Lenin - economics

What were the problems with gov. control of the economy and nationalization of industry under Lenin ?

• Lenin couldn’t distribute goods equally due to the shortage of production caused from WW1 and the Civil War

• Issue of WW1 + CW = state control of industry - Stalin era - Command economy

• Lenin → no plan to go from Captalism —> communism (from Marx)

• Lenin → worked w/ the Bourgeois till wokers had the skills to work by them selves → this was the transition phase = STATE CAPTALISM

• Issue → giving the people and peasents control weakens Party Central control over ppl/ state !!!

-Measures of Lenin’s initial economic policy (4) 
-The issues (2)
- Vesenkha

1. Land Decree of 1917 → peasents owned all farmland (no landlord) - it was very vague but enough to make the ppl satisfied

2. Decree on Workers Control 1917 → workers own factories

3. Workers’ Decree → created an 8h max working day and min. wage

4. 1917 → Private banks + State banks = merged (became the People’s bank of the Russian Republic)

• Issue - corruption = workers councils gave pay rises / removed managers

• Issue - Workers Self Manage and the Gov. Central Control = conflict

1917 → Vesenkha - Supreme Control of National Economy - established to oversee it

what were the 3 reasons for War Communism?

1. Ideological reasons

2. Response to the reality of economic collapse

3. Reaction to early Bolshevik excesses

Why was there War Communism?
Ideological Reasons (5)

• Aimed to abolish private enterprise, aligning with Communist principles.

• Lenin blamed Kulaks for food shortages, portraying class struggle.

• Mir (self-governing peasant community) seen as threat to Party control over countryside. → they elected their own officials, controlled local forests, vacant lands, hunting grounds.

• WWI marked the end of the old capitalist order and beginning of Marxism.

• Currency collapse → bartering, symbolizing the end of capitalism.

Why was there War Communism?
Response to reality of economic collapse (3)

• Civil War forced government to expand control to ensure Red Army victory for Bolsheviks.

• WWI + Civil War caused economic collapse → state control became necessary.

• Nationalisation (June 1918): industries with 10+ workers brought under government control.

Why was there War Communism?
Reaction to early Bolshevik excesses (3)

• The decrees by Bolsheviks had to be reversed to win the Civil War

• Factory control and Land Control – Not practical in Civil War

• Army ranks and managers to factories were returned

Key features of War communism (3) - what were the 3 kinds of policies

• Economic Policies 

• Labour Policies 

• Agricultural Policies

War communism - Economic Policies

• Nationalisation without compensation – all industries taken over by the state.

• Industries placed under control of the Supreme Council of the National Economy (Vesenkha) for centralized planning.

• Private trade banned, leading to widespread black market activity.

• Collapse of currency and hyperinflation – money lost value; bartering became main form of exchange.

• Nationalisation decree (June 1918): All industries with 10+ workers brought under state control.

• Economy in crisis: Combined impact of WWI and Civil War caused near-total collapse, requiring strict state direction.

• Reintroduction of managers and army-style ranks mirrored military discipline to sustain production.

War Communism - Labour Policies

• 11-hour working day introduced; compulsory for all men aged 16–50.

• Strict labour discipline enforced to increase production during Civil War.

• Strikes punishable by death to maintain control and output.

• Unemployed formed into “labour armies” (e.g. road construction, public works).

• “Communist Saturdays” – citizens worked for free to show Party loyalty and revolutionary commitment.

• Reintroduction of hierarchy in industry: Factory managers reinstated to oversee workers and ensure efficiency.

Agricultural policies

• Grain requisitioning carried out by 150,000 Bolshevik volunteers, Red Army, and Cheka – forcibly seized grain and surplus from peasants.

• Peasant resistance brutally crushed: Around 13,000 peasants killed at the time; modern estimates up to 300,000.

• Rationing system introduced to ensure cities and Red Army were fed.

• Peasants and farmers faced starvation due to forced seizures and lack of incentive to produce.

• By 1921, agricultural production had fallen to only 20% (1/5) of 1913 levels.

• Mir (village communes) viewed as a threat to Party control because they operated independently.

• Lenin blamed Kulaks for hoarding grain and worsening food shortages.

Results of War Communism (3)

• End of Civil War:

  • Industrial production fell to 20% of 1913 levels.

  • Food production dropped to 48% of 1913 levels.

• Industrial workforce decline:

  • From 2.6 million (1917) → 1.2 million (1921), as workers left cities to find food.

• Economic & social collapse:

  • Distribution systems broke down, causing famine and disease.

  • Estimated 20 million deaths in the early 1920s due to starvation and epidemics.

 Reasons for the unpopularity of War Communism (3) 
- major revolts that it caused

• Rationing inequality:

  • Rations depended on social class and role.

  • Red Army received the most;
    Bourgeoisie received none.

