Economic Apparatus Subject essay: Lewis Siegelbaum Communism, as described by Karl Marx, resolves the inherent contradictions of capitalism. Private ownership disappears, as does social inequality and the exploitation of labor by capital. Lenin and his fellow Bolsheviks thought of communism only in the distant future, and during the long years of underground activity, their thoughts were focused on active resistance to tsarism. Only in the months leading up to the October Revolution did Lenin begin drafting ideas about the shape of a communist state. Though lagging behind Europe and North America, the Russian economy was still significantly modern. The egalitarian (equalizing) impulse can be seen in the very first decrees of the Soviet state, which abolished the system of social estates and ranks that underpinned tsarist society.
War Communism War Communism was the name given to the economic system that existed in Russia from 1918 to 1921. War Communism was introduced by Lenin to combat the economic problems brought on by the civil war in Russia. It was a combination of emergency measures and socialist dogma. One of the first measures of War Communism was the nationalisation of land. Banks and shipping were also nationalised and foreign trade was declared a state monopoly. This was the response when Lenin realised that the Bolsheviks were simply unprepared to take over the whole economic system of Russia. On June 28th, 1918, a decree was passed that ended all forms of private capitalism. War Communism also took control of the distribution of food. War Communism had six principles: 1) Production should be run by the state. 2) State control was to be granted over the labour of every citizen. 3) The state should produce everything in its own undertakings. 4) Extreme centralisation was introduced. War Communism was a disaster.
The Industrial Revolution in Russia - by Matthew Adams Matthew Adams's image for: "The Industrial Revolution in Russia" Caption: Location: Image by: In the 19th century, Russia was a long way behind the leading industrial nations. It was Witte's policy which began Russia's catch up with the west. However, it was the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway that provided most of the momentum for an industrial revolution in Russia. Once the Trans-Siberian Railway was opened, raw materials for Russia's expanding heavy industries could be transported more quickly. As the empire crumbled the Bolsheviks consolidated the communist regime in 1917. The Five Year Plans set very large targets for Russian heavy industry within a five year period. As such, the first Five Year Plans had almost ushered in another Industrial Revolution in Russia.
War Communism - Explanation of War Communism In late 1917 / early 1918, the Bolshevik government which had just seized control of Russia was faced with a civil war to retain power. To combat the difficulties faced in the war, to keep the collapsing economy moving, and to impose socialist ideology, a new economic policy was introduced in June 1918; it was later (1921) called War Communism. Historians are divided over the weight to give these factors: left leaning writers often say it was pragmatic, right leaning ones a result of Lenin’s ideology. War Communism involved massive centralization and nationalization, as the state took control of private business and the requisition of foodstuffs, instead of allowing a market economy. The results of War Communism were a disaster. Opposition to War Communism became crystallised in early 1921 after the end of the civil war, with strikes and rebellions.
New Economic Policy - Explanation of New Economic Policy In 1921 the Russian economy was on the brink of collapse due to the combined effects of the Russian Civil War and the government’s policy of ‘War Communism’, a system of almost total centralization and hardcore socialism. Grain requisitioning, vital under War Communism as peasants weren’t willingly giving up surplus grain, were pushing the farmers into massive and successful rebellion. Meanwhile millions of demobilized soldiers (the Red Army had risen to five million strong during the Civil War) were about to flood back into society. Towns were emptying as people travelled into the country for food, the industrial workforce more than halved, and the remainder frequently went on strike. Given that the ruling Bolsheviks counted on the urban ‘proletariat’ for support, they were in danger. The New Economic is controversial. A whole sector of small businessmen, who became known as NEP Men, managed to do well.
War Communism in Retrospect Paul Flewers WAR COMMUNISM IS generally considered to be the overall policy of the Soviet government from the late spring of 1918 until early 1921. It is associated with the state control and nationalisation of industry, the attempts to eradicate private trade and to replace it by non-market methods of exchange, the coalescence of non-party and party organisations and state institutions, and the rise of compulsion and coercion in social relations. A predetermined policy or a pragmatic response? Authorities differ as to the rationale behind War Communism. Others view War Communism as originating in a series of emergency measures introduced to deal with the increasingly difficult economic and military situation, but which was then justified in ideological terms. Lenin veered between the ideological and pragmatic explanations. Many of the measures introduced during War Communism were not peculiar to the Bolshevik regime. The decline of industry was to have serious social consequences.
