Topic 6: The NEP Flashcards
What economic reasons were there for the introduction of the NEP?
Famine in the Volga region alone had affected 20 million
An element of private ownership would provide incentive for small businesses
What political reasons were there for the introduction of the NEP?
By 1920, 75% of Petrograd factories were on strike
Tambov and Kronstadt Uprisings
The Bolsheviks could no longer blame the Whites for suffering
What social reasons were there for the introduction of the NEP?
Increase food supply by giving the peasants incentive
Restoring food supplies to the cities was vital
What did Lenin call the Kronstadt Mutiny?
The flash which lit up reality, better than anything else
When did Lenin announce the NEP?
The 10th Party Congress
The free _____ was introduced under the NEP
Market
What was withdrawn from the countryside?
Requisitioning squads
What happened to factories with less than 20 workers?
Given back to old managers
What incentives did workers have?
Paid bonuses and piece rates rather than a flat wage
Between 1920 and 1925, how many foreign experts were brought in?
20,000 from the USA and Canada
Traders were allowed to buy and sell goods again. What were these people called?
The Nepmen
How successful was the NEP?
- Production increased
- Russia became more stable
- Living standards improved
- Repression and terror increased
- Lenin faced opposition from his own party
Who were inclined to grow more under the NEP?
Peasants
How much of the grain did the government buy under the NEP?
75%
What did Lenin see the NEP as?
A temporary compromise
Workers could now be dismissed. What began to grow?
Unemployment and crime
Exporting what goods helped to kick-start the Soviet Union’s economy?
Grain and coal
By 1925, how much were the Soviet Union exporting?
9x higher than the 1921-22 levels
Why were some foreign countries eager to invest in the new NEP?
They thought that the Soviet Union’s ‘experiment’ with Communism was over
What class of peasants re-emerged under the NEP?
Kulaks
What was the tax on food called?
Prodnalog
True or false: Peasants were taxed at a higher rate than under requisitioning?
False
By 1927, how many peasant holdings were there in the USSR?
25 million.
98.3% of all farmed land
What was the problem with farming even under the NEP?
Farming was still backwards.
Farmers used strip farming and the three-field system
By 1928, how many households still used the sokha?
5.5 million
What was the Scissor Crisis?
- Food prices were going down because of high production
- Industrial prices were going up because of low production (more demand)
Why is the Scissor Crisis called the Scissor Crisis?
The graph of food and industrial production looks like an open pair of scissors
How did the government try to solve the Scissor Crisis?
The government took steps to lower industrial prices
Who was the NEP good for?
Peasants and people in cities
How did life in the cities recover?
Shops, restaurants, banks, hotels, and theatres reopened
Why was the NEP a problem?
It led to increasing inequality
Why was the NEP a political success?
Peasants lost interest in rebellion
There were fewer strikes
No repeats of Kronstadt
What did Lenin say the NEP was a case of?
Taking one step backwards in order to take a leap forwards
How did Lenin describe the NEP in relation to the peasants?
A peasant Brest-Litovsk
What did many on the left see the NEP as?
Abhorrent in a communist society
In 1925, what did the government do to the Nepmen?
They took steps to curb their profits
Bolsheviks like Kamanev believed what about the NEP?
- A betrayal of all they had struggled for
He joked that the NEP was ‘the new exploitation of the Proleteriat’
True or false: The Cheka was more feared than the Okhrana?
True
What did Lenin create to stop opposition?
A new network of labour camps
In 1924, Russia became…
The USSR
What was Lenin’s aim in electrifying Russia?
To have a working electric light in every house.
In 1921, how many of Russia’s trains were taken off of the tracks?
50% because of a lack of skilled men and repairs
By the end of 1923, what had happened to the rail system?
Carried 45% more passengers and 59% more goods
What was a key part of the NEP?
The electrification of Russia
