Full notes for chapter two of the A-Level 'From Lenin to Yeltsin' Edexcel course ( 'Industrial & Agricultural Change in the USSR 1917-85' ). These notes cover every bullet point of the specification, and are organised by these.
Revision Notes - Chapter Two, Industrial
and Agricultural Change 1917-85
When the Bolsheviks took over in 1917 the economy was in chaos, damaged by WWI and the following
civil war.
HOW DID THE GOVERNMENT EXERCISE CONTROL OVER THE
ECONOMY BETWEEN 1917 AND 1928? - LENIN & STALIN!!!
State control over the economy might limit worker’s independence, but it was one way to rejuvenate the
economy. By 1928 Stalin had decided that a command economy was needed.
THE NATIONALISATION OF INDUSTRY
State Capitalism = the transitional stage between the old bourgeoise economy and a new proletarian
one. To be achieved through a trial and error process. Peasants acting of their own initiative raised the
issue of once given power, they may be unwilling to give it up
Key measure of Lenin’s initial economic policy:
● The Land Decree of October 1917 abolished private ownership of land, which was now to be in
the hands of ‘the people’ - pleased the peasantry as they saw it as control over the land they
farmed and worked
● The Decree on Workers Control of November 1917 placed control of the factories into the hands
of the industrial workers.
These measure gave power to the workers and peasants, but it had a detrimental effect on the
economy:
● Workers’ councils voted to give themselves huge pay rises, which did little to improve production
and often resulted in inflation
● Managers were often dismissed and those with industrial and technical expertise were often
removed by workers seeking revenge for how they had been treated previously
● Tension between worker self-management & government control.
WAR COMMUNISM & THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY
WHY WAS WAR COMMUNISM INTRODUCED?
To ensure that the Red Army was supplied with enough food and resources to emerge victorious in the
Civil War. These detailed much greater government intervention. Factors pushing the government
towards these measures include:
● The Ideological Basis - the measures of War Communism went along with the long-term aim of
the Bolsheviks to abolish private enterprise and could be seen as the application of communist
ideology.
● The Response to the Reality of Economic Collapse - the economy was in a state of near collapse
and drastic measures were needed to win the civil war. State direction of the economy had been
a key feature of many European countries during WWI.
KEY FEATURES OF WAR COMMUNISM
● Nationalisation of all industry without compensation, for all workplaces with over 10 workers
● All industry was placed under the control of the state through the Supreme Council of National
Economy (Vesenka), set up in 1917
, 2
● Harsh military style discipline was introduced into the factories - the death penalty was
introduced for all workers who went on strike.
● All private trading was banned - trade was to be controlled by the state (created a large black
market)
● Forcible requisitioning of food from peasants to feed the army and towns resulted in a rise in
tension in the countryside & serious outbreaks of violence.
This all ensured that the Red Army got the resources it needed to win, but left the economy in a state of
collapse.
● By 1921, industrial production was ⅕ of the figure for 1913.
FAILURE OF WAR COMMUNISM / WHY WAS THE NEP INTRODUCED IN 1921?
It replaced War Communism after the civil war.
Economic Considerations:
● Industry was at a virtual standstill. Food production had fallen to 48% of the 1913 figure, and the
breakdown distribution systems had resulted in widespread famine.
○ Weakened by lack of food, 20 million Russians had died from famine and diseases like
typhus in the 1920s.
The Unpopularity of War Communism:
● Loathed by Russians - e.g. the system of rationing which was dependent on social classification
of a person (members of the bourgeoisie received little/none).
The Tambov Rising:
● Greatest resentment was in the countryside due to forcible requisitioning of food and the plans to
get rid of the mir (village commune of elders).
● There were a series of uprisings in 1920-21 in important grain areas, and the most serious was
the Tambov Rising in central Russia, where peasants reacted violently to requisitioning teams.
○ It was only put down after 50,000 Red Army troops were sent into the area. The
seriousness of these risings put pressure on the government to change its policy.
Clear that the situation that had developed under WC could not be sustained - led to the introduction of
the NEP, which saw a move away from the state control of WC to a more mixed economy.
KEY FEATURES OF THE NEP
● Agriculture - compromise with the peasantry:
○ An end to requisitioning - replaced by a system of taxation to allow peasants to sell any
remaining food for a profit.
○ No forced programme of collectivisation, so the mir would remain as a way for peasants
to self-regulate their farming activities.
● Industry
○ The NEP returned small-scale industry to private hands, although the state kept control of
heavy industry, transport, and banks.
○ In state owned factories, piecework and bonuses were used to try and raise production,
as well as the reintroduction of a currency for paying wages in 1921. Many Communists
were suspicious of this and saw it as the re-emergence of Capitalism.
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