Economic and social developments - booklet 2 Russia

War Communism

June 1918- March 1921

As the Civil War intensified, the Bolsheviks adopted War Communism as a set of policies to sustain the war effort.

: All major industries are nationalized. The state controls production and distribution.

Grain Requisitioning: The state takes grain and food from peasants to feed the army and urban populations, often through force. This policy causes widespread resentment among the peasantry.

led to discontent as seen by the kronstadt rebellion

The Red Terror

• triggered by the attempt on lenins life. The cheka executed thousands of perceived enemies of the state.

  Mass Executions: hundreds of individuals were executed in Petrograd within days of the assassination attempt.

  cheka grew from 120 to 143,000 employed by 1921

  Victims: Targets included former Tsarist officials, bourgeoisie, clergy, and political opponents.

Tambov revolt

19 August 1920 – mid 1922

: A major peasant revolt in the Tambov region, led by Antonov against Bolshevik grain requisitioning and other policies. Bolshevik forces brutally suppressed the revolt using mass arrests, executions,50,000 Red Army troops and even poison gas against rebel-held forests

• Political Impact: The rebellion highlighted the deep dissatisfaction among the peasantry with Bolshevik policies and led to a reconsideration of War Communism.

50,000–70,000 well-organised peasant fighters.

situation in 1921

In 1921 Lenin and the bolsheviks were on the edge of disaster , the civil war was over . workers and peasants  expected to see an improvement in their living standards and an end to wartime policies. however by spring 1921 economic conditions had worsened and there was open revolt against the bolshevik government , Lenin was therefore forced to make economic concessions in his NEP to ensure the survival of the regime , the economy recovered and the bolshevik regime survived

The NEP (New Economic Policy)

1921

: After the disastrous effects of War Communism and the civil war, Lenin announces the New Economic Policy in March 1921.

allowing a greater degree of private enterprise.

Peasants are allowed to sell surplus grain for profit (replacing grain requisitioning).

State Control of Key Sectors: The state retains control of major industries, banks, and transport, but much of the economy is decentralized compared to War Communism.

Impact of NEP

• by 1922 the results were better than expected . by 1923 cereal production had increased by 23% from 1920.

• 1920-1923 factory output rose by 200%

• In cities, small businesses and markets revive. Peasants benefit from the ability to sell their produce.

• Mixed Reactions: While the NEP helps stabilize the economy and ends the famines, it creates dissatisfaction among some Bolshevik hardliners who view it as a betrayal of socialist ideals. many viewed it as a temporary measure - Bukharin “we are making economic concessions to avoid political concessions”

The USSR

: In December 1922, the (USSR) is officially established, consolidating the various territories under Bolshevik control into a single state. This move solidifies the Bolshevik grip on power and sets the stage for the development of the Soviet state.

Nationalization

Nationalization: By 1919, nearly all private businesses were nationalized.

NEP allowances

• The NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus grain for profit, reducing the tension between the state and the peasantry.

• Private businesses were allowed to reopen, and small-scale private trade was permitted. However, the major industries (e.g., oil, steel, and coal) remained under state control.

War communism social impact

• Urban Migration: Between 1916 and 1920, northern and central Russian cities lost 33% of their population as people moved to rural areas in search of food.

• Famine: The Volga famine of 1921–1922 resulted in approximately 5 million deaths due to food shortages and disease.Many resorted to cannibalism

War communism as an economic policy for the country was disastrous, however for enabling the bolsheviks during the civil war it was an absolute success

War communsim economic impact

• Industrial Output: Fell drastically; by 1920, industrial production was only 20% of 1913 levels.

• Agricultural Production: Grain harvests plummeted from 80.1 million tons in 1913 to 46.5 million tons in 1920.

• Hyperinflation: The ruble collapsed, leading to barter becoming the primary means of exchange.

• Workers fled to countryside: urban workforce shrank from 1916-1920 by 33%

NEP economic & social impact

Currency Reintroduction: The ruble was reintroduced in 1922 to stabilize the economy.

• Agricultural Recovery: Grain harvests increased from 46.5 million tons in 1920 to 76.8 million tons in 1926.

• Industrial Growth: Industrial production rose from 2,004 million rubles in 1921 to 11,083 million rubles in 1926.

• Coal Production: Increased from 8.9 million tons in 1921 to 27.6 million tons in 1926.

State capitalism problems

• Economic breakdown worsened

• Peasants hoarded grain

• Industry lacked discipline or coordination

• Contributed to move towards War Communism in 1918

countryside during the civil war

• Grain requisitioning by the Cheka & Red Army caused famine

• Estimated 5 million deaths in 1921 famine (esp. Volga region)

• Peasants hid grain or stopped producing surplus

• Led to major rural resentment and revolt

economic collapse

• Industrial output by 1921: 20% of 1913 level

• Grain harvest in 1920 46.5 m/t compared to 80.1 m/t in 1913

• Rouble virtually worthless

• Led to mass unrest and famine

severe winter of 1920-21

repeated strikes

22 january 1921 bread rations cut by one-third in several cities

workers were angry about factories “Worse than a tsarist prison camp” where workers were shot if targets were not met

what did lenin say about the kronstatd rebellion

“The flash that lit up reality more than anything else”

it was clear that war communism could not be continued

Political suppression under the NEP

-political pressure on rival socialist parties was intensified, the SRs and Mensheviks became more popular during the strikes and revolts
-the bolsheviks arrested some 5000 mensheviks in 1921

-censorship grew in 1922 dozens of writers and scholars were deported

orphans

1920s - seven and nine million orphans under the age of thirteen

The reality for many was that there was no socialist kindergarten but a life of struggle to due war and civil war

women working

.During the first world war the percentage of women in the urban workforce doubled; by 1917 it was 47%

3.unemployment in the NEP - women were forced from skilled to unskilled work and then to unemployment and prostitution . there were all women gangs and 39% of proletarian men used prostitutes

• the result of this that all women in industrial labour in 1929 was practically the same as it had been in 1913

education

.in the 1920s it was a disaster - the vast majority of teachers were not communist (3.1% in primary schools and 5.5% in secondary)

matters did not improve under the NEP ,many children left school early

by 1923 the number of schools and pupils were barely half of the total of two years earlier

controlling the church

January 1918 - The bolsheviks issued the decree on the Separation of the Church and State which declared the church could not own property .Priests and servants and clerics were declared “servants of the bourgeoise”.the Bolsheviks undermined the Church’s authority and aligned religion with the old oppressive regime, helping to consolidate Bolshevik control.

Union of the militant godless

 Union of the militant godless - 1921 as a state-supported organisation dedicated to promoting atheism and eradicating religion from Soviet society. Peasants were even taken for rides in planes to see there was no god in the sky
institutionalised the Bolsheviks’ anti-religious policy, promoting atheism through propaganda and education while undermining the Church’s authority

anti-clericalism

Anti-clerical propaganda - after 1921 Lenin used the Volga famine 1921-1922 to demand the church surrender its valuables for famine relief, there was bitter resistance and over 8000 people were executed or killed in 1922 in the anti-church campaign , including the metropolitan of Petrograd ( 28 bishops and 1215 priests)

consolidated political control and weakened the Church’s institutional power but also provoked fear and resentment among believers, highlighting the social and political costs of enforcing state atheism.