- Why was the Kronstadt rising, March 1921, considered so important?
When the communist revolution started in 1917, the sailors of the Kronstadt naval base had been between the most important supporters of this event, even firing artillery shells over Petrograd the night of the revolution. However, three years later, these strong supporters of communism now considered that ‘life under the yoke of the Communists dictatorship has become more terrible than death’.
In March 1921, the sailors of the Kronstadt naval base revolted against the communist government, because they had not received what they expected from the government they had put into power. What they said was that the government had not expressed the will of the workers and peasants as they said they were going to do before assuming power.
However, more importance was given to the event, because not only the Kronstadt sailors revolted at that time, but also the workers, so all those who had put the socialist government into power were now against it. This meant that the socialist government now had few or no supporters.
In conclusion, the Kronstadt rising that happened in March of 1921 was especially important because the Kronstadt sailors had been Bolshevik supporters and because the other important Bolshevik supporters, the workers, were also revolting.
- How far was the NEP successful in solving the economic problems of the USSR by 1928
The New Economic Policy introduced by Lenin in 1921 intended to solve the problems of the USSR’s economy in a short period of time using a policy completely different to the one that was in use, as the War communism policy had devastated the Russian economy
This policy was very successful when solving agricultural problems. Source A shows this, as the grain production more than doubled during the time of the NEP. Also, the production of meat greatly increased, so the Russian population now had enough food for all.
Another problem the NEP solved was the industrial problem. Although the government kept some heavy industries under control, it gave great part of the industry to capitalists, returning to a capitalist style of government.
Nevertheless, the figures that are shown by the Russian government could have been manipulated, so maybe the NEP was not as successful. Also, it went against communist aims, as the NEP was a capitalist policy which used a capitalist market structure.
In conclusion, the NEP was successful in solving the economic problems of the USSR by 1928, as it solved the agricultural problem, producing enough food for all Russians, and it also solved the industrial problems, as industrial production greatly increased under the NEP.