56 Chapter 4The economy was in tatters. Several armed rebellions and strikes were met
with further repression. Quickly, Lenin inaugurated the New Economic
Policy (NEP; started 1921–1929), which sought to revive the economy
under cap i tal ist enterprises in a limited free market. NEP mea sures allowed
for greater private owner ship, stock, and foreign investment.^16
Rice farming among Koreans began around 1905 in the Ussuri.
Grodekovskii district was where most of the early rice production took place.
In 1919, in the Primorskii region, rice was planted on 300 desiatinas; in
1920, on 2,400 desiatinas; in 1921, on 6000 desiatinas; and in 1922, on 12,000
desiatinas.^17 Rice sown more than doubled from 1925 to 1929 (7502 d. to
16,343 d.), while the total tonnage nearly doubled from 23,114 t. to 45,765t.^18
In 1928, Dalkraikom made a concerted effort to investigate three issues: the
areas suitable for rice production in the Primore; whether the implementation
of irrigation systems was feasible; and how to or ga nize Koreans in artels to
increase production. A 1928 survey of 11,378 rice growers in the RFE found
that 10,176 (89 percent) were Koreans, 1,196 were Rus sians, and 6 were
Chinese.
By 1930, rice planting was to be extended to the Amur region and
slightly north of the Ussuri in the Sikhote Alin, which was known for its
mountains and taiga.^19 From 1923 to 1927, the Korean population increased
from 106,000 to 170,000.^20 Anosov estimated that the number of undocu-
mented Koreans in the RFE numbered 62,000.^21 This would be a total pop-
ulation of around 232,000 in 1927. By 1931, the Soviet authorities had reduced
the illegal Korean immigration to a trickle. Beginning in 1926, Dalkrai
authorities began moving Koreans into collective farms, artels, and communes.
Artels, sovkhozes, and kolkhozes were taxed from one- third to one- fourth
of their harvest or catch, which represented 100–150 rubles yearly per desia-
tina.^22 The number of Korean village soviets in the Primore increased from
122 in 1926 to 160 in 1935. Each village soviet contained from six to nine
villages. Typically, one village was sufficient to form an artel or commune.
Two to four villages would form a kolkhoz.^23 For example, four Korean vil-
lages in the Poset district were amalgamated to form the kolkhoz Pacific
Revolutionary (Tikhookeanskii revolutsioner) in 1930.^24 Most importantly
for the Dalkraiispolkom (RFE Soviet leadership), the increase of Korean
collectives increased their tax base. This helped to pay for the korenizatsiia
programs, the migration of Rus sian and Red Army settlers, and the con-
struction of a large number of schools, universities, institutes, and Soviet
institutions (built expressly for the Soviet natsmen).^25 At the same time, the
state’s initial investment in Korean artels and collectives was typically very
low. The Korean kolkhoz the Red Star is one example. It began as two Korean
artels in 1923. The seventy- seven Koreans who were demobilized partisans