Theme 2 Lenin

Question 1

What does Lenin’s declaration on 5th November 1917 suggest?

Answer 1

Lenin seemed to create the idea that the factories, industries, businesses and farms were now in the hands of the workers and peasants. The bourgeoisie were seen as an old problem that no longer could exploit the workers.

Question 2

Why were these words seen as hollow (even by Lenin)?

Answer 2

Lenin himself knew that they could not give the power to the workers and peasants as the economy currently needed help to be rebuilt from the War - which would need to further restrict workers’ independence.

Question 3

What were the key problems of establishing communism?

Answer 3

Lenin needed to utilise the Bourgeoisie’s skills in management and other technical skills. This began the idea of “state capitalism” which was the transitional stage where he worked alongside these Bourgeois experts.

Question 4

What was the Land Decree?

Answer 4

Land Decree (Oct 1917) = abolished private ownership of land to be put in “hands of the people”. Pleased peasantry

Question 5

What was the decree on Workers control?

Answer 5

Decree on Workers Control (Nov 1917) =
placed control of factories into hands of industrial workers

Question 6

What was the 3rd initial economic policy of Lenin for the banks?

Answer 6

27th December =
All banks were nationalised into the People’s Bank of the Russian Republic.

Question 7

What impact did the initial economic policies of 1917 have?

Answer 7

• Gave power to peasants which in effect worsened the economy
• Worker’s councils voted to give themselves huge pay rises without improvement in production resulting in inflation
• Managers violently dismissed
• Those with expertise were removed by workers as revenge for the way they were treated in the past

Question 8

How did the Supreme council deal with economic struggles from the initial economic policies?

Answer 8

The Supreme Council of the National Economy (Vesenkha) set up greater supervision of the economy. There became tension between the workers and the government control through central planning.

Question 9

What was the ideological basis of War Communism?

Answer 9

War communism continued to pursue the Bolshevik aim to abolish private enterprises to follow communist ideology.
The Bolshevik’s needed to win the Civil war to reenforce their power of the whole country

Question 10

Why was War Communism introduced based on economic issues?

Answer 10

Russian currency collapsed from inflation and replaced with Bartering.
The Bolsheviks had inherited a crumbling economy and so they needed to implement drastic measures to fulfil their ideological aims for the country.

Question 11

Why might War Communism have been introduced to curb Bolshevik excesses?

Answer 11

The failiure of the inital decrees became increasingly impossible to work with, especially due to the civil war. This meant that they needed a better policy to aid their fighting. Army ranks were removed and factory managers restored order in industry.

Question 12

What were the key features of War Communism?

Answer 12

• Nationalism: industries made with more than 10 workers were put under state ownership
• All industry now under Vesenkha control (Supreme Council of National Economy)
• Reintroduction of hierarchal structures in industry to better discipline the workers.
• Military-style discipline implemented into factories. Death penalty for those on strike
• Private trading banned (propelled black market trade)
• Money replaced by Bartering.
• Forcible food requisitioning from peasants to feed army. 150,000 volunteers sent to seize grain. Serious outbreaks of violence in country side (Tambov)
• Food rationing to feed workers.

Question 13

What were the outcomes of War Communism?

Answer 13

• Red army recieved enough resources to fight and win the war.
• Economy left in state of collapse
• Industrial production only 1/5 of figure for 1913.
• Disease and starvation common (especially in countryside)

Question 14

Why, based on economic consideration, was NEP introduced in 1921?

Answer 14

End of the civil war had brought industry to standstill. Food production, and heavy industry had significantly fallen or stopped.
- Widespread famine
- Broken transport and distribution systems.
- Spread of diseases such as typhus and smallpox

Question 15

Why, based on the unpopularity of War Communism, was NEP introduced in 1921?

Answer 15

• Rationing disliked by Russian people. sizes of rations depended on social classification (army and proletariat received most)
• Hierarchal systems in management created resentment among industrial workers.

Question 16

What happened during the Tambov Rising?

Answer 16

Uprising 1919-21
Peasant uprising against the forcible food requisitioning and removing the mir (village commune) made specifically for peasants.
Revolt was supressed by 50,000 Red Army troops. The seriousness of this uprising forced government to change policy.

Question 17

What happened during the Kronstadt Mutiny?

Answer 17

Mar 1921
Sailors from the Kronstadt naval base outside Petrograd mutinied the Bolsheviks orders due to the Bolshevik’s increasing power.
Supressed by Red Army but shook Bolshevik leadership as they had previously been loyal Bolsheviks. Key factor in Lenin changing his economic policy.

Question 18

Why might these have encouraged the introduction of NEP?

Answer 18

War communism could not be sustained.
NEP would allow a more mixed economy that was not completely in state control. (more towards capitalism) to let the economy heal

Question 19

What were the key features of the NEP in agriculture?

Answer 19

Agriculture:
- End requisitioning to replace with taxation. Could sell for profit.
- Remove policy for forced collectivisation. The peasants could continue to self-regulate their farms.

Question 20

What were the key features of NEP in industry?

Answer 20

Industry:
- NEP returned small-scale industry to private ownership but kept heavy industry
- State-owned factories had bonuses given to raise production
- Reintroduction of Currency to pay wages in 1921.
- Private trading loosened to stop growing black market
- NEPMEN (private traders) began to surface again who benefitted under NEP.

Question 21

What were the initial reactions to NEP?

Answer 21

• Left-wing Bolsheviks saw it as a retreat back to capitalism
• But needed to fix the economy and needed to secure the revolution.
• NEP seen as a short term solution.
• “One step backwards, two steps forward”

Question 22

What were the successes of the NEP?

Answer 22

• Industrial output rose rapidly during first 3 years of NEP (1921-23).
• Grain (1921) = 37.6
• Grain (1923) = 56.6
  (million tonnes)
• Buildings damaged from civil war repaired.

Question 23

What were the failures of the NEP?

Answer 23

• Corruption from Black Market was flourishing
• Widespread prostitution
• Imbalance in agricultural and industrial goods causing the scissor crisis.

Question 24

What was the Scissor crisis?

Answer 24

Industrial prices rose due to shortages of goods and agricultural prices reduced as food flooded into cities from good harvest. Low food prices meant there was less motivation for peasants to grow good food in the consecutive years which would have caused the inverse effect.