Lenin's Early Decrees

• State Capitalism

  • A transitional stage between capitalism and socialism was needed because of the revolution coming early in Russia.
  • The Bolsheviks didn't have the power or expertise to create a fully socialist economic system.
  • Lenin therefore resisted those in the party who pushed for this, again showing his pragmatism over ideology.
• Decree on Land

  • Announced in October 1917 which was linked to Lenin's promise of land in the April Theses and the SR's promise of "Land to the Peasants".
  • The decree however was more of an acknowledgement that the peasants were seizing land rather than an active redistribution of lnad.
• Decree on Workers Control

  • This simply acknowledged the reality across the country as workers took control of their factories.
  • Workers seized 4x the amount of factories than the government.
  • The workers tended to do things like give themselves big pay rises and help themselves to stock and machines.
  • They often lacked the knowledge and skills to run the factories and production plummeted.
• Veshenka

  • Their job was to oversee economic development.
  • Had little effect but did set up a special commission that set up a national system for generating electricity.
• Problems

  • There was runaway inflation with too few goods and not enough food.
  • This was made worse by the loss of Ukraine.
  • Bread rationing in Petrograd was 50 grams a day in February 1918.
  • Pressure within the party grew for greater socialist reforms.