Lenin, 1918-21 Flashcards
What were Lenin’s 4 economic objectives?
- Modernisation
- Consolidation - economic stability to hold on to power
- Military victory
- Destroy capitalism - destroy inequality
What were Lenin’s 3 economic polices?
- State capitalism
- War Communism
- NEP
When did Lenin introduce State Capitalism?
March 1918
What did State Capitalism entail?
- nationalisation of large industries.
- control of nationalised industries centralised by the Vesenkha
What was the Veshenkha?
Body in charge of the nationalised industries under State Capitalism
Why did Lenin introduce State Capitalism?
- Felt economy was not ready for socialism
2. Wanted to improve efficiency
When did Lenin introduce War Communism?
1918 (start of the Civil War)
Why did Lenin introduce War Communism?
to win the civil war
What did War Communism entail?
- Nationalisation of all industry
- Food dictatorship
- Labour discipline
- Abolition of the market
War Communism
What was the food dictatorship?
- free market in food was abolished
- grain requisitioning
- food rationed by the Supply Commissariat
(soldiers with the most food, bourgeoisie with the least)
War Communism
What was labour discipline?
- 11 hour working day
- compulsory work for able bodied men between 16 and 50
War Communism
What was the abolition of the market?
- money became worthless because of hyperinflation, and was then formally abolished
- private trade made illegal
What were the main consequences of War Communism?
ECONOMIC CRISIS !!
- low productivity - workers not rewarded for their labour
- famine in the countryside from grain requisitioning
- workers fled cities in search of food
Evidence of;
War Communism causing famine in the countryside
- 1921 harvest was 46% of the 1913 harvest
- 6 million people died of starvation in rural areas in 1921
Evidence of;
War Communism causing workers fleeing cities to search for food.
- industrial workforce declined from 2.6 million in 1917 to 1.2 million in 1921.
When was the NEP introduced?
1921
What did the NEP entail?
- Farming left to the free market
- Small factories denationalised
- Large factories and major industries remained nationalised
Why did Lenin introduce the NEP?
- to retain political power
- to revive the economy + end famine
- generate wealth to industrialise and modernise
What were the 6 consequences of the NEP?
- Recovery of agriculture
- Slow recovery of industry
- Scissor Crisis
- Inequality (NEP men) + Corruption
- Political Stability
- Divisions in the Party
Consequences of the NEP
Recovery of agriculture
- ending of grain requisitioning popular
- free trade = incentive to produce more grain = ending of famine
Consequences of the NEP
Slow recovery of industry
- major electrification campaign by Lenin provided some revival
- recovery was still slow
Consequences of the NEP
Explain the scissor crisis
ADD TO THIS!!!!
- Agriculture recovered more quickly than industry
- This imbalance meant a fall in agriculture prices, and a rise in industrial prices.
- This meant that industrial goods were too expensive for peasants
Consequences of the NEP
Inequality and corruption
- NEP men = travelled selling desirable goods became very rich
- gambling and prostitution became widespread
Consequences of the NEP
Political stability
- Grain requisitioning = popular with peasants = began to support regime
- ending of famine = increased living standards
Consequences of the NEP
Divisions within the party
right wing = SUPPORT, necessary transitional stage
left wing = OPPOSE e.g Trotskey, problems of capitalism re-emerged and was a backward step
centre = SUPPORT, helping to rebuild economy
