The economy 1917-1928 Flashcards
what is state capitalism
A compromise economy which embraced some elements of socialism by imposing a degree of state control but retained elements of capitalism such as private markets
what is war communism
The political and economic system adopted by the Bolsheviks during the civil war in order to keep the towns and Red Army provided with food and weapons
what was the vesenhka
The council of the national economy that was in charge to supervise and control economic development
what was the NEP
Economic policy that marked a shift away from war communism. Private trade was allowed, rationing ended and requisitioning halted in the countryside. Aimed at stabilising the economy.
what were nepmen
speculative traders who brought up produce from the peasants to sell in the towns and consumer articles in the towns to sell in the peasant markets.
what happened december 1917
vesenkha was established to supervise and control economic development
what happened to the banks in december 1917
nationalisation of banks
put banks in control of the government
what happened summer 1918
lenin introduced a series of harshly restrictive economic measures, which were collectivly known known as war communism
why was state capitalism failing
failing to deal with the demands of civil war, food prices soared, industrial production sank and value of rouble collapsed
what were features of war communism
grain requisitioning, cheka squads used, rationing with largest portions going to Red Army and workers, abolition of money, free public transport, abolition of private trade, conscription of workers into factories or Red Army
why was there an abolition of money
workers got paid in rations
what happened between january 1917 to january 1919
workers had left cities, looking for work in villages or joined the Red Army. Urban proletariat declined from 3.6 million to 1.4 million
how many people died through the civil war due to starvation and disease
5 million due to food shortages
by 1921 industrial input had fallen to what %
fallen to 20% of its pre-war levels and rations had to be cut
what reduced the grain supplies to dangerous levels
combination of requisitioning and attack on kulaks
what happened in the 1921 severe famine
millions died of malnourishment
reports of cannibalism
tambov revolt 1920-21
mounting disarray in the countryside
70 000 man army led by antonov rose up against gov forces
joined my members of green party
100 000 Red Army troops deployed to deal with situation
kronstadt rising 1921
‘the flash which lit up reality better than anything else’
food crisis 1921
reduction of rations led to terrible conditions
30 000 sailors in the kronstadt naval base rebelled
previously loyal supporters
issued a manifesto claiming the Bolsheviks were traitors to the proletariat
which bolshevik led the workers opposition group
Aleksandra Kollantai
what did the workers opposition group highlight
The division between the bolsheviks
strongly opposed those who wished to continue war communism (Trotsky)
how did the NEP end war communism
created a mixed economy
Features of NEP
farming was left to the free market
grain requisitioning ended
added a tax where peasants could sell their surplus
Large factories and major industries remained in control of the gov
money was reintroduced
rationing was scrapped
political consequences of the NEP
regarded as a retreat back to capitalism by many Bolsheviks
What was lenins argument to creating the NEP
‘One step backwards, two steps forward’
what did Trotsky call the NEP
the first ‘degeneration of Bolshevism
what did lenin introduce in 1921
ban on factionalism
what did the ban on factions do
once the central committee had agreed on a policy every party member had to obey the decision
to form a faction would mean expulsion from the party
what did lenin intensify due to the unease around NEP
by 1921 Mensheviks and SRs were arrested
what happened in the show trial in 1921
SRs accused of counter-revolutionary activity
11 executed
After lenins death who was on the left
(wishes to end NEP)
Trotsky
After lenins death who was on the right
(wished to continue NEP)
Rykov
Tomsky
Bukhairn
what did stalin do about the NEP after lenins death
fluctuated from left to right as time went on, before switching to right in 1928 in order to defeat Bukhairn
what year did stalin move to the right to deafeat Bukhairn
1928
successes of NEP
by 1924 grain production had increased to 51.4 million, compared to 46.1 million in 1920
peasants now had motivation for producing grain
they could sell surplus for profit
How did industrial production increase due to NEP
1926 russia was producing 11,083 million roubles worth of industrial products, compared to 1,410 in 1920
how were private traders active in getting the economy moving again
by 1925 there were 25 000 private traders in Moscow alone
Failures of the NEP
grain production in 1924 had not surpassed grain production of 1913 at 80.11 million tonnes
Industrial production was slow and agriculture was recovering faster creating an imbalance in economy known as scissors crisis
scissors crisis 1923
peasant’s produced more crops so the price of food fell out, since factory-made consumer goods were still scarce, their price continued to rise
