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AQA A Level History Depth Study Notes - Russia: War Communism & NEP $3.87
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AQA A Level History Depth Study Notes - Russia: War Communism & NEP

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  • Oxford AQA History for A Level

Extremely high quality and detailed notes on War Communism & NEP as part of the AQA A level History Depth Study course (Russia). Notes include/cover: - War Communism 1919-21 - Grain Requisitioning - The Great Famine 1921 - The Red Terror - The Militarisation of Society - The NEP - New E...

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  • March 16, 2022
  • 7
  • 2018/2019
  • Class notes
  • -
  • All classes

Subjects

  • russia
  • stalin
  • war communism
  • nep
  • lenin
  • communism
  • marxism
  • history
  • aqa
  • a level

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  • A/AS Level
  • AQA
  • History
  • Depth Study
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War communism and NEP
War Communism (191-21)
WHAT:
o = the gearing of the whole economy to the needs of the Red Army + winning the Civil War
o Introduced 1918 (replaced ‘state capitalism’ that had only lasted 9 months)
o Replaced in 1921 by New Economic Policy (NEP)

State capitalism:
– Introduced by Bolsheviks after they came to power = ½ way between capitalism + socialism
– Until USSR was ready to fully embrace socialism the state managed key parts of the economy while private
markets continued in other parts of the economy
– Examples:
o Nationalisation of Russia’s banks (1917) + railways (1918)
o Establishment of Vesenkha
o Establishment of GOELRO formed 1920 to organise the production + distribution of electricity
Problems:
- Many Bolsheviks didn’t want a ‘halfway house’; demanded state control of every part of the economy
- factories taken over by workers = drop in production -> workers lacked necessary management skills
- Letting peasants have control over selling of grain meant higher prices. But state-controlled industries needed
cheap grain so that workers didn’t have to be paid higher wages


MAIN FEATURES:
1) Grain requisitioning:
o Special army units sent into countryside to take grain from the peasants -> primarily to
ensure the Red Army were fed at front line of Civil War
o Food Supplies Dictatorship set up May 1918 to organise requisitioning of grain to feed
Red Army + workers in cities
2) Banning private trade:
o All private trade + manufacture = banned (capitalist element of state capitalism policy)
3) Nationalisation of Industry
o Now ALL industry was brought under state control + run by Veshenka
o Private trade + manufacture banned
o Railways placed under military style control
4) Labour discipline introduced:
o Fines for lateness, internal passports introduced to stop people fleeing to countryside
o Workers lost rights + freedoms given by Decree on Workers’ Control of Factories. The
workers’ soviets (ran factories) abolished
o Wages replaced with ration-card workbooks. Rations given out in accordance with class
status. Red A + factory workers got most & Bourgeoisie the least (/nothing)
5) Rationing
o Workers + soldiers given priority
o Smaller rations given to civil servants/professionals
o Lowest rations to bourgeoisie (Zinoviev described the bread ration as ‘just enough bread
so as not to forget the smell of it’)

, WHY WAS IT INTRODUCED:
1) Civil War:
o Caused shortages of food + supplies – Bolsheviks didn’t control all of Russia, led to…
2) Rapid deterioration of economy:
o Workers committees proved incapable of running factories (elected own leader)
o Gov printed money -> hyperinflation
3) The Peasants held onto their produce
o With less goods in the cities to swap for their grain, peasants refused to give it away ->
food shortages worsened
4) To end the ‘Black market’
o 2/3 of food consumed in city = from black market
5) To prevent depopulation of cities
o Up to 60% Petrograd workforce fled city by April 1918 – mainly to countryside

IMPACT ON RUSSIA
1) Grain requisitioning
 Food Supplies Dictatorship set up May 1918 to organise it
 Collective farming encouraged – pool resources
 Peasants were supposed to be paid a fixed price
 Reality = soldiers seized more and gave vouchers instead of cash (many tried to make
themselves rich)
 Worst hit = kulaks (wealthier peasants i.e. bourgeoisie) – often had all their stocks taken
 Was very unpopular with peasants. Cheka had to be used extensively to make it work.


2) The impact on workers
 Nationalisations increased
 Sugar (May 1918), Oil (June 1918). By end 1920 nearly ALL factories and businesses were
nationalised
 Workers’ Soviets that had run the factories were abolished
 Professional managers employed to run factories – to impose discipline + increase output.
 Welcomed by some workers as it made it more likely factories would stay open
 Strict discipline introduced in factories: strikes forbidden; working hours increased; fines
introduced
 Strict controls on movement – passports stopped people returning to countryside

3) Overall impact on the economy
 Production declined: By 1921 industrial output fell to around 20% of pre-war levels
 Urban depopulation continued: by end 1920, Petrograd and Moscow populations had
fallen by 58% and 45% from 1917 levels
 Requisitioning and attacks on kulaks led to food supply and production problems. 1/3 rd of
farming land was abandoned.
 Hyperinflation: Bolsheviks printed money

4) The great famine of 1921
 1921 Harvest was only 48% that of 1913. Caused by a particularly dry summer. Famine
broke out
 Millions died – estimated at 5m (Susan Reed –History Today)
 Population fell from 171m in 1913 to 131m in 1921 (effects of two wars and a famine)
 There were reports of cannibalism and a trade in dead bodies.
 Famine  155 risings across Russia according to the Cheka – Tambov revolt was the worst

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