“Red disaster”: on the economic sources of the CCP’s domination in the Soviet regions of China

Abstract

Background. Based on the sources mostly unknown to Russian historiography, the article examines the socio-economic situation of the Chinese village during the socalled the agrarian revolution and the policy of the Communists, associated with strengthening the stability of the ruling regime of the CCP in the “red enclaves” on the example of the Central base in South China. The author’s attention is focused on identifying and characterizing economic sources and the origin of financial flows that contributed to the consolidation of party dictatorship without significant support from the peasantry and in conditions of economic decline, as well as an analysis of some causes of the collapse of the Soviet project in the country. Results. The article examines the main aspects and methods of “aiding the revolution” (expropriation) of rural rich men (“da tuhao”) and the invasion of market towns (“choukuan”) for hunt for prey of the Chinese Red Army; investigated the material capabilities of the peasantry and its reaction to the alienation of property. Conclusions. Analysis shows that the main task of the CCP’s economic policy was the total confiscation of values from the rural and urban population, regardless of their property status due to the general decline of the countryside.

Keywords

• сhina
• the ccp
• “agrarian revolution”
• expropriation of rural despots
• the red army
• invasions of towns