Final answer:
Lenin proposed strict measures against kulaks as they were seen as obstacles to collectivization and enemies of the state, which became a prelude to Stalin's severe repression during the collectivization and the Great Purge.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lenin proposed harsh measures against the kulaks because they were seen as scapegoats for the difficulties in implementing collectivization and were portrayed as enemies of the state. This led to their persecution, including arrests, executions, and restrictions on their families. Stalin's policies intensified this, as kulaks were cast as bourgeois anti-revolutionaries and were seen as a threat to his plans for rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture, which led to widespread famine and the death of millions, particularly in Ukraine.
The policy of collectivization was part of the broader Five-Year Plans, and its implementation saw a violent resistance from peasants and heavy-handed repression by the state. The repression escalated into the Great Purge, where millions were arrested and hundreds of thousands executed by the NKVD, including a vast number of political dissidents, army officers, and civilians.
As part of the ideological struggle, the Bolshevik Party, under Stalin, sought to eradicate any perceived opposition that could undermine its control over the Soviet Union, which meant the destruction of any group that could form a social basis for resistance, including the kulaks.