Economy Flashcards
What was State Communism
To place the economy in hand of the proletariat but also using capitalism and experts to ensure economic growth
What was the key element of State Capitalism
Nationalising the economy
What Decrees/decisions did Lenin make in 1917
Land Decree: abolished private ownership, giving peasants control of their farms
Decree on Workers Control: placed control of factories in the hands of workers
Peoples Bank of the Russian Republic: all banks nationalised and merged into one
What were the positives of state capitalism
Gave considerable power to people, making Bolsheviks popular
Everyone considered as equal (in terms of class)
Gave oppressed workers a say
Could control the economy by nationalising the bank
What were the negatives of State Capitalism
Caused a crisis in the economy, workers gave themselves high pay rises
Violently dismissed their managers
No real tax, meaning no income
No expertise as they dismissed their managers making illiterate people in charge and not making any profit
Experts were purged
Why was War Communism introduced
- Economic collapse
- Bolshevik mistakes
- Ideological basis
What were the key features of War Communism
Hierarchical structures Nationalisation Rationing Vesenkha Military discipline Grain requisition Private trading banned Bartering
What was nationalisation
All industry without compensation
Rationing
Soldiers and factories received preferential treatment
Vesenkha
State control of the economy
Military discipline
Death penalty for workers who went on strike
Bartering
All goods traded for other goods, received wages in goods
Private trading banned
Trade controlled trade, black markets increased due to demand
Grain requisition
150,000 volunteers sent to countryside to seize peasants grain, starvation became common
What key features of War Communism was actually part of the communist ideology
Bartering
Vesenkha
Private trading banned
What key features were made simply for winning the Civil War
Grain requisition Military discipline Rationing Nationalisation Hierarchical structures
What was the economic impact on War Communism
All types of heavy industry was shown to decrease entirely.
Coal decreasing from 29m tonnes in 1913 to 9m tonnes in 1921
Steel decreased from 4.3m tonnes to 0.2m tonnes in 1921
Why was War Communism considered a success to a certain extent
Contributed to Boslheviks victory in Civil War as it allows control over all aspects of the economy
War Communism wasn’t designed to boost growth, it was made to win the war, not grow the economy
When did War Communism come to end
Lenin announced at the 10th Party Congress of 1921 the end of War Communism
Why did Lenin end War Communism
The Bolsheviks had won the war and there was no need to continue the policy, however other factors can come into consideration
What factors made Lenin’s end of War Communism
Economic Collapse: heavy food industry fell by 20%, food production also fell by 40%, 20m deaths due to famine and diseases during 1920s
Unpopularity: rationing was detested as it was linked to social class, returns to managers caused resentment and workers resented loss of control over industry
Tambov Rising: grain requisition caused conflict in countryside, uprising in key grain production in Central Russia, and took army of 50,000 to crush uprising
Kronstadt Mutiny: serious military challenge to the Bolsheviks, previously most loyal supporters to the CP, and a key factor in Lenins decision to end War Communism
What were the key features of NEP
Legalised private trading: return of privately owned businesses such as shops and markets
End to requisition: replaced with a system of taxation
No collectivisation: confirmed peasant control of land
Bonuses for workers: state-owned factory owners rewarded with incentives
Privatisation of small-scale industry, state retained control of Commanding Heights of the Economy which was heavy industry, transport, banks
What did Lenin describe the NEP as
‘One step backwards, two steps forwards’, this meant it was a retreat back to capitalism, evidence of this was the emergence of NEPMEN (businessmen who profited from the new policies)
Who detested the idea of retreating back to capitalism
Trotsky and the left-wing
Was the NEP a success
Yes, steel increased from 0.2m tonnes in 1921 to 3.1m tonnes in 1926
Grain also increased from 37.6m tonnes in 1921 to 76.8m tonnes in 1926
Electricity tripled from 1921 to 1926
Why did the economy grow so quickly during 1926
Factories became more efficient with managers returning
Growth driven from NEPMEN setting small businesses
End of requisition allowed peasants to sell and grow more for profit
What were the negatives for rapid economic growth during 1926
Belief that capitalism would lead to corruption, crime and prostitution
Most serious was the ‘scissor crisis’ where the flood of cheap food, want agricultural prices dropped while prices for industrial product rose rapidly
Why was food production the key to economic growth
Because it could support the industrial workers and to export and raise money for further industrial investment
Why did Trotsky and the left-wing want rapid industrialisation
So they could call for an end to the NEPMEN, this was due to them undermining communism and weakening the proletariat
Why did Stalin abandon the NEP in 1928
In order to defeat Bukharin in the Struggle for Power, but also because he believed the economy needed to industrialise rapidly
What is collectivisation
Policy of creating larger agricultural units where peasants would merge their farms and share their crops, rather than farming individually owned private plots where produce is sold for profit
What are the reasons for CP to collectivise agriculture
Collective action at the heart of communist ideology
More efficient &I therefore an increased food production
Better control over peasants if they’re grouped together
What was grain procurement
The state’s tax on peasants
What was the ‘grain procurement’ crisis in 1928
When Stalin temporarily brought back grain requisitioning due to peasants hoarding food, the main target were the kulaks
When did collectivisation start
1928
What was used for kulaks to sign up for collectives
Propaganda
Who were Communist ‘experts’
They were sent to collectives to train peasants in modern farming which included techniques and skills
Who did Stalin call ‘class enemies’
Anyone who wouldn’t join collective farms and began deporting them to labour camps in Siberia
Rather than join collectives what did the kulaks do
Set fire to their farms and killed their livestock
Who were the ‘Twenty-five thousanders’
Volunteers from the city’s who formed ‘dekulakisation squads’ which killed kulaks or sent them to prison camps
What % were farms collective from 1932 to 1937
1932: 62%
1937: 93%
What factors contributed to the decline of agricultural production by 1933
Dekulakisation got rid of experienced farmers who had expertise and were wealthy enough hire out modern machinery
Destruction of farms and livestock due to conflict with kulaks
Supply of machinery by the state was very slow
Grain procurement and grain exports by state left collectives with little surplus food
How many people died during the famine of 1932-3
Approx 7m
How many death did dekulakisation lead to
3-5m
What advantage did the deaths of kulaks bring to Stalin
Destruction of opposition
What successes did collectivisation create
Provided food for Stalins industrial workforce Established CPs control over countryside Got rid of political opposition Indoctrination of youth Spread socialism
What were the failures of collectivisation
10m in labour camps, where 3-5m died
Loss of expertise due to dekulakisation
Livestock decimated almost by half
From what year did Stalin FYPs last to
1928-41
