ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS OF THE CIVIL WAR

When Lenin came to power, what kind of economy did he promise?

a socialist economy

Why didn’t Lenin form a socialist economy right away?

could only develop properly in an industrialised society (Russia wasn’t)

What did some radical Bolsheviks want from the offset?

a completely socialist system with the nationalisation of businesses, the abolition of money and trade instead

Why was the decree on land passed in October 1917?

so peasants would have an incentive to produce grain

What was the decree on Worker’s control of factories in November 1917?

acknowledging that many factories had already been taken over by workers and was cautious of this fact

How did the Bolsheviks develop greater state control over the economy?

nationalisation of banks (December 1917), external trade (June 1918) and of railways (June and September 1918)

What was the Veshenka (December 1917)?

Supreme council for the national economy, took responsibility for all aspects of the economy

What was Goelro (1920)?

a special state commission to electrify Russia

What was state capitalism?

the halfway point between socialism and capitalism

What were the issues with state capitalism?

workers failed to organise factories efficiently, output shrank, workers gave out unsuitable pay rises and lacked the skills needed for a management

Why did Industrial production fall during the civil war?

disrupted communications meant that raw materials were in short supply, workers served in the army and non essential businesses were forced to close causing rampant inflation

Why did some peasants do well at the start of the war?

sold horses to the military, maintained a reasonable diet by killing livestock but more difficult as the fighting dragged on

Why did Urban peasants suffer?

sever shortage of food, fuel and basic necessities, some stripped their houses of wood for fuel

What reduced supplies to the cities?

the loss of Ukraine, a blockade of trade

What was the Ukraine known as?

the breadbasket of Russia

What was rationing like in Petrograd by early 1918?

bread was only 50g per person per day

How did the black markets operate in cities, how many resorted to it?

two thirds, peasant sackmen would come in and undecover trade

What were the 1918 Cordon attachments for, did they work?

prevent illegal trading, didn’t work as many participated in it themselves

Why did workers leave the cities for the army or the countryside?

rations were higher

How many workers left the cities?

60 percent had left Petrograd by April 1918, between January 1917 and January 1918, Russian urban proletariat decreased from 3.6 to 1.4 million

What sanitary issues did the war cause?

5 million died of starvation or disease, typhus epidemic killed 3 million in 1920, little access to soap, medicines or doctors (front lines)

How many people were killed in fighting vs at home?

350,000 vs 5 million

Why did former members of the nobility fair the worst?

no ration cards, reduced to begging or selling possessions, given manual tasks or joined labour groups on the front lines, houses acquisitioned by the Bolsheviks and divided into flats

What atrocities were people victims of?

Pogroms against jews, rape, murder, Kiev changed hands 16 times

What was Trotky’s view on War communism?

initially opposed putting forward his own socialist scheme, when this was rejected he accepted war communism.

Why did war communism exist?

to ensure the red army had supplies

How did the Bolsheviks decide to treat the Russian economy?

like a single entity, with the productive capacity taking precedence over individual concerns