AFTERMATH+OF+CIVIL+WAR+POLITICAL+AND+ECONOMIC-+ECONOMIC+PROBLEMS,+KRONSTADT,+NEP



The Russian Civil War finished at the end of 1920, though the country remained in a state of disaster. The nation was not yet at peace within itself. Russia was suffering both political and economic problems, of which influenced the Kronstadt Mutiny, demonstrating the underlying issues with the country and heightening the people's discontent with the government. Thus bringing about the New Economic Policy (NEP).

//Timeline: // //Following the end of the "Civil War," the detrimental effects the Bolsheviks came to face prior to the enforcing of the NEP are demonstrated within the below timeline://

 //November// ** //1920// ** //- End of the Civil War//


 * Early ****1921** - Severe Drought

Early **1921** - The Great Famine

March **1921** - __Kronstadt Sailor's Mutiny__

//March// ** //1921// ** //-// __ //Implementation of the NEP// __

ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL PROBLEMS - The aftermath of the Civil War left the Russian economy in ruins, as industrial production had drastically fallen. The production of coal had dropped **31%** from **1913-1921** while oil production dropped a startling **41%**. The war had left the cities destroyed as orphaned children roamed the streets stealing to survive and it was commonplace for burglaries to occur.

//This table shows the decline in Industrial output from 1913-1921 (in millions of tons)://
 * INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT || 1913 || 1921 ||
 * Coal || 29 || 9 ||
 * Oil || 9.2 || 3.8 ||
 * Iron || 4.2 || 0.1 ||
 * Steel || 4.3 || 0.2 ||
 * Sugar || 1.3 || 0.05 ||
 * Electricity (in million kWh) || 2039 || 520 ||

Along with the decline in industrial production was the collapse of the country's agriculture. Under war communism the government took control of the economy, in order of getting food to the Red Army, however in doing this they were taking any surplus crops from the peasants and leaving them with very little. Although the army was well supplied the peasants were left starving and in a high state of discontent. Many peasants decided there was no point in growing extra food; others tried desperately to hide the excess grain from the government forces when they arrived. This lead to a high decline in production as grain dropped from **80 million tons** in **1913** to **46 million tons** in **1920** only to decrease further to a startling **37.6 million tons** in **1921**.



This famine was however not completely caused by war communism; in the summer of **1921** the country was hit by a devastating drought, causing the worst famine the country had faced for thirty years. People were dying and the government could do nothing to prevent it as Lenin’s government had not been fast enough to react to the disaster and with a great deal of reluctance were forced to accept American aid.This level of disaster was the main cause of the mutiny that was to follow.

PRIMARY SOURCES: During the famine there was many reports of cannibalism in some districts as people were desperate for food, such as this source, which was written in 1922 stating " // sometimes mothers and fathers feed their children human meat as a last resort. sometimes a starving family eats the body of its junior members... Sometimes parents at night seize part of a body from a cemetery and feed it to their children." //

Nina Berberova who was a writer living in Petrograd in 1921 describes the situation as follows: // "A city completely dead... No electricity, no heat. It was a terrible city, because there was nothing... people just dying." //

Another useful source is that of Ludmilla Shapiro, an eye-witness, who is describing Moscow during the famine of 1921 as he writes- // "You could often see people who had walked from the famine- stricken areas of the Soviet Union... in hope of finding food there. By that time they were usually so weak that they mostly died on the streets, so as a child I saw many deaths... whole families dying on sidewalks." //



KRONSTADT MUTINY - During the **1917** revolution the Kronstadt sailors had played an influential role and supported the Bolsheviks. However the sailors, like many others during **1921**, were discontent with the Bolshevik rule due to the imposing "war communism”, and they took to the streets in an attempt put an end to the communist dictatorship. The sailors participated in many revolts and rebellions, to demonstrate against the Bolsheviks. They created a document outlining their demands.

The revolt of the sailors was such a threat to the Bolshevik power that it forced Trotsky into organising **60,000** of the Red Army to oppress the rebels.In ways Trotsky was successful as he was able to kill a significant majority of the rebels, although in doing so cost the lives of **10,000** Red Army Soldiers. The surviving leaders of the rebellion were either put to death or sent to the first soviet Concentration Camp.The rebellion however showed the Bolsheviks that people were unhappy and henceforth influenced them into employing the NEP.

Here are the demands of the Kronstadt sailors:
 * //"New elections to the soviets, to be held by secret ballot.//**
 * //Freedom of speech and of the press.//**
 * //Freedom of assembly.//**
 * //Rights for trade unions and release of imprisoned trade unionists.//**
 * //Ending of the right of Communists to be the only permitted socialist party.//**
 * //The release of left-wing political prisoners.//**
 * //Freedom for individuals to bring food from the country into the towns without confiscation.//**
 * //Withdrawal of political commissars from the factories.//**
 * //Ending of the Communist Party monopoly of the press."//**



PRIMARY SOURCE: Here is a Primary source from Tukhachevskywho was the leader of the attack on the Kronstat, writing a report to Trotsky: // "The sailors fought like wild beasts. I cannot undertstand where they found the might for such rage... An entire company fought for an hour to capture one house and when the house was captured it was found to contain two or three soldiers at a machine gun. They seemed half dead, but they snatched their revolvers and gasped, 'We didn't shoot enough of you bastards'" //

The following link is a video that you may find helpful to summarise the events that have happened as outlined above, []

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP) - During the Tenth Party Congress of March **1921**, Lenin announced the implementation of a new economic system that would replace that of the previous system under 'War Communism.' The Bolsheviks had finally come to realise the lacking effectiveness of the past system and the significant need in altering it in order to remain in power. As the Bolshevik government had lost extreme popular support during the years of War Communism, they wished to appease the peasantry and proletariat by adopting a less harsh economic system with the concessions of the NEP. As previously stated,the aftermath of the Civil War resulted in drastic loss of both industrial and agricultural production, therefore the NEP was intended to increase the working incentive of both classes and influence greater production of supplies.

