Gill Sans Bold
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Part 4: The New Economic Policy (NEP)
Part 4 contents
A new economic direction ................................................................. 3
Effects of the NEP ..................................................................... 6
Inside the Party ................................................................................... 9
The debate about modernisation ...............................................10
The banning of factions.............................................................15
Lenin and Stalin .................................................................................17
Formation of the USSR.............................................................17
Stalin from 1917 onwards..........................................................19
Death of Lenin....................................................................................23
Change and continuity, 1917–1924............................................23
Assessment of Lenin ................................................................24
Possible successors .........................................................................29
Lenin’s Testament ....................................................................29
Exercises – Part 4 .............................................................................33
Part 4: The NEP
1
2
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
A new economic direction
At the end of the Civil War, Russia was in a very poor state. The British
writer H G Wells visited the country in 1920 and concluded that:
Our dominant impression of things Russian is an impression of a vast
irreparable breakdown.
Source:
David Christian, 1988, Power and Privilege, Pitman, p. 179.
The Russian economy was particularly weak. The following figures show
the decline in the economy between 1913, the year before World War I
started, and 1921, the year after the Russian Civil War ended. Look at the
figures and then answer the questions which follow.
1913
Electricity (kilowatt hours)
Steel (tonnes)
Cotton fabrics (metres)
Rail freight carried (tonnes)
Overall industrial production (in
roubles–the Russian currency)
Grain harvest (tonnes)
1921
1 945 000 000
525 000 000
4 231 000
169 000
2 582 000 000
103 000 000
132 000 000
40 000 000
10 251 000 000
2 050 000 000
80 100 000
37 600 000
1
How many tonnes of freight were carried by the Russian rail system
in 1921? ___________________
2
By how many roubles did the value of overall industrial production
fall between 1913 and 1921? ___________________
3
Did agricultural production rise or fall in Russia between 1913
and 1921? _________
4
Did electricity production fall by more or less (proportionally not in
actual amounts) than steel and coal production between 1913
and 1921? _________
Part 4: The NEP
3
Did you answer?
1 40 000 000
2 8 201 000 000
3 fall
4 less
The situation was so bad, especially in the countryside, that there was
widespread famine and disease which reached a climax in 1921.
The worst-hit area was the Volga River basin to the east of Moscow.
It has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of people died, and
Russia had to reluctantly accept aid from the American Relief
Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover who later became US
President.
Why do you think the Bolsheviks were reluctant to accept assistance from
this organisation?
__________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
Because they thought it was humiliating for a socialist government to accept
assistance from a capitalist country
The Bolsheviks were very concerned about the poor condition of the
Russian economy, in particular the virtual collapse of agricultural
production. They realised that the resistance to War Communism, that
you read about in a previous Part, was a threat to their continued power
in Russia. The biggest challenge the government faced was to increase
the production of agricultural goods. There were three main ways in
which this could be done.
These ways were:
4
•
to take full control of all farms in Russia, a move that was almost
certain to lead to increased peasant resistance and that the
government didn’t have the resources to do anyway
•
to control labour in the countryside in the same way that the
Bolsheviks had controlled labour in the towns and cities as part of
War Communism, and, if necessary, to make it even stricter.
Trotsky talked about the ‘militarisation of labour’. This was also
likely to be unpopular with the peasants and to create more, rather
than less, resistance to the Bolsheviks.
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
•
to provide incentives for farmers to produce more by replacing food
requisitioning with a tax in kind (that is, in goods rather than money)
on a fixed percentage of their produce, and allowing them to sell the
rest on the free market as private traders.
Tick which of the following statements you think is correct about the
third of these methods that the Bolsheviks could use to increase the
production of agricultural goods.
Ë
It meant a strengthening of socialism in Russia and a further
move away from capitalism.
Ë
It meant a weakening of socialism in Russia and a partial return
to capitalism.
Did you answer?
It meant a weakening of socialism in Russia and a partial return
to capitalism.
Somewhat surprisingly, it was Trotsky, who had a reputation for being a
‘hardline’ communist, who in early 1920 first suggested that this third
alternative be introduced. At first Lenin opposed the retreat from
socialism that it involved, so Trotsky proposed instead the policy of
militarising labour. However, the Kronstadt Uprising convinced Lenin
that this would simply make the situation worse, so he reluctantly agreed
to Trotsky’s original suggestion. He had reached the conclusion that it
were better to make a partial return to capitalism in the short-term, if that
action was necessary to ensure that the Bolsheviks remained in power.
