The article exploresthe dailylife of peasants of the Saratov Volga region on the eve of collectivization, associated with the implementation of the policy of the Soviet leadership on a large-scale “pumping out” food resources and “fighting the kulak” from the village. on the one hand, they were caused by a shortage of food for the cities and the army, on the other, they were the consequence of a ripening in the central government of the USSR decisions on accelerated collectivization.