Concessions of the NEP included: ** 1. The end of requisitioning surplus grain to be replaced by a taxation system, allowing peasants to make profits in ** ** private trade of grain with only a 10% tax on profits. ** ** 2. No forced programme of ** //collectivisation // ** (equal share of ownership amongst the people and the state). ** ** 3. Private enterprises were also legalised, so that people were able to set up shops and sell or hire goods for profit. ** ** 4. Bartering was discouraged; instead the government encouraged the people to once again use money. **

In spite of these concession satisfying the discontented people, they ultimately restored capitalist elements once again within Russia's society. Although Lenin believed that it would not be a permanent replacement, but rather a necessary step backward in order for Russian society to once again recover before redirecting towards the ultimate goal of Communism, stating //"One step backwards, two steps forward."//

Several Communist citizens and members of the Bolshevik party opposed the new system as they felt that Lenin was betraying the principles of Communism.

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">PRIMARY SOURCE: Lenin's speech on NEP "We are now retreating, going back as it were, but we are doing this to retreat first and then run forward more vigorously. We retreated on this one condition alone when we introduced our New Economic Policy- so as to begin a more determined offensive after the retreat."

// "I remember that time well when destruction and hunger were suddenly followed by the revival of the towns, when food products appeared and prices began to fall. The NEP was of course a retreat. But it allowed us to cope with the consequences of the Civil War and to regain our strength. Lenin's wisdom became apparent in //// this policy. In 1921 he adopted this dangerous but necessary and unavoidable, courageous, decisive, and far-seeing measure - the transition to the NEP. You could say that it was a rather general term, but in essence what this policy did was to give private property a chance to revive, and it allowed the kulaks to take on a new life, not to mention the middle peasants. Merchant and trader elements also raised their heads and got back on their feet pretty solidly." // [|(51)]

//This table shows the effectiveness of the NEP in boosting Russia's agriculture and industry:// Although the NEP was overall a successful method, allowing lenience with private ownership of smaller businesses and private trade, larger industries such as transport systems and banks remained under the control of the state, which enabled the Bolshevik government to hold the 'commanding heights of the economy.'

The NEP also resulted in significant future repercussions. Due to the legalisation of private trade, peasants became wealthy enough from surplus profits to improve their farms and employ poorer peasants to work their lands. This started to see the re-emergence 'capitalist classes' of wealthy peasants in the countrysides called the **Kulaks**, and the ** Nepmen ** within the towns, once again deploying from the ideals of a communist society.


 * *NEPMEN: Businessmen and women who were able to financially profit from the new system i.e Private Trade and Enterprise **

__Here is a useful link to a video that may further explain the NEP:__ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5U5duV94Ocs

**<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">So, how exactly were the Bolsheviks able to consolidate their power? ** > Lenin's decision in appeasing the peasants and enforcing the New Economic Policy, restoring minor capitalist elements within Russian society with the party still holding 'commanding heights of the economy.' > > <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">__HISTORIOGRAPHIES:__ > > ** Sheila Fitzpatrick ** : “Communists of the 1920s were afraid of class enemies, intolerant of cultural pluralism and uneasy about the lack of unity in the party leadership and the loss of a sense of direction and purpose. They wanted their revolution to transform the world, but it was very clear during the NEP how much of the old world had survived…Many rank-and-file Communists and sympathizers, especially among the young, were becoming disillusioned, inclined to believe that the revolution had reached an impasse…It was a mood of restlessness, dissatisfaction, and barely subdued belligerence and, especially among the party youth, nostalgia for the old heroic days of the Civil War”. > > <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">SOVIET VIEW of the NEP: > //"Under NEP the economy recovered quickly, although agriculture outpaced industry. A grain surplus in 1923 drove down prices for farmers, while the prices of manufactured goods, still in short supply, were increasing. This 'scissors crisis' led peasants to withhold their products in the hope of obtaining higher prices in the future. For many Bolshevik leaders, this market behavior threatened their plans for industrialization and reinforced their suspicion of the peasants¡¯ political reliability. ... One difference was the existence of a network of private traders, or Nepmen, some of whom became quite wealthy. Nepmen were frequently resented for their prosperity, as were the kulaks, or prosperous peasants. ... NEP's limited capitalism, however, had also increased social differentiation. The privileges and wealth of some private entrepreneurs and officials provoked jealousy and conflicted with the egalitarian goals of the Revolution."// ~ Charles E. Ziegler > > > > <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">__BIBLIOGRAPHY:__ > > <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers, p.24 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 11pt;">. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">This book is highly valuable as it contains a wide variety of primary sources, all with different opinions on the situations at the time. The information given is concise and easy to read and follow, with pictures throughout to give a visual of what you are studying. ||
 * Trotsky ordering the oppression of the Red Army against the Kronstadt Soldiers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Source || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Comments ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Kelly, N. (1996) //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Russia & The USSR 1905-1956 // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Fiehn, T. (2003) //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Russia & The USSR 1905-1941 //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">. London: John Murray Ltd, p.62-69 || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Much a like the source above this book is filled with primary sources, which brings the history to life and personalises it. This book is very easy to follow with subheadings. This book provides useful and reliable information giving in-depth information on a variety of topics. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Oxley, P. (2001). Russia: 1855-1991 //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">From Tsars to Commissars //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">. Oxford: Oxford University Press. || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">The language in this book was acceptable for a wide variety of people as it was simple and easy to read. The information is very concise however at times this may be a limitation as the book does not give great detail on each topic but rather small paragraphs. This book also has some sources throughout the information to help ||