USSR topic 2- industry and agriculture Flashcards
Why was the economy devasted when Lenin came to power?
Due to the First World War and the chaos unleashed by the Revolution
Who did Lenin plan to work with initally for production and why? (practical method)
The bourgeoisie, they had expertise in management and technical skills that were desperately needed
Ideologically, who did Lenin want the means of production to be in the hands of?
The prolertariat
What was ‘state capitalism’?
To work with the bourgeoisie until Bolshevik experts could take their place
What policy was introduced in 1917 to abolish private ownership of land, which was to be in the hands of ‘the people’?
The Land Decree of October 1917
What did the Decree on Workers Control of November 1917 do?
Placed control of the factories into the hands of the industrial workers
What happened on 27 December 1917 regarding the banks?
All private banks were nationalised, along with the State Bank
What were the banks combined to be?
People’s Bank of the Russian Republic
How did the Bolsheviks’ early policies worsen the problem in the economy?
Workers’ council voted to give themselves huge pay rises, which did little to improve production and resulted in inflation
How did the Bolsheviks exert greater control of the economy?
The Supreme Council of the National Economy (Vesenkha) was set up in December 1917
How did the measures of War Communism support the ideology of the Bolsheviks?
the Bolsheviks had a long-term aim to abolish private enterprise
Why did the Bolsheviks see a liberation from capitalism?
The collapse of Russian currency and its replacement by bartering
What was bartering?
Paying for goods with other goods rather than money
What did the Bolsheviks do in June 1918 to extend government control?
They nationalised all industries with ten or more workers
What were some practical reasons for introducing War Communism? What was facing the Soviet economy?
The economy was near collapse
Why did the Bolsheviks have to improve the economy?
They had to improve it if they were to fight and win the civil war
How did the Bolsheviks’ earlier decrees contribute to the reasons for implementing War Communsim?
War Communisms, in some ways, was a response to the problems that resulted from the rush of the early Bolshevik decrees
What were some key feature of War Communism?
Nationalisation, using harsh military-style discipline, banning private trade, use of bartering, rationing and forcible requisitioning of food
How were harsh military-style discipline introduced into the factories?
Death penalty was introduced for all workers who went on to strike, all workers were expected to volunteer for unpaid work on ‘Communist Sundays’
Private trading was banned and trade was controlled by the state, what was a negative consequence of it?
It could not satisfy demand, so a large black market in goods developed
Why was bartering used instead of money?
Due to massive inflation
Who did the Party requisition food from?
The peasants, about 150,000 Bolshevik volunteers were used to seize grain
Why did the Party have to requisition food?
To feed the army and the towns
The government attempted to use Committees of the Villages to spy on peasants who might be hoardig food, what did it lead to?
A rise in tension in the countryside and serious outbreaks of violence, usually directed at requisitioning teams; malnutrition and starvation were common
Why was rationing necessary?
To feed the workers in the cities despite food shortages
Evidence that War Communism worsen industrial production?
By 1921, industrial production was only one-fifth of the figure for 1913
What did the Bolsheviks replace War Communism with after its failure?
New Economic Policy (NEP)
By the end of the war, how had production for heavy industry fall?
It had fallen to 20% of its 1913 level
How had food production fell after the Civil War?
It was only at 48% of the 1913 figure
What had the lack of food lead to in the 1920s?
There was widespread diseases like typhus and smallpox, and over 20 million died from famine and disease in the 1920s
Why was the system of rationing disliked?
The size of rations depended on the social classification a person was given
Who received the most food as a result of rationing?
Members of the Red Army and industrial proletariat received the most, while bourgeoisie received very little or none at all
What did the use of hierarchal systems in factories lead to?
Resentment among industrial workers, which led to violence on some occasions
In what area was the resentment towards requisitioning of food the greatest and what did they want to do?
in the countryside, they wanted to get rid of the mir
What did peasant resentment lead to?
A series of uprising in 1920-21
Which one was the most serious uprising? What happened there?
Tambov Rising in central Russia, where peasants reacted violently to requisitioning teams arriving in the area to seize grain
How did these risings impact government decisions?
It put pressure on the government to change its policy
What was the Kronstadt Mutiny?
A revolt by sailors at the naval base outside Petrograd
Why did this revolt increase pressure on the government?
They were a group that were previously a mainstay of the Revolution and they could not be easily dismissed as ‘counter-revolutionaries’
What was the Kronstadt Mutiny over?
The increase in the power of the Party and its officials at the expense of the workers
Why was this mutiny important? (Lenin’s decisions)
It was a key factory in Lenin’s decision to change his economic policy
What kind of policy did the NEP impose on agriculture? 1
The end to requisitioning, which was to be replaced by taxation, allowing the peasants to sell any remaining food at market fot a profit
What kind of policy did the NEP impose on agriculture? 2
Announced the end of collectivisation, and that the mir (village commune) would stay as the means of peasants self-regulating their farming activities
In what ways were the policies a shift towards capitalism?
It returned small-scale industry to private hands, the reintroduction of a currency for paying wages in 1921, legalisation of private trading to stop the growing black market
What policies were in place to try to raise production in state-owned factories? (NEP)
Piecework and bonuses
What was the result of the growth of small-scale business and private traders?
The development of ‘Nepmen’, the people who gained under the NEP
What did NEP result in (in terms of economy)?
A mixed economy where private ownership coexisted alongside state control
Many saw the NEP as a retreat back to capitalism, how did Lenin and his supporters see NEP?
A short-term remedy and a temporary meaasure
How did NEP impact industrial output adn why?
It led to rapid increase in output, much of it was due to repairing of roads and bridges damaged during the civil war and putting existing factories back into production
How did Nepmen help with the successes of NEP?
They set up small businesses and made some money, especially restaurants and market stalls
What were some drawback of the NEP?
Corruption through black market flourished, prostituion was widespread, and gangs of children roamed the cities trying their luck stealing and selling goods
What was one major problem as a result of the NEP?
scissors crisis’, imbalance between agriculture and industrial goods, as food prices fell, the price of industrial goods rose
Why was this problematic, espeically for the farmers?
The rise of industrial prices meant that farmers could not afford to buy industrial goods, so there were no incentive for farmers to keep producing large quantities of grain
What did the government do to help ease the problem?
They intervened and subsidised the prices of industrial products, making them affordable to peasants
How was state intervention problematic to the economy?
There was less money available to improve the economy
How had grain production fell in the years 1913-1926?
It went from 82 (million tons) to 77
How had steel production fell in the years 1913-26?
Went from 4 (million tons) to 3
How had cotton production fell in the years 1913-26?
Went from 2600 to 2300 (around)
Much of the pre-war economy had been restored by 1926, what was the key to further growth?
To increase food production in order to support more industrial workers and gain foreign exchange for new technology and machinery
Which two members of the party called for the continuation of NEP?
Bukharin and Stalin
Who in the Party called for greater control over the economy to increase the pace of growth?
Trotsky
What happened in the 1927 that led to the peasants hoarding food?
A raid by the British government on the offices of the Soviet trade mission in London and attacks on the Chinese communists led to fear of invasion of the USSR