He believed that once the immediate crisis had been resolved, the
Bolsheviks would be able to change their policy once more and start
again to build a socialist society.
In March 1921, the Tenth Bolshevik Party Congress accepted a proposal
by Lenin that food requisitioning be replaced by a tax in kind which was
set at a rate lower than the quotas that had previously been requisitioned
from the peasants. This meant that the peasants would only have to give
the government 57% of the grain, 55% of the potatoes and 26 % of the
meat that they had formerly been required to provide. They could then
sell as much of their remaining produce as they wished on the open
market, which was now legal. They were even permitted to
employ labour.
Part 4: The NEP
5
This decision marked the beginning of the New Economic Policy, or
NEP. Other features of the NEP included:
•
Some small non-agricultural businesses which had been nationalised
during War Communism were now privatised; in other words they
were returned to private owners who could employ up to twenty
people and were allowed to make a profit. This was another move
away from socialism and back to capitalism.
•
The government retained ownership of what Lenin called the
‘commanding heights’ of the Russian economy – the large industrial
enterprises, banks, railways and foreign trade. This meant that
socialism remained a significant feature of the Russian economy.
Overall, the New Economic Policy involved a largely capitalist
agriculture and a socialist industry. This combination of socialism and
capitalism is referred to as a mixed economy.
Effects of the NEP
The following figures compare several indicators of the Russian
economy in 1921, which was the first year of the NEP, and 1926.
1921
Electricity (kilowatt hours)
Steel (tonnes)
Cotton fabrics (metres)
Rail freight carried (tonnes)
Overall industrial production (in
roubles–the Russian currency)
Grain harvest (tonnes)
6
1926
525 000 000
3 501 000 000
169 000
3 131 000
103 000 000
2 298 000 000
40 000 000
83 000 000
(1925)
2 050 000 000
11 071 000 000
37 600 000
76 900 000
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Tick which of the following statements best indicates what these figures
show us about the Russian economy in the period to 1926.
Ë
The NEP gave a strong boost to the Russian economy, including
a large increase in industrial and agricultural production.
Ë
The NEP gave a limited boost to the Russian economy, including
a small increase in industrial and agricultural production.
Ë
The NEP had no impact on the Russian economy.
Ë
The NEP led to a minor decline in the Russian economy,
including a small fall in industrial and agricultural production.
Ë
The NEP led to a significant decline in the Russian economy,
including a large fall in industrial and agricultural production.
Did you answer?
The NEP gave a strong boost to the Russian economy, including a large
increase in industrial and agricultural production in the period to 1926.
In some ways the NEP was almost too successful. For example, by 1923,
agricultural production and therefore farmers’ incomes had risen a great
deal and they wished to use that money to purchase industrial goods.
In other words, the demand for industrial products was high but industry
was not manufacturing enough to meet this demand. In other words, the
supply of industrial goods was not sufficient to satisfy the demand for
them.
As a result of this, the prices of industrial products went up. At the same
time, the prices of agricultural goods went down. This caused what was
known as the ‘scissors crisis’ because when drawn as a graph, the two
lines representing prices look like a pair of scissors. The peasants
responded by stopping selling their surplus produce on the open market
and this led to food shortages in the towns and cities. In order to resolve
this crisis, the government had to lower the prices of industrial products.
The NEP also had important social effects. Firstly, it created a new class
of small-scale traders and business owners who became known as NEP
men. Secondly, it led to an increased number of wealthy peasants, or
kulaks. Thirdly, the abolition of food requisitioning quickly ended the
peasant resistance to the government.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 1.
Part 4: The NEP
7
8
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Inside the Party
You may remember that the Bolshevik Party was renamed the
Communist Party in March 1918. We will use this name from now on.
At the end of the Civil War in 1920, the Communist Party entered a new
phase in its history. Prior to that, it had seen itself as fulfilling several
different roles. These were:
•
before October 1917, to prepare itself and Russia for a revolution
which would overthrow the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie and
bring the Party itself and the proletariat to power
I•
n October 1917, to carry out that revolution
•
after October 1917 until the end of the Civil War, to consolidate the
Party’s power in Russia and to eliminate opposition to it.
From the end of the Civil War onwards, there were virtually no threats to
the power of the Communist Party in Russia. It was therefore
confident that its role would be to govern the country in the long-term.