Lenin on War Communism At the time of the October Revolution in Russia, Lenin and others had hoped that workers throughout Europe would overthrow capitalist governments and achieve socialist revolutions. But when that did not take place, the Soviet Union found itself economically isolated and attacked on all sides by the invading armies of imperialism. Winston Churchill described the purpose of the attacks, involving over half a million soldiers, as "strangling" the revolution "at its birth." While the Soviet Union fought back and defeated the invading armies by the end of 1920, the damage was done. To feed people in the cities, the Soviet government confiscated grain from the farmers without having money to pay them. Lenin saw "war communism" as a temporary policy that must not be continued. Toward the end of his life, Lenin was explicit about the need for peace. But with Lenin's death in 1923, war communism became the permanent policy of the Soviet Union.
The Tax in Kind (The Significance Of The New Policy And Its Conditions)[1] Written: Completed on 21 April, 1921 (started in March) First Published: Published in pamphlet form in May 1921; Published according to the pamphlet text collated with the manuscript Source: Lenin’s Collected Works, 1st English Edition, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1965, Volume 32, pages 329-365Translated: Yuri SdobnikovTranscription\HTML Markup: David Walters & R. CymbalaCopyleft: V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marx.org) 2002. In Lieu Of Introduction The question of the tax in kind is at present attracting very great attention and is giving rise to much discussion and argument. The discussion is somewhat disordered, a fault to which, for very obvious reasons, we must all plead guilty. In order to make this attempt I will take the liberty of quoting a long passage from my pamphlet, The Chief Task of Our Day Left-Wing” Childishness and the Petty-Bourgeois Mentality. Here is what I wrote at the time: (3)private capitalism;
Lecture 6: The Russian Revolution (2) People do not make revolutions eagerly any more than they do war. There is this difference, however, that in war compulsion plays the decisive role, in revolution there is no compulsion except that of circumstances. A revolution takes place only when there is no other way out. And the insurrection, which rises above a revolution like a peak in the mountain chain of its events, can be no more evoked at will than the revolution as a whole. The masses advance and retreat several times before they make up their minds to the final assault. ---Trotsky, The History of the Russian Revolution Damp winds blew off the Gulf of Finland, but there were no warm clothes in the shops. Leon Trotsky, the "famous leader of the bandits and the hooligans," caused a sensation at the pre-parliament. Essential to a successful Bolshevik takeover was deception. The decision to mount the coup was taken on October 10th. However, the Twelve were not the only individuals with knowledge of the coup. Not so Lenin.
birding facts Birding Resources by the Fat Birder for Russia<BR> Russia is the largest country in the world with its land covering 16,995,800 square kilometres and water covering an additional 79,400 square kilometres. The population in July 2005 was estimated at 143,420,309 persons. Russia consists of 89 separate administrative divisions. The Climate ranges from dry steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; sub-arctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along the Arctic coast. The terrain consists of broad plains with low hills west of the Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along the southern border regions. The territory of Russia occupies a significant part of the Eurasian continents. There are a bewildring array of regions, districts, autonomous regions, city districts and opther political subdivisions in Russia.
Peasant Revolution Subject essay: Lewis Siegelbaum The February Revolution and the collapse of authority that followed it created an opportunity for peasants to fulfill their long-standing aspirations for obtaining land and achieving greater control over their own affairs. Even as they petitioned the Provisional Government and the Soviets' Central Executive Committee to realize their agenda, peasants elected village and district (volost) committees (also known as soviets) to take over local government functions, seized crop land, implements, and draft animals belonging to landlords, and resisted the government's attempts to requisition grain. The inefficiency of peasant-based agriculture was one of the chief indications of "backwardness" in pre-revolutionary Russia and a problem that the Bolsheviks, upon coming to power, were dedicated to overcoming.