New Economic Policies 1921-28

Question 1

When was the New Economic Policies put in place?

Answer 1

1921-28

Question 2

Why was the NEP put in place?

Answer 2

War Communism

Question 3

Why had War Communism caused low agricultural output?

Answer 3

Brought about food shortages - grain requisitioning wasn’t taken very well.

Question 4

Why had War Communism caused de-urbanization?

Answer 4

Peasants had fled urban areas due to the Famine of 1921 searching for grain in rural areas.

Question 5

What did the de-urbanization lead to?

Answer 5

Drop in industry

Question 6

What did the side affects of War Communism cause?

Answer 6

1. Strikes from workers
2. Peasants rebellions
3. Splits within the party.

Question 7

What were the objectives of the NEP?

Answer 7

A) Relieve famine in the countryside and food shortages in towns and cities
B) Kickstart industry in towns and cities
C) Win back the support/cooperation of peasants and workers

Question 8

What was done to Grain requisitioning?

Answer 8

Replaced with a quota (tax in kind) - state took some produce but allowed peasants produce a surplus

Question 9

What was done to the private trade ban?

Answer 9

Lifted

Question 10

What was done to food rationing?

Answer 10

Abolished.

Question 11

What was done to small scale industry?

Answer 11

Privatized to allow the production of consumer goods.

Question 12

What kind of economy was created via the NEP?

Answer 12

Mixed, capitalist and socialist.

Question 13

In what way was society still highly socialist/centralized?

Answer 13

Large-scale heavy industry still widely centralized under Bolshevik control - still the prioritization of industry.

Question 14

How would these policies incentivize peasants to grow more?

Answer 14

Enable more individual profit via the small scale industry and trad. Gave peasants an incentive.

Question 15

How much grain was being produced in 1921 vs 1926?

Answer 15

1921: 37 million tones.
1926: 78.8 million tones.

Question 16

Did food finally make its way into towns from the countryside?

Answer 16

Yes, peasant trade meant peasants had an incentive to put their produce on the market - the end of the civil war helped this as it ended the inefficiencies regarding the transport system.

Question 17

When was Famine relieved?

Answer 17

1923

Question 18

How much did Steel icrease by under the NEP?

Answer 18

1. Steel increased by x17

Question 19

What was the problems regarding grain harvests?

Answer 19

Did not surpass 1913 levels.

Question 20

What were the economic problems regarding consumer goods? How did this affect the peasantry?

Answer 20

Slow start at first -led to higher prices, which remained high.

This made peasants unable to afford consumer goods = reduced incentives to grow and began to hoard grain.

Question 21

Did unemployment improve?

Answer 21

No, it rose as a result of commercial accounting and the reintroduction of the small-scale private industry.

Question 22

How was the NEP successful politically?

Answer 22

1. Peasant rebellion ended
2. Workers strikes and demonstrations declined = brought stability.

Question 23

What did the NEP allow capitalist groups to do? How did the Left-Party react to this?

Answer 23

1. Ensured capitalist social groups prospered such as the NEP men, Kulaks and the bourgeoisie specialists.
2. Left Communists were ideologically opposed to market features/capitalism and favored the abandonment of the NEP.

Question 24

Regarding the NEP men, how many of them handled Russia’s retail trade by 1923?

Answer 24

75%

Question 24

What did the Communist party do to the NEP men?

Answer 24

1. Taxed them heavily
2. Subjected them to negative propaganda
3. Denied them of the vote.

Question 25

The rise of the NEP men: how many private traders/small scale factory owners due to the NEP?

Answer 25

3 million.

Question 26

Who was Bukharin?

Answer 26

Originally a left communist in 1918, goes on to become more of a leading rightist by 1921 (more moderate)

Question 27

What did Bukharin prefer?

Answer 27

1. Gradual industrialization
2. Less pressure on the peasantry
3. More stability for the communist party

Question 28

In what way did the NEP help with gradual industrialization?

Answer 28

1. Peasants gradually became richer
2. Peasants became consumers + the state over time would invest in industry.

Question 29

What kind of political opposition was there in 1923?

Answer 29

A group of 46 leading Communist Party members sent a letter to the Politburo in October 1923 = left opposition within the party

Question 30

In the Left Party letter, what griefs were mentioned?

Answer 30

1. Opposed the NEP on ideological grounds = disliked the market economy
2. Favored policies that would lead to rapid industrialization.
3. Criticized increasing centralization/lack of party democracy.

Question 31

What year did Left Wing opposition grow? Why?

Answer 31

A) The NEP had now done its job at relieving the economic and political crisis on 1921, more radical policies cold not be initiated.

B) Lenin’s death created room for the leading members of the Left to assert their ideas (Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev)

Question 32

Left Opposition view: why would the NEP not lead to rapid industrialization under the NEP?

Answer 32

1. Less stable control of grain
2. Less opportunity to export grain
3. Less profit for the state to invest in industry

Question 33

Who did Stalin favor from the years 1924-27? How did he use this to remove the other party?

Answer 33

Stalin favored the Right wing, accused them of factionalism when opposition continued and removed them from the party.

Question 34

How did Stalin eventually remove the Right wing?

Answer 34

In 1927, he began to promote rapid industrialization (left wing), Rights began to oppose but he had put so many of his supporters in the Politburo, he was able to remove them easily.