Key feature: Bolshevik ideology in theory and practice Flashcards
What were the key challenges and opposition the Bolshevik government faced in implementing their early social and political reforms, and how did they address them?
Social (main early changes of the Bolsheviks):
● new Bolshevik government is formed and called “the council of people’s commissars” - SOVNARKOM
● cove ‘decrees’; Peace Decree, Land Decree, Decree on Workers control
● abolishment of old class systems, all titles abolished
● Bolshevik Party renamed the Communist Party
● New marriage code gives husbands and wives equal rights
● School education system brought under state control
Political ( the use of coercion to consolidate power):
● creation of the Cheka (New secret Police)
● replacement of old legal system with one of ‘revolutionary justice’
● shutting down of all opposition press and newspapers
● destruction of rival political parties and fractions
What is the NEP?
The New Economic Policy (NEP), introduced by the Bolshevik government in 1921, was a series of economic reforms aimed at reviving the Soviet economy after the Civil War. Key features include:
Market Mechanisms: Legalisation of small-scale private businesses and retail trade.
Private Ownership: Farmers could sell surplus produce after meeting state quotas.
State Control: The government retained control over major industries like heavy industry, transportation, and banking.
Taxation in Kind: Replacing grain requisition with a tax in kind, allowing peasants to keep and sell surplus.
Foreign Investment: Encouragement of foreign investment and expertise to stimulate industrial growth.
Why was the NEP introduced?
● Introduced gradually from March 1921 to the end of 1922, as a replacement to War Communism.
● Facing rising opposition and rebellion and economic collapse, the NEP was to be a “temporary measure” to ensure the survival of the regime.
● Overall effect was to create a mixed economy in Soviet Russia, with both a state controlled public sector and a private sector operating on the basis of supply and demand under market forces (elements of capitalism).
● A ‘limited’ form of capitalism, it makes way for a new class of Nepmen.
What are the 4 main elements of the NEP?
- Grain requisitioning was abolished and replaced by a ‘tax in kind’. Some grain had to be given to the state (a smaller amount than during WC), and surpluses could be sold on the open market.
- Private trading and the ownership of small businesses became legal.
- Heavy industry and systems remained under state control (coal, steel, railways, banking).
- Industries under state control after 1921-22 were still expected to trade at a profit. If they failed to manage their budgets, there was no government bail outs.
What are the short and long term impacts of the NEP?
Short term impacts:
● Within 1 year, there was enough food again. Shops had reopened around the country.
● Industry began to recover: up by 200% within 3 years
● NEPmen (people who bought up surplus goods and sold them) appeared…the evils of capitalism
Long term impacts:
● It didn’t address Russia’s main problem of modernising and industrialising the economy.
● Leads to extreme tension within the Party, esp. between Lenin and Trotsky. Many believe it is a betrayal of socialist economic principles
