Did Bolshevik bad handling = economic difficulties 1917-28

• Introduction

  -during the years 1917-1928, the economy underwent huge amounts of transformation.

  -KEY DIFFICULTIES FOR SOVIET REGIME: economic stability, political opposition, establishing ideology.

  - poor handling due to the events taking place at the time

  -having to transform an economy from capitalist to socialist = difficult: state capitalism as a transition period

  -stress of civil war: war communism needed and famine as the consequence+ kronstadt mutiny and tambov rebellion

  -NEP
• judgement criteria


  to the extent to which each factor impacted on the main difficulties the bolsheviks faced
• Paragraph One- Agree

  POINT: War Communism (1918-21) led to economic collapse and serious social discontent, e.g. by 1921 industrial production had plummeted and there was widespread rural unrest

  
  

  EVIDENCE:

  -War communism ensued famine and economic ruin. By 1920 famine in rural areas and in the 1921 harvest, the harvest was only 46% of the 1913 harvest. 6 million dead.

  -Eventually, lead to another problem- political unrest- Kronstadt mutiny (1921) and Tambov rebellion (1920-21)

  -Ideology: led to thriving black market- 60% of food came from BM

  
  

  EXPLAIN:

  -War communism led to huge hyperinflation and money became worthless leaving USSR in state of economic ruin. Without a stable economy, USSR could not begin to industrialise and thus catch up with western enemies

  .-Political unrest caused by WC, Bolsheviks caused their own political opposition by upsetting the people and although the rebellions were squashed- highlights that bolsheviks had failed to establish control

  - The black market shows the undermining of communism: lack of faith in the Bolshevik regime and a free market still exists (capitalist)

  
  

  LINK: WC did clear damage to regime and impacted nearly every main difficulty- economic, social, political and ideological
• By what year was there famine in rural areas + what happened in the 1921 harvest?

  By 1920 famine in rural areas and in the 1921 harvest, the harvest was only 46% of the 1913 harvest. 6 million dead.
• What percentage of food came from BM?

  60%
• How many dead in the famine?

  6 million
• When was the Tambov rebellion and Kronstadt Mutiny?

  1920-21 + 1920
• Paragraph Two- Disagree

  POINT: War Communism provided the Red Army with the resources required to ensure a Bolshevik victory in the civil war; the NEP facilitated an economic recovery which dampened anti-Bolshevik opposition

  
  

  EVIDENCE: food dictatorship ensured that there was plenty of grain to supply the army and War communism eventually ensured communist victory in 1921. War communism also helped the country to move towards socialism by nationalising all industry and abolishing the capitalist market

  
  

  EXPLAIN: War communism helped to remove one of the largest difficulties that the Bolsheviks had to face so without war communism, the Bolsheviks would have lost control entirely and would have been faced with an even larger problem at hand

  
  

  LINK: solved one main difficulty- political however caused economic difficulty
• Paragraph Three- Agree

  POINT: The introduction of the NEP in 1921 caused serious divisions within the Bolshevik party because of the concessions the policy made to capitalist practices, e.g. acceptance of private industry and private trade

  
  

  EVIDENCE:

  - the 'scissors crisis'

  -peasant hoarding of grain.

  -NEPmen and the re-emergence of inequality

  -eventually caused the Industrial economy to plateau from 1926-28

  
  

  EXPLAIN: The operation of the NEP (1921-28) threatened the bolshevik regime and undermined communism. Caused them an ideological difficulty as the NEP was essentially capitalism and viewed as a step backwards from socialism as inequality re-emerged and the free market was no longer abolished

  
  

  LINK: Hugely impacted the Bolsheviks abilty to establish the communist ideology as essentailly their attempt of creating a socialist economy had failed and needed a capitalist one in order to save the country. However, the NEP solved the economic crisis that faced the Bolsheviks (although only for a short period of time). Also resolved social unrest but caused political opposition from within the party itself.
• Paragraph Four- Disagree


  POINT: external factors, the CW and WW1, are to blame for the difficulties faced by the Bolsheviks. Caused the Bolsheviks to make impulsive decisions to resolve the problem quickly.

  
  

  EVIDENCE:

  -Political opposition to the Bolshevik coup in 1917, fuelled by outrage at the Brest Litovsk treaty (1918), led to the civil war that directly challenged communist rule

  -Peace negotiations with Germany (1918) exposed Bolshevik military weakness and divisions among the senior communist leaders about how to leave the war

  
  

  EXPLAIN: not the bolsheviks handling of the economy but their handling of military negotiations and political opposition that caused the issues. They had to find quick and easy solutions to their problems to ensure victory (CW) and to appease the people (Treaty of Brest Litovsk + peace negotiations)

  
  

  LINK: the handling of politics of the bolsheviks impacted hugely on the opposition that they faced and although did not contribute to the economic difficulties faced