Aims

• Modernisation

  • Social revolution relied on building a highly advanced economy

• Consolidation

  • Needed economic stability to help retain his hold on power

• Military Victory

  • Needed the economy to supply the Red Army

• Destroy Capitalism

  • Socialism would be more efficient than capitalism and ended it’s inequality

Lenin often placed short-term pragmatic goals ahead of long-term ideological ones

Worker’s Control 1917

• Decrees on Land and Workers Control

• Ideologically motivated

• Gained mass proletariat support

• Decree on Land (Oct 1917)

  • Abolished private ownership of land

  • In the hands of “the people”

• Decree on Worker’s Control (Nov 1917)

  • Industrial workers controlled factories

Problems

• Naive and idealistic

• Worker’s control over the economy was incompatible with industrial efficiency and productivity

• Threat to Bolshevik control

• Lack of expertise and technical skills

• Free for all in seizing land and commodities

• Reduced state income

State Capitalism

• Vesenkha

  • Supreme Council of the National Economy

  • Created to supervise economy

• Larger industries were nationalised

• Dec 1917 - All private banks were nationalised

  • Became “People’s Bank of the Russian Republic”

Problems

• Workers didn’t effectively run the factories

  • Gave themselves huge, unsustainable pay rises

  • Inflation

• Managers often violently dismissed

  • Experts removed by vengeful workers

• Peasants didn’t distribute food

  • Shortages in cities

• Bourgeoise & Land owners alienated increasing tensions

  • Contributed to Civil War

War Communism

• Nationalisation of larger enterprises

• State monopoly of markets for goods and services

• Partial militarisation of labour

  • Peasants were forced to work as labourers or soldiers

• Cheka implemented grain requisitioning

  • Fed army and urban workers

• Factories run by managers

  • Reintroduction of discipline

  • Fines for lateness and absenteeism

• Class-based rationing

• Cheka used to inforce policies

Problems

• Peasant resistance

  • Ex. Tambov Uprising

• Kronstadt Mutiny - Feb 1921

  • Even Bolshevik supporters didn’t support policies

  • 20,000 men died

  • “The Flash Light that lit up reality” - Lenin

• Famine of 1921

  • 5 million died

  • Reports of cannibalism

New Economic Policy

• 10th Party Congress - March 1921

  • Turning point

• Larger industries

  • Stayed nationalised

  • Forced to budget for materials and wages

• Small industries

  • Returned to private ownership

  • Could be profitable

• Agriculture

  • Ended grain requisitioning

  • Introduced “Tax in Kind” on grain

  • Surplus grain could be sold for a profit

Impact

Positive

• Stimulated production which returned to 1913 levels

  • 1923 - sufficient supply returned to towns after famine

• Returned Bolsheviks to political stability

  • No new revolts

• Traders and peasantry were appeased

Negative

• Conditions for proletariat didn’t improve

• Nepmen benefited,

  • New bourgeoise

  • Strongly resented

  • Inequality & corruption grew again

• Ideological retreat

  • Hated by Trotsky & caused splits that Stalin exploited

  • Seen by some as an admission that Communism didn’t work

• Didn’t provide “agricultural revolution” needed to support industry & population or exports needed to generate income & investment

• Kulaks grew rich which increased resistance when Stalin began collectivisation

• Scissors Crisis

  • Agricultural prodution increased, while shortages of manufactured goods remained

  • Disparity between food and commodity prices

  • Farmers couldn’t afford manufactured goods

  • Resolved when Soviet gov introduced price controls.