In particular, it set itself the tasks of, firstly, continuing to make the
transition to socialism and, once this had been achieved, of
creating communism.
Because all significant opposition to the Communist Party had been
destroyed by the end of the Civil War, disputes about ideas and about
what policies should be introduced in Russia were restricted to within the
Party itself. You will learn about some of these disputes in this Section
and in the next Part.
Part 4: The NEP
9
The debate about modernisation
When the Communists introduced the NEP, they saw it as a temporary
policy. They retained their ultimate aim of creating a communist society
in which there would be full equality between people with no classes and
no government. However they believed that this would only be possible
if Russia had an economy which was highly developed, especially in
industry, and was thus able to produce large quantities of material goods.
This was clearly not the case in the 1920s.
The Communists concluded that, in order for Russia to move towards
communism, they had to build a highly developed economy through
‘modernisation’. Their main focus was on industrialisation, in other
words on expanding and strengthening Russian industry. This would also
have the benefit of increasing the size of the proletariat, which, as you
have seen, was the class that supported the Communists the most.
The Communists had to decide how to modernise the Russian economy.
The central issue was how the government would obtain the funds which
were needed for modernisation and in particular for industrialisation. The
two main possibilities were by increasing taxes and by charging more for
the goods and services provided by government-owned businesses,
thereby raising the profits of these businesses.
From which class would the government mainly need to obtain these
funds? Hint: which was the largest class in Russian society?
_______________________
Did you answer?
The peasants
Within the Communist Party, there were two main viewpoints about how
Russia should industrialise and in particular how the necessary funds
should be obtained. Let’s look at each of them now.
10
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Extending the NEP
The first viewpoint was mainly associated with Nikolai Bukharin.
He argued that, while the NEP would be temporary, it should last for
a long time as it led to increases in both agricultural and
industrial production.
Bukharin believed that the peasants should be encouraged to produce as
much as possible and also to have as high a disposable income as
possible. This would be done by keeping taxation levels low and by
allowing farmers to sell their surplus produce on the open market which
included using government-run agencies that traded in grain. The
peasants would then buy agricultural equipment and consumer goods
(such as clothing, kerosene and vodka) manufactured by large industrial
enterprises which would continue to be owned by the government. The
profits earned by these enterprises would then be used by the government
to fund industrialisation. Moreover the government agencies trading in
grain would sell produce overseas and use the foreign exchange which
they earned to import machinery for industry.
In the table below, put a tick next to the statements that you think
supporters of Bukharin’s ideas would have agreed with.
Put a cross next to the statements that you think opponents of Bukharin’s
ideas would have said.
His strategy would allow, even encourage, peaceful co-existence
with capitalist countries.
His strategy would not allow the rapid development of heavy
industries (iron and steel, and oil) and defence forces that Russia
needed in order to protect itself from capitalist countries.
His strategy would slow down the transition to socialism, and in fact
would encourage the re-appearance of capitalism and of the
bourgeoisie in the form of the kulaks and the NEP men.
His strategy would maintain the smychka, the alliance between the
peasantry and the proletariat that Lenin had stressed, especially
in1917.
His strategy would minimise instability in Russian society.
His strategy would not work – Russia needed a much quicker
investment of funds in industry than this strategy would allow.
Part 4: The NEP
11
Did you answer?
His strategy would allow, even encourage, peaceful co-existence
with capitalist countries.
His strategy would not allow the rapid development of heavy
industries (iron and steel, and oil) and defence forces that Russia
needed to protect itself from capitalist countries.
His strategy would slow down the transition to socialism, and in
fact would encourage the re-appearance of capitalism and of the
bourgeoisie in the form of the kulaks and the NEP men.
His strategy would maintain the smychka, the alliance between the
peasantry and the proletariat that Lenin had stressed, especially
in 1917.
His strategy would minimise instability in Russian society.
His strategy would not work – Russia needed a much quicker
investment of funds in industry than this strategy would allow.
Abandoning the NEP
The second viewpoint about how to obtain the funds required for
industrialisation was mainly associated with Leon Trotsky and Eugene
Preobrazhensky who became known as the ‘Left Opposition’.
They argued that the NEP should be abandoned rather than extended.
