Soviet Union – 1918 - 1930
Reforms of Bolsheviks. Following the
Bolshevik Revolution, Lenin and his new
communist government initiated many
reforms.
Decree on Peace. The Bolsheviks declared an
immediate armistice “on all fronts.” called on the
belligerent powers to cease hostilities and
commit themselves to no annexations or
indemnities.
The Decrees on Land (proclaiming abolition of
private property and the redistribution of the land
amongst the peasantry), They took land from the Tsar,
the church, nobles and other landlords, and
redistributed it among the peasants in order to reform
the agricultural sector and reward the peasants for
their loyalty during the Revolution.the Decree on
Land, proclaimed the abolition of all private ownership
of land “forever”. All land would be placed under the
control of the state; rural landholdings would “become
the property of the whole people, and shall pass into
the use of those who cultivate it.”
Subsequent workers’ decrees outlined
measures for an eight-hour working day,
minimum wage and the running of factories.
The Workers' Decrees outlined measures for
minimum wage, limitations on workers' hours,
and the running of factories by elected workers'
committees.Labour conditions were improved
with working hours limited to a maximum of
eight hours a day, and forty hours a week. This
consolidated Bolshevik support amongst the
working classes in the cities, where they had
taken power.
The Bolshevik government would take control
of the banks, foreign trade, large industries and
railways.
The Bolshevik Party proclaimed a radical
transformation
of
education.
Many
Bolsheviks were determined to improve
literacy and education, particularly amongst
the peasantry.
This was an idealistic goal but it had a political purpose. Russia’s peasantry was
obstinate, conservative and resistant to new ideas – but many believed this was
chiefly because of its inability to read and learn more about the outside world.
“The illiterate person stands outside politics,”
Lenin said. “First it is necessary to teach him
the alphabet. Without it there are only rumours,
fairy tales and prejudices – but not politics.” If
peasants could read, they could access party
propaganda, develop class consciousness and
come to support the revolution.
The first concerted attempts to improve literacy were launched spontaneously in
1918. They began with small groups of party cadres venturing into rural areas to
teach peasants how to read and write. In December 1919, the Soviet
government issued a Decree on Illiteracy that ordered all illiterate Russians
aged between eight and 50 to learn to read and write; to refuse to do so was a
criminal offence.
After the bolsheviks coup d’état the civil
war started. The Bolsheviks have to
mobilize the whole resources of the
country to prevail over the white army.
Because of this they introduced
extreme centralised ruling of the state
named war communism.
The policy of War Communism lasted from June 1918 to March 1921. The
policy’s chief features were:
the expropriation of private business and the nationalization of industry
throughout Soviet Russia,
the forced requisition of surplus grain and other food products from the
peasantry by the state.
The aim was to consolidate power while fighting a brutal Civil War.
Other features:
-forced requisitioning of foodstuffs,
-redistribution of land,
- nationalisation of industry,
- state management of production,
- centralisation of resource allocation,
-state monopolisation of trade,
- partial suspension of money
transactions
- the introduction of strict labour
discipline.
sThe war comminism led the russian`s economy to total disastrous. Because of
that New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced from the government of the
.Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928. This policy represents a temporary retreat
from its previous policy of extreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism.
Lenin’s decision to introduce the NEP followed three years of civil war, social
disruption, economic deprivation and famine. This only increased opposition to
the Bolshevik regime which, in turn, increased the risk of rebellion or counterrevolution.
After the bolsheviks coup d’état the civil
war started. The Bolsheviks have to
mobilize the whole resources of the
country to prevail over the white army.
Because of this they introduced
extreme centralised ruling of the state
named war communism.
sThese measures included the return of most agriculture, retail trade, and smallscale light industry to private ownership and management while the state
retained control of heavy industry, transport, banking, and foreign trade. With
other words he NEP ended the policy of grain requisitioning and introduced
elements of capitalism and free trade into the Soviet economy.
sMoney was reintroduced into the economy in 1922 (it had been abolished
under War Communism). The peasantry were allowed to own and cultivate their
own land, while paying taxes to the state. The New Economic Policy
reintroduced a measure of stability to the economy and allowed the Soviet
people to recover from years of war, civil war, and governmental
mismanagement. The small busines flourished
sPeasants who had been forced to hand over all their produce to the state, now
the governement allowed them to keep some to sell for profit - some (the kulaks)
became quite rich. Small traders called Nepmen were allowed to set up
businesses. At the same time, local nationalities who had been forced to follow a
strict Communist line were allowed to bring back their own language and
customs. Churches, mosques and bazaars were re-opened.
But the NEP was abolished because of
the next reasons:
NEP was viewed by the Soviet
government (especially Stalin) as merely a
temporary expedient to allow the economy
to recover while the Communists solidified
their hold on power. Because the NEP
allowed elements of capitalism, hardliners
in the Communist Party hierarchy viewed
it as a retreat towards capitalism – or at
least an acknowledgement that socialist
policies had failed.
In 1928 they announced the start of the first five-year plan for the country's
industrial and economic development based on severe control by the state. The
Communist Party took the course of fast nation-wide industrialization and many
historians believe it's at this point that the NEP's existence ended.
sThe communnists were incredibly suspicious of the peasants, they viewed
them as a major threat to socialism. The communists want to eliminate Kulaks
(rich peasants) as a class by means of collectivization. They think that private
agriculture is a serious obstacle for introducing socialism and saw
collectivization as the best remedy for the problem.
sDuring this time the peasents had sold their product to the state at set
procurement prices. But part of the grain production was sold on the free
market. But in 1927 the state prices were lowered.The peasents had rejected to
sell on lower prices. The quantity of grain on the state market fell. In 1928 the
shortages for grain increased. The crisis started.
The communists considerd that the kulaks were withholding grain from the
market to sabotage the regime. They used the grain crisis to stoped the NEP
and started the collectivisation
They used the grain crisis to stoped the NEP and started the collectivisation.
The policy aimed to integrate individual landholdings and labour into collectivelycontrolled and state-controlled farms: Kolkhozy and Sovkhozy. The communists
expected that the replacement of individual peasant farms by collective ones
would immediately increase the food supply for the urban population.Te
implementing of this policy was related to many peasent rebels and state`s
repression against them.
The chaos in agriculture and contradictories between the state and peasants led
to several famines in the country. The death toll cited by experts has ranged
from 7 million to 14 million
In summary: this forcibly elimination of the private ownership of farmland and
collectivization of the agriculture under the state’s control is a main aim of
collectivisation. Several million of the country’s most prosperous private farmers
were destroyed. Final step officially shutting down the project was the Party's
decree to prohibit all private trade in the country in 1931, destroying the last
signs of capitalism.