By 1921 the Bolshevik’s had left the economy and people in a state of disaster. The Soviet Union only widened the gap between themselves and the west due to war communism. The central government took control of all industry and economic activity. If any of the factories had more than ten workers, it would be taken over and ran by the government. The death penalty was introduced for anyone who went on strike. They banned all private trade. The aim was to keep the Red Army supplied with food and weapons. However, the Civil War had tremendous effect on Russia. The ten million people, who died, over half was caused by starvation.
The main reason there was a Famine in Russia during the Civil War was the policies followed by Lenin’s government. They were in desire need for food, so the could supply the Red Army and the workers in the cities. To make matters worse they experienced droughts in 1920 and 1921. There wasn’t enough food for the peasants themselves to eat, let alone a surplus for people in town. During this time the economy laid in ruins. Industrial production stood at thirteen per cent of prewar volume. The grain harvest had fallen from seventy four million tons to 30 million tons. Inflation during this time was rampant.
Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy. He was aware that war communism had failed. The peasants had no incentive to grow more food. The NEP dealt with these problems, the following two ways:
- Peasants were to be allowed to sell any surplus food, which they produced. In turn, the more food they grew, the more money they received.
- However, this couldn’t work unless there were goods for them to buy. Therefore, the factories with fewer than 20 workers was given back to their owners.
Trotsky wasn’t happy with this plan. He felt the state control of war communism was the correct way to produce a communist society. Trotsky and his supporters believed the scissors crisis proved that the NEP was a disaster. Since it reintroduced capitalism, but didn’t make sure the peasants grew enough food for the rest of Russia. However, after October 1923 the blades of the ‘scissors’ began to close as industrial prices grew and prices fell.
When Lenin died in 1924, The Soviet Union was governed collectively by a group. The following was in this group: Joseph Stalin, Grigori Zinouiev and Lev Kameneu. After a struggle of power, the two top contenders where Leo Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. These two men disagreed violently over the spread of communism. Trotsky felt communism must be spread through out the world. (world revolution). Stalin favored world revolution, but first he wanted to make the Soviet Union stronger.
The Soviet Union was well behind the other major powers in industrial power. With this Stalin and the other communist leaders felt the weakness of their country. They needed to build the country back fast or be crushed by the capitalist powers of the world. So, Stalin would develop the five-year plan. This would help the Soviet Union get back to where they belong in ten years. They stressed on making it an industrial nation. Stalin had different aims to speed up the development of industry. He adopted Trotsky’s argument that industrialization was necessary to build up a revolutionary proletariat. Stalin added a new argument to this; industrialization is the new policy of socialism in ones country.
For good or for ill, Under Stalin’s leadership the Soviet Union reached the first rank of world powers. From being one of the most backward countries in the world, the Soviet Union became one of the most highly industrialized. (“Stalin’s Achievements,” n.d.)
Bibliography
Socialist Worker Review 136 (November 1990), pp. 18-21. Socialist Worker
Hook, S Stalin’s Achievements
Kort, M. (1996) The Soviet Colossus: History and Aftermath
Patenaude, B (1995) Russian Review, Vol. 54 Issue 4 pp. 552-570
Bobbio, N (1987) Which Socialism?
