Economic and social Lenin

Question 1

Actions as part of State Capitalism

Answer 1

Nationalised the banks, external trade, and the railways.
Decrees on Land and Worker’s control gave people control of things but didn’t actually nationalise them.
Veshenka set up December 1917 for economic responsibility.
GOELRO in 1920 for electricity.

Question 2

Peasants in civil war

Answer 2

Some fell back on subsistence farming, early did quite well as sold horses to military and killed livestock, but conditions worsened.

Question 3

Urban food supplies in civil war

Answer 3

Blockade of Trade was bad and loss of Ukraine, by 1918 bread ration in Petrograd only 50g per day, use of black market for up to 2/3 of supplies, ‘sackmen’ came from countryside to barter, authorities couldn’t stamp out because no alternative (and use themselves).

Question 4

Exodus of cities in civil war

Answer 4

Motivated by shortages, went to villages or joined army for rations, est 60% of Petrograd workforce had left by April 1918.

Question 5

Disease in civil war

Answer 5

Nearly 5 million died from disease or starvation, typhus epidemic in 1920 killed around 3 million, lack of soap and few doctors left.

Question 6

Towns and villages in civil war

Answer 6

Whole villages wiped out by marauding armies, Kiev changed hands 16 times.

Question 7

When was war communism

Answer 7

1918 to 1920

Question 8

Requisitioning

Answer 8

Prodrazvyorstka, food supplies dictatorship set up to organise it.

Question 9

Nationalisation under war communism

Answer 9

Of all foreign trade and industries, first entire industry was sugar in May 1918, private trade banned.

Question 10

Labour discipline

Answer 10

Strikes forbidden, ration cards replaced wages, fines for slackness lateness and absenteeism, internal passports introduced, labour duty demanded of non working classes, .

Question 11

Industrial effects of war communism

Answer 11

by 1921 industrial out put at 20% of pre war levels, by end of 1920 population of Petrograd had fallen over 57% since 1917, grain shortage and third of land had been abandoned, famine in 1921 for grain shortages and population fell from c180m 1913 to c140m in 1921.

Question 12

Trigger for red terror

Answer 12

Second assassination attempt in August 1918.

Question 13

Numbers shot in red terror

Answer 13

Estimated around half a million between 1918 and 1920, mostly just all other political opponents like Mensheviks, also class warfare, bourgeois attacked.

Question 14

Peasant revolts

Answer 14

After 1921 famine cheka reported 155 risings in February alone, most serious Tambov 70 000 army joined by members of Green forces, 100 000 red army guys had to be deployed brutally destroy villages 1922 even poison gas.

Question 15

Kronstadt rising

Answer 15

March 1921 30 000 sailors rebelled sent manifesto demanding end to communist rule wanted ‘soviets without bolsheviks’, you know, 15 000 taken prisoner, but caused faction of ‘workers opposition under Kollontai in the party.

Question 16

Gosplan

Answer 16

Established February 1921 to advise on NEP.

Question 17

How was scissor crisis solved

Answer 17

Industrial prices capped and replaced peasants quotas with money taxes meaning they were forced to sell, by 1926, 1913 production levels had been reached again.

Question 18

Nepmen

Answer 18

25 000 in Moscow, 75% of trade, ‘new exploitation of the proletariat’.

Question 19

Political control after NEP

Answer 19

Ban on factions 1921, Mens and SRs banned, in 1921 11 SRs executed after a show trial on charges of counter-revolutionary activities, Cheka renamed GPU and given more powers to arrest and execute at will, from 1923 nomenklatura system mean only appointments from approved members, prioritising party loyalty.

Question 20

Censorship

Answer 20

1922 made clear governmental criticism forbidden, all writings had to be submitted to GLAVIT.

Question 21

Religion after NEP

Answer 21

Renewed attack 1921 Union of the Militant Godless set up and 1922 churches were stripped.