NEP

• The New Economic Policy

   

  Lenin’s pragmatism, it should be remembered that he carried on with the policy of War Communism (shows didnt work) Trotsky who advised Lenin to drop the policy well before the 10th Party Congress having seen the dreadful impact of the policy during his 60,000 miles as Commissar for War. economic not political concern

   
• NEP was introduced at the 10th Party Congress in March 1921. It was designed to end the chaos caused by war communism and restore some stability to the economy.
• key fetures

   Peasant Incentive:

  • Fixing quotas for grain requisition to provide peasants with an incentive to produce.
  • Surplus grain could be sold for profit.

  ends hoaridng and appealing
• 1. Currency Stabilization:

  • Stabilizing the currency to allow the market to function effectively.

  1. Industrial Focus:

  • Allowing industry to prioritize supplying peasants with consumer goods, shifting away from heavy industrial production.

  1. Encouragement of Private Trade:

  • Encouraging private trade to stimulate economic activity.

  1. Retention of Key Industries:

  • Retaining control over key industries, known as the "commanding heights of the economy," by Vesenkha. to give stats control where needs it
• • approved by the Party Central Committee for presentation at the 10th Party Congress in March 1921.
  • The Kronstadt Revolt, abandon War Communism. Red sailors, who had been key to the Revolution, felt betrayed by the harsh policies of War Communism.
  • The Kronstadt Revolt was suppressed by the Red Army on March 17th, following Trotsky's orders.
  • Lenin referred to the revolt as "the flash which lit up reality better than anything else," Congress to approve the NEP despite initial misgivings and concerns over returning to capitalist methods
• Trade Union Issue at the 10th Congress:

  • The Trade Union question dominated the 10th Congress.
  • Lenin had to navigate between the demands of the Worker's Opposition, advocating for worker's control over industry, and Trotsky, who favored military-style unions under Party control.
  • Lenin's solution was to grant Trade Unions limited autonomy as "mass non-party organizations" outside state control.
• sucess?

  ·   By 1923 Cereal production had increased by 23% compared with 1920.

  ·       Factory output rose by 200%. 

  • Nepman Role and Retail Trade:
  • "Nepman" (private traders) were authorized to purchase goods from villages and sell them in urban markets.
  • They collected goods like nails, shoes, and clothes from city workshops to exchange with peasants.
  • Nepman stalls evolved into flourishing shops, handling approximately three-quarters of the retail trade by 1923.

   
• failures

  • Corruption
  • Corruption proliferated as deals were struck and property speculation began.
  • Vice flourished, evidenced by the emergence of gaming clubs, brothels, and prostitution in urban areas.
  • Scissors Crisis:
  • By 1923, a "scissors crisis" emerged, marked by a drop in food prices due to oversupply and a rise in industrial prices due to undersupply. BUT good
  • industrial goods' prices were lowered.
  • Taxes were collected from peasants in cash rather than in kind, incentivizing overproduction.
  • By 1926, industrial output had rebounded to levels comparable to those in 1913.
• ideologically capitalist

  Trotsky said 'first sign of the denigration of Bolsheviks'
• sucess

  13 million tones 1921-1924 grain harvests monthly wages doubled and eventually tripled