How did Lenin's economic policies arouse opposition within the Bolshevik party and within the USSR?

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How did Lenin’s economic policies arouse opposition within the Bolshevik party and within the USSR?

Any government trying to repair its country’s ruined economic state will undoubtedly have problems and opposition, but the Bolshevik party had another great burden – to turn Russia into a Marxist state. Lenin isolated the majority of Russia in 1917 by forming many decrees and taking various actions, mostly ruled by ideology, for example, censorship, he took away freedom of speech from every non-Bolshevik party. These actions were all during the first of Lenin’s economy policies – State Capitalism.

This policy wasn’t as ideological as the New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced in 1921 where although economic control was relaxed, political control was tightened, but it was a start. Lenin couldn’t make any sweeping revolutionary policies in State Capitalism because he didn’t yet have enough power. It can be said that because both NEP and State Capitalism were ruled somewhat by ideology, it created many enemies for Lenin. NEP, for example, was thought to be a return to Capitalism and many extreme communists felt betrayed that Lenin had compromised and allowed things such as NEP men and private trade all of which reminded them of a capitalist state. In small-scale industry 75% were working privately, not for the state, as communism would have. Lenin justified his actions by saying “Capitalism exists alongside socialism”, basically saying that in order to keep control he had to sacrifice having capitalist aspects in Russia. However, there were still many angry and betrayed people. On the other hand, NEP can be seen as successful because the peasants had achieved a great victory, they could trade privately and make their own profit. By 1923 the NEP was responsible for 3/4s of all retail trade and in 1926 the economy had almost regained the production rates of 1913.

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However, the economic policy which without doubt caused the most opposition was War Communism. Every single group turned against Lenin, even including people from his own, towards the end of war communism. Lenin used oppressive and violent tactics to exert control over Russia and the least popular technique was grain requisitioning. He turned the peasants against him almost instantly by sending the Cheka to forcefully take their grain to sell.  The peasants resisted by producing the bare minimum, this gradually led to inflation, then famine. 1/5 people died from starvation. By October 1920 the rouble was worth 1% of ...

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