NEP

When was the NEP introduced?

1921

Why was the NEP introduced? What state was food production in?

Food production had fallen to 48% of its 1913 figure and the breakdown in the transport and distribution systems had resulted in widespread famine. Weakened by a lack of food many Russians succumbed to diseases such as typhus and smallpox and over 20 million died from famine and diseases in the 1920s.

What mutiny’s had contributed to the failure of war communism and the subsequent introduction of the NEP?

The Tambov Rising and the Kronstadt Mutiny.

Why was the NEP introduced? What was the state of the economy?

Production of heavy industry had fallen to 20% of its 1913 level and in some sectors production had stopped all together

What agriculture features were involved in the NEP?

• The end to requisitioning which was to be replaced by a system of taxation which allowed the peasants to sell any remaining food at market for a profit

• The announcement that there would be no forced programme of collectivisation

What industry changes were made with the introduction of the NEP?

• The NEP returned small scale industry to private hands although the state kept control of heavy industry, transport and the banks

• In state owned factories, piecework and bonuses were used to try and raise production

• The reintroduction of a currency for paying wages in 1921

• The legalisation of private trading to stop a growing black market

What was a ‘Nepmen’?

A term of abuse used by Bolsheviks to describe those private business people and traders who profited from the NEP.

Why was the NEP controversial amongst left wing Bolsheviks? Why was it necessary?

The NEP seemed like a retreat back to capitalism and watering down of policy. However to Lenin the Bolsheviks were in desperate economic circumstances and with making compromises the Revolution would not be secure.

What crisis did the NEP create?

The scissor crisis as described by Trotsky as the low prices for grain discouraged peasants from growing food for the market.

What were the positives of the NEP?

• Industry→ Industrial output rose during the first 3 years mainly due to the repairing of roads and bridges damaged during the civil war and putting existing factories back into production

• Agriculture→ There were better harvests in 1922 and 1923 and Nepmen set up small businesses e.g. markets and restaurants