They believed that funds for industrial investment had to be found
quickly and in two main ways. Firstly, the government would ‘squeeze’
the peasants by taxing them as heavily as possible. Secondly, the
government would abolish individual peasant farms and would force all
peasants to join large collective (socialist) farms which would produce
large surpluses by using advanced agricultural methods. The government
would then sell these surpluses and use the revenue to fund
industrialisation. It would focus on developing heavy industries and
associated industries such as mining and electricity rather than the
production of agricultural equipment and consumer goods which
Bukharin’s strategy emphasised.
The ‘Left Opposition’ also believed that Russia should put a lot of funds
into the building-up of its defence forces so that it could both protect
itself and adopt an aggressive foreign policy, in particular encouraging
socialist revolutions overseas.
12
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
In the table below, put a tick next to the statements that you think
supporters of the ‘Left Opposition’ would have agreed with.
Put a cross next to the statements that you think opponents of the
‘Left Opposition’ would have said.
The Left Opposition strategy would allow Russia to industrialise
and strengthen its defences rapidly.
The Left Opposition strategy would eliminate capitalism and the
bourgeoisie in Russia and would speed the transition to socialism.
If other countries respond to an aggressive Russian foreign policy
by attacking Russia, it will not be strong enough to resist them
even if it has built up its armed forces.
If other countries carry out socialist revolutions, then Russia will
not be isolated.
The peasants are likely to respond to the Left Opposition strategy
by not producing any surplus grain or by feeding it to their animals
rather than selling it. This would cause food shortages and unrest
in the urban areas. Alternatively the peasants might carry out
rebellions, as they had done on numerous occasions previously.
The Left Opposition strategy would destroy the alliance between
the peasantry and the proletariat which had helped the Bolsheviks
achieve their objectives, especially in 1917.
Part 4: The NEP
13
Did you answer?
The Left Opposition strategy would allow Russia to industrialise
and strengthen its defences rapidly.
The Left Opposition strategy would eliminate capitalism and
the bourgeoisie in Russia and would speed the transition
to socialism.
If other countries respond to an aggressive Russian foreign policy
by attacking Russia, it will not be strong enough to resist them
even if it has built up its armed forces.
If other countries carry out socialist revolutions, then Russia will
not be isolated.
The peasants are likely to respond to the Left Opposition strategy
by not producing any surplus grain or by feeding it to their
animals rather than selling it. This would cause food shortages
and unrest in the urban areas. Alternatively the peasants
might carry out rebellions, as they had done on numerous
occasions previously.
The Left Opposition strategy would destroy the alliance between
the peasantry and the proletariat which had helped the Bolsheviks
achieve their objectives, especially in 1917.
This debate inside the Communist Party about how to modernise Russia
went on for a number of years. The need to resolve it was clearly
demonstrated by the ‘procurements crisis’ of December 1927. By earlier
in that year, it was becoming clear that industrial growth was not keeping
pace with progress in agriculture. The government decided that it had to
raise more funds to invest in industry. It therefore increased taxes on the
produce that the farmers sold on the open market and it also lowered the
prices which it paid to the farmers for the grain surpluses which it
purchased from them. These surpluses were referred to as
‘procurements’. Just as they had done in the ‘scissors crisis’ of 1923, the
peasants stopped sending as much of their produce to market.
This caused food shortages in the towns and cities.
We will see later in this module that the debate about how to modernise
Russia was not finally resolved until the end of the 1920s when Stalin
took full control of the country. We will also learn then which viewpoint
won the debate.
14
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
The banning of factions
During the Civil War, discipline within the Communist Party was very
strict. Members were expected to follow the decisions and orders of the
leaders. Moreover the Party increased its dominance over the working
class. All non-Communist political parties were banned and the power of
other working-class organisations such as trade unions was
significantly reduced.
Once the Civil War was over, however, many people began to argue that
there should be greater democracy within the Communist Party and more
opportunity for other working-class organisations to influence
government decision-making. These ideas were expressed especially by a
group in the Party known as the ‘Workers Opposition’ and led by
Alexandra Kollontai and Alexander Shlyapnikov.
These arguments fell on deaf ears among the leaders of the Communist
Party. Non-Communist parties remained outlawed and other workingclass organisations continued to have limited power. In addition, the
leaders of the Party insisted that strict discipline be maintained within the
Party. In March 1921, the Tenth Communist Party Congress passed a
resolution which included the following:
The Congress directs the attention of all members of the Party to the
fact that the unity and solidarity of its ranks … is especially necessary
at the present moment.