• Peasant discontent:

  • Harsh treatment during grain requisitioning led to uprisings.

  • Major revolts: Tambov Rebellion (1920–21) and Kronstadt Mutiny (1921).

• Worker unrest:

  • Managers reintroduced in factories, reducing worker control.

  • Led to riots and strikes among industrial workers.

Why was the NEP introduced

• Due to the situation in Russia

• had to stop war Communism - bc of massive citizens’ unrest/revolt with it

• = So the Bolsheviks were losing support

What was the Tambov Revolt? Year?  Importance?

• 1920

• Peasant revolt in Tambov after brutal grain requisitioning in the area.

• 50,000 Red Army troops sent to crush uprising using executions and poison gas.

• Importance = Showed peasant resistance to War Communism and pressured Lenin to adopt the NEP.

• Used by Bolsheviks to justify removing the Mir, seen as a threat to Party control.
  (great excuse for them to send troops there)

What was the Kronstadt Mutiny? Year? Importance ? ⚓

• 1921

• Naval uprising by former Bolshevik supporters at the Kronstadt base.

• Protested Party control over workers and harsh grain requisitioning.

• Crushed by 100,000 Red Army troops.

• Convinced Lenin to end War Communism and introduce the NEP.

specification part - Towards a new command economy 
- through the years 1917-48  
- in depth

• Nationalisation of Industry

• War Communism

• State control of Industry and Consolidation of Control

Key features of the NEP - Agriculture

• Requisitioning ended → replaced by tax in kind (peasants paid with part of produce - instead of money).

• Surplus could be sold on private markets for profit.

• No forced collectivisation – Mir kept control of local farming.

• Bolsheviks compromised with peasants to raise food output and revive economy.

• Four peasant classes:

  1. Kulaks (6%) – richer peasants

  2. Middle peasants

  3. Poor peasants

  4. Landless peasants

  • Bolsheviks sought class conflict, but peasants aspired to be Kulaks, undermining control.

• Before 1917: Kulaks supplied 71% of grain to markets, keeping cities fed.

key features of the NEP - Industry

• Small industries allowed private ownership and profits.

• State controlled heavy industry, transport, and banks.

• Bonuses reintroduced in state factories to boost output (capitalist element).

• Currency restored (1921) – improved trade though Lenin feared capitalism’s return.

• Private trade legalized to end the black market.

• “NEPmen” emerged – private traders and entrepreneurs who profited under the NEP.

What was Lenin’s Vision with the NEP?

• Small industries allowed private ownership and profits.

• State controlled heavy industry, transport, and banks.

• Bonuses reintroduced in state factories to boost output (capitalist element).

• Currency restored (1921) – improved trade though Lenin feared capitalism’s return.

• Private trade legalized to end the black market.

• “NEPmen” emerged – private traders and entrepreneurs who profited under the NEP.

Successes of the NEP (1922 -23)

• Good harvests boosted food supply and recovery.

• Roads repaired and transport improved.

• Private trade revived production, strengthening the economy.

• NEPmen made profits and helped restore urban life and markets in the USSR.

Problems with the NEP

• Rise in immorality, gangs, and black-market activity.

• Economic imbalance between agriculture and industry:

  • Food prices fell, while industrial goods rose, reducing peasants’ profits.

  • Peasants produced less food to raise prices → led to shortages.

• 1923 – “Scissors Crisis”: Government intervened to regulate prices and restore balance.

Scissors crisis of 1923

• What it was:

  • Economic imbalance under the NEP — industrial prices rose, agricultural prices fell.

  • Named for the “scissors”-shaped graph of diverging prices.

  • Peasants stopped selling grain due to poor exchange value.

• Government response:

  • Lowered industrial prices, raised agricultural prices.

  • Increased state control over trade and industry.

  • Promoted cooperatives and credit for peasants.

Introduction and Objectives of the NEP

• Introduced by Lenin at the 10th Party Congress (March 1921) in response to the failures of War Communism.

• Marked a retreat from extreme centralisation and introduced limited market mechanisms.

• Created a mixed economy:

  • Private trade and small businesses allowed.

  • Peasants could sell surplus produce.

  • State retained control of the “commanding heights” – heavy industry, banking, and foreign trade.

How was it on State Enterprises ?

• Large industries remained state-owned but gained greater autonomy.

• Expected to be self-financing, reducing dependence on state subsidies.

Economic and Social impact - NEP

• Economic recovery:

  • Agriculture and industry rebounded, reaching pre-war (1913) levels by 1926.

• Social change:

  • Rise of NEPmen – private traders and entrepreneurs driving recovery.

  • Viewed with suspicion by many Communists for representing capitalist tendencies.

Tensions within the Communist party - due to the NEP

• Ideological divide:

  • Rightists supported NEP as a pragmatic step to rebuild the economy.

  • Leftists condemned it as a betrayal of socialism and wanted renewed state control.