Extra detail: economic and social developments Flashcards
How much of food in cities came from the black market?
Up to 2/3
Why did authorities fail to stamp out the black market?
- There was no other alternative if people were to survive
- They often used it themselves
How many people died in the civil war from non military reasons and what were these reasons?
5 million
- Starvation
- Diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera, dysentry
What was the number of deaths in action?
350,000
When was the typhus epidemic and how many people did it kill?
1920
>3 million
Dissent in response to war communism
- Calls for better rations
- Calls for a recall of the Constituent Assembly
- Some ignored the passport system and armed guards to flee to the countryside
How many uprisings were there in Feb 1921?
155
How many nepmen were there in Moscow in 1925?
25,000
How much of trade were the nepmen responsible for?
75%
When was external trade nationalised?
June 1918
What are some examples of why allowing workers to control factories was inefficient?
- Some awarded themselves unsustainable pay rises
- Some helped themselves to stock and equipment
- Cases of workers making penknives out of machine parts or shoe soles out of the leather conveyor belts to sell on the black market
What are ‘sackmen’?
Peasants with sacks of goods to sell
What percentage of the Petrograd workforce had left the city by April 1918?
60%
Why was disease so prevalent during the war?
- Scarcity of soap
- Shortage of doctors after the assualt on the bourgeoisie
- Medicine hard to obtain
How did Jews suffer in the war?
White pogroms
How did Kiev suffer in the war?
Changed hands 16 times, each time bringing further hardship to the citizens
How did the Ukraine suffer in the war?
Whole villages wiped out, mainly in Cossack attacks
Who probably fared the worst in towns and cities?
Former members of the nobility and bourgeoisie
Why did the former bourgeoisie fare so badly?
- They had no ration cards so were reduced to begging or selling their few possessions
- Some were given manual tasks like clearing snow and ice or sweeping the streets
- Some sent out to help in the labour battalions
- Large houses and palaces divided up by Bolshevik building committees so they were reduced to occupying a small area
What is the definition of war communism?
The political and economic system adopted by the Bolsheviks during the Civil War in order to keep the towns and the Red Army provided with food and weapons
What were peasants encouraged to do under war communism?
Establish collective or cooperative farms but only a tiny minority complied
Define kulaks
Russian peasants who were wealthy enough to own a farm and hire labour; the Bolsheviks used the description ‘Kulak class’ to refer to the wealthier (capitalist) peasants
How were kulaks treated?
Labelled ‘enemies of the people’ and their entire stocks were sometimes seized
How did peasants resist grain requisitioning?
- By hiding supplies, which were often searched out (any who informed against them were given half of any grain discovered)
- Growing less
- Murdering members of the requisition squads
Who were slightly better treated than the kulaks?
The poor and moderately poor
What was the first entire industry to be nationalised?
Sugar, May 1918
What was the second entire industry to be nationalised?
Oil, June 1918
Why were professional ‘managers’ employed by the State?
To increase output and reimpose discipline
How was hard work rewarded (workers)?
Bonuses and more rations
How were food, clothing and lodging controlled?
Through centralised distribution and regulations
What was demanded of the non-working class?
Obligatory labour duty
How did the State try to stop workers moving back to the countryside?
By introducing internal passports
What did terrible conditions under war communism lead to in some cases?
Cannibalism and a trade in dead bodies
Who supported the Tambov revolt?
Members of the Green forces
What was used to deal with revolters in Tambov who hid in the forest?
Poison gas
What did workers protest in 1921, which sparked the Kronstadt rising?
The lack of union representation in factories and expressed their support for other socialist parties
What happened when martial law was declared in January 1921?
Some regular soldiers refused to take action and the Cheka had to be used to crush the demonstrations
When did the ‘scissors crisis’ occur?
1923
What were the production levels in 1926 like?
Same as 1913
How many SRs were executed after being given a show trial?
11
What was GLAVIT?
The Main Administration for Affairs of Literature and Publishing Houses
How was GLAVIT used for repression?
All writings had to be submitted to it for approval before being published
When was the Union of Militant Godless set up?
1921
When were churches attacked and what happened?
From 1922, they were stripped of valuable possessions and 100s of priests were imprisoned & some executed
