Lesson 1 & 2-Government control of the economy: what were state capitalism and war communism and why were they abandoned? What was the New Economic Policy and how did it impact Russia? Flashcards
When was the Land Decree on Worker’s control?
1917
When was War Communism introduced?
1918
When was the New Economic Policy introduced?
1921
When were the grain shortages?
1927
When was the First Five-Year Plan launched which led to collectivisation and grain requisitioning beginning?
1928
What is War Communism?
War communism was the economic and political system that existed in the Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War, from 1918 to 1921.
During War Communism what was the economy totally directed towards?
Equipping and maintaining the Red Army
Define Totalitarianism.
A dictatorship
Ruled by an absolute dictator
Dictator no restricted by constitution/law/opposition etc
What is a Communist State?
an unrestricted state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state
Define capitalism
An economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit.
Define communism
A political theory derived from Karl Marx
Supports class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.
What was the Vesenkha?
the Supreme Council of National Economy
Was a superior state institution for management of the economy
What is state capitalism?
A political system in which the state has control of production and the use of capital.
Define nationalisation
the action of forming or becoming a nation.
What was the Decree on Nationalisation?
In June 1918 this brought industry under central control within 2 years.
What is rationing?
Allow each person to have only a fixed amount of (a particular commodity)
Define terror
To remove any form of political opposition
Give one way in which terror was used in Russia
Lenin established the Cheka
What was the Cheka?
A political police force that engaged in terror tactics against anyone who resisted the Communists
What are Political Commissars?
an official of the Communist Party who was assigned to teach party principles to a military unit.
What is the free market?
An economic system
prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses.
based on supply and demand with little or no government control.
What is the black market?
An illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities
What is Narkomprod?
Commissariat of Supplies
State Committee in charge of food supplies and industrial goods
Define the ‘Ural-Siberian method’.
Approach used for the collection of grain from the countryside.
It was introduced in Urals and Siberia
Define famine
Extreme scarcity of food
What is grain requisitioning?
The seizing of grain mainly from the Kulaks
Who was Tomsky?
A factory worker
Trade unionist
Bolshevik leader
Who was Rykov?
Russia Bolshevik revolutionary
A Soviet politician
What state was the Bolshevik Russian Economy as a result of the First World War?
In chaos
What was the agricultural and industrial system as a result of the First World War?
It was outdated and inefficient
Who did the Bolsheviks believe the economy should be in the hands of?
Workers and peasants
What did believing the economy should be in the hands of the workers and the peasants cause?
It was ineffective in ensuring progress
What did Stalin introduce as he was frustrated at the chaos in the Bolshevik economy?
A series Five-Year Plans
The collectivisation of agriculture (beginning 1928/29)
What happened as a result of the introduction of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans and his collectivisation of agriculture?
It transformed the Soviet Union but at an enormous cost
When did the pace of economic policies change?
After Stalin’s death in 1953
