity. “Every cottage gets a newspaper. The radio brings the whole world into the village. We don’t stand on the side any longer. hear phonographs, and one with a piano, We have bicycles, even motorcycles. ‘ “An@ one thing more. In the past the peasant had his private joys and his private SOrrows. “When a man grew old and lost his strength there was nothing for him to do but take his satchel and go and beg ‘in Christ’s name’. “Ana now? We've built. four had to do-—ploughed, reaped, moved, chopped wood, dug “phere are homes where you'll, SS ES collective farm in the Kiev regio houses for soldiers’ widows, paid for out of our mutual aid fund. “Families with many children, old men and women who are past working, invalids, are all helped out of the fund, If there’s trouble or sickness, if somebody dies, we help. “In such conditions, people don’t work lazily or carelessly. If any- body does the whole collective would be against him and the whole collective would help the brigadier or the chairman to correct the cul- prit. “Once,”