1.10) Stalin's economic policies

Question 1

What were the features of War communism?

Answer 1

• Industry and factories controlled by the state
• Managers implemented by Lenin (turned out chaotic), enforced discipline
• Food was rationed
• Money becme worthless
• Lenin sent out his Cheka to sieze grain from peasants. Peasants stopped farming out of protest
• Cheka would arrest and shoot people without trial

Question 2

What were the successes of War Communism?

Answer 2

There were NONE

Question 3

What were the failures of War Communism?

Answer 3

By 1921 the economy was in ruins:
* industiral production fell
* Cities in chaos
* gangs of orphaned children roamed the streets
* Crime was common

Agriculture had collapsed
* War and grain requisition (from Cheks) meant peasants had no incentive to farm

1921 5 million died in a horrendous famine

Question 4

What was the opposition to War communism?

Answer 4

March 1921 a group called the Kronstadt sailors staged an uprising against the communists (These were Lenin’s most loyal suportes in 1917).

Trotsky used troops to crush them, but 20,000 men were killed

This caused Lenin to realise what a failure it had been, because if even his most loyal supportes opposed him there was something wrong.

Question 5

What are key features of the new economic policy?

Answer 5

• No more grain requisition. Peasants are given a quota and and surplus is allowed to be sold for individual profit
• Traders could buy and sell goods (was illegal in war communism)
• Smaller factories given back to their owners
• Larger industries (e.g coal and steel) remained under state control. Some larger factories allowed to sell their goods.

Question 6

What were the successes of the new economic policy?

Answer 6

NEP lasted until 1928 and Russia became generally more prosperous

Peasants were happier as grain requisition had ended

Question 7

What were the failures of the New economic policy?

Answer 7

Peasants found prices too high in 1925 and became unwilling to buy consumer goods

Communists unhappy as lots of capitalist ideas introduced e.g privatisation

Question 8

Was there any opposition to the new economic policy?

Answer 8

None particularly severe

Question 9

What were the effects of War communism?

Answer 9

• Red army had what they needed for CW
• amount of crops decreased, by 1920 farm production fallen by 37%
• Many suffered to get food to cities. 1918-20 50% of Moscow’s population returned to their villages. Factory workers numbers fell by half
• Black markets supplied 70% of food
• Turned peasants against bolshevism- would rather kill their cattle and burn their crops
• Thousands of ‘Kulaks’ (prosporous peasants) killed

Question 10

Details of the 1921 famine

Answer 10

• Worst famine in 30yrs. Due to war communism, a drought and harsh winter
• ** 5 million died** of starvation
• cannibalism
• Children’s corpses stored and eaten by families
• Herbert hoover raised money in america and sent to Russia

Question 11

Details of the Kronstadt Mutiny 1921

Answer 11

• The sailors played a key role in the Bolsheviks obtaining power. They were “The reddest of the red”
• 1921 15,000 mutinied because of War communism
• Trotsky sent 50,000 red army troops to defeat them, however 10,000 were killed.