All class-conscious workers must clearly recognise the harm and
impermissibility of any kind of factionalism, which inevitably leads in
fact to … a strengthening of the repeated attempts of enemies who
have crept into the governing Party to deepen any differences and to
exploit it for counter-revolutionary purposes.
… The Congress gives instructions that all groups which have been
organised on the basis of any platform whatever should be
immediately dissolved and commissions all organisations to watch out
very closely, so that no factional demonstrations may be permitted.
Nonfulfilment of this decision of the Congress must incur
unconditional and immediate expulsion from the Party.
Source:
Part 4: The NEP
David Christian, 1988, Power and Privilege, Pitman, pp 194–5.
15
When this resolution was presented to the Party Congress in March 1921,
the Civil War was over. However the Communist Party leaders believed
that their government was still under threat.
What happened at the same time as the Congress that convinced the Party
leaders that this resolution was necessary?
Hint: you read about it in the second Section of this Part.
__________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
The Kronstadt Uprising
This resolution which prohibited people from forming groups within the
Party, known as factions, was designed to create Party unity. From then
on, people who disagreed with the dominant figures in the Party were
often accused of factionalism and the resolution you have just read was
used as a justification for removing them from the Party.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 2.
16
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Lenin and Stalin
In this Section we will look at one of the last disagreements which
Lenin had with Stalin before his death and Stalin’s increasing power in
the Russian Communist Party.
Formation of the USSR
As you have seen earlier in this module, Russia contained a large number
of national groups, the dominant one being the Russians themselves who
comprised about 50 per cent of the population. In 1917, many of these
nationalities broke away from Russia and formed their own countries,
including Georgia, which was where Stalin came from. The new
Bolshevik government was not strong enough to prevent this happening
and they also realised that they had a much higher priority, i.e. to
consolidate their power to ensure they gained and maintained full control
of the country.
However once the communists had won the Civil War and therefore had
achieved this aim, they decided to try to regain some of the territories
that had broken away in 1917. Stalin proposed that these should become
autonomous, or self-governing, parts of the Russian Federation.
Lenin preferred to create a new country, which would consist of a
number of republics, or what we in Australia call states, incorporating
various nationalities. Russia would be simply one part, although probably
the most important part, of this new nation.
The communist leaders in Georgia wanted their country to remain
independent, but if this was not possible, they certainly preferred Lenin’s
proposal to that of Stalin. Despite this, Lenin sent Stalin as one of three
emissaries to the region. Another of the emissaries, Grigory
Ordzhonikidze, was also in favour of Stalin’s plan and became frustrated
by the opposition of the Georgian leaders. He physically assaulted one of
them. Lenin was very angry about this and also about what he thought
was Stalin’s tolerance of Ordzhonikidze’s action. These events became
known as the ‘Georgian affair’.
Part 4: The NEP
17
Use the information on the previous page to decide whether the
statements below are true or false.
Russia only had three nationalities in it.
T/F
It didn’t matter to the communists whether or not the
various national groups were in Russia.
T/F
Stalin wanted to make the Russian Federation bigger
and stronger.
T/F
Lenin wanted the different nationalities to be part of a new
nation, not of Russia.
T/F
The Georgian communist leaders agreed with Stalin.
T/F
Did you answer?
F; F; T; T; F
A new constitution
Lenin won the argument in the Politburo about the nationalities and their
relationship with Russia, and during 1922 a constitution was drafted for a
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (often referred to as the Soviet
Union or USSR). This new nation was founded in December 1922,
although the constitution was not finally ratified until 1924. The country
was to consist of four Soviet Socialist Republics: the Russian;
the Belorussian; the Ukrainian; and the Transcaucasian, which comprised
three areas including Georgia. By 1929 there were eleven republics and
by 1944 sixteen. Note the USSR is often referred to, including this
module, simply as ‘Russia’. When you see the name ‘Russia’ referring to
the period 1922–1991, it normally means the whole of the Soviet Union,
not just the Russian part of it.
The constitution divided powers between the central government of the
Union and the governments of the various Republics. The central
government retained the most important responsibilities, including
control of the development of the national economy.
The political structure you have just read about is called a federal system.
This means that it has a central government as well as governments in a
number of republics, or states. Does Australia have a federal system?
_______________
18
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Did you answer?
Yes
Stalin from 1917 onwards
In Part 2 you read about Stalin’s early life and career up until the October
Revolution in 1917. From then on, he was very busy – he occupied
several key government positions:
•
Between 1917 and 1923, he was Commissar for Nationalities.