towards a command economy 1917-28 Flashcards
How did Lenin go about his transformation of the economy
through a period of trial and error
what was the transition phase of the economy start with and why didn’t Lenin jump into communism?
Lenin introduced state capitalism as he knew the bourgeoise had expertise in management and technical skill which was needed if Russia was to return economic production back to pre ww1 levels
What were Lenin’s initial economic policies?
The Land decree of October 1917, Abolished private ownership of Land, which peasants took as taking over the land they worked and farmed
The Decree on Worker’s Control November 1917, Industrial workers now controlled factories
December 1917 all banks nationalised, state bank renamed to Peoples Bank of the Russian Republic
What effect did Lenin’s initial economic policies have on the economy
It had detrimental effect, workers council voted to give themselves huge pay rises, which resulted in Inflation and little improvement to production
Managers and technical experts were dismissed as workers wanted revenge for mistreatment
What did the effects of the initial economic reforms cause the Bolsheviks to do?
The Bolsheviks realised they needed greater control over the economy so in December 1917, Vesenkha was set up to supervise the economy
what economic policy was set up after the initial reforms
War Communism was introduced by the government , to ensure the red army was supplied with food and resources to win the civil war
what where the 3 reasons for setting up War communism?
Ideological basis, war communism could be seen as the application of communist ideology and gave a chance to extend government control
It was a response to the reality of economic collapse, drastic measures where needed if they were to fight and win the civil war
A reaction to early Bolshevik excesses, it was a fix to the initial economic reforms which were rushed, army ranks where reintroduced and factory managers where used again to create order.
What were the main features of War communism
Nationalisation of all industries, only workplaces with fewer than 10 were exempt
All industry under the control of Vesenkha
Managment was reintroduced to instil discipline into workers
Military discipline introduced into factories e.g. death penalty to those who went on strike
The unemployed joined the Labour armies who built road
communist Saturdays introduced as free labour by all workers to serve the party
All private trade banned
Money was largely replaced by a bartering system of trading goods
forcible requestion of food, which caused malnutrition and starvation
Rationing introduced to ensure workers in cities were fed
What was the consequences of War communism
Ensured Red army was supplied to fight and win the civil war
lead to economic collapse, industrial production was 1/5 of 1913 production
Diseases and starvation was common, 20 million died
unrest in countryside
What Economic policy came after war communism
The New Economic Policy
Why was the New Economic policy (NEP) introduced
To revive the economy as production of heavy industry was 20% of its 1913 level, food production was 48% of 1913 level, bad transport etc.
The unpopularity of War Communism, rationing was disliked due to inequality Red army got more, The return of managers in factories caused resentment among workers leading to violence
The Tambov rising, peasants reacted violently to grain requestion teams and revolt had to put down by 50,000 Red Army troops, this put pressure on govt to change policy
The Kronstadt Mutiny, mutiny by sailors at a naval base over increased power of the Party and officials at the expense of workers, to Lenin this mutiny ‘Lit up reality like a flash of lightning’.
Why did NEP differ to War communism
it saw the movement from state control to a more mixed economy where private and state sector could emerge together
what were the key features of the NEP
Agriculture; end to grain requisition replaced by taxation, no forced collectivisation
Indusry; small scale industry returned to the private sector but part y still owned banks, heavy industry and transport,
state owned factories incentives were introduced to raise production e.g. bonuses
reintroduction of currency to pay wages in 1921
legalisation of private trade to stop black market
Nepmen born, a term of abuse to business people and traders who profited from NEP
what were the successes of the NEP
industrial output rose rapidly in first 3 years (rebuilding damage due to civil war but also due to NEPmen)
ex. of production figures start of NEP production of grain 37.6 million tonnes grain by 1926 76.8 million tonnes produced (over double)
steel 0.2 million tonnes by 1926 3.1 million tonnes (3x)
what were the failures of the NEP
corruption flourished by black market, prostitution widespread, gangs of children roamed streets stealing
major problem was the imbalance of agriculture and industry as food prices fell, industrial goods prices rose which discouraged peasants from growing food leading to what Trotsky named the Scissors crisis. but was solved as government regulated prices in December 1923.
NEP lead to political divides in the party, right supported( was a needed transition stage), left opposed (gave capitalism a chance to re-emerge), centre supported (helped rebuild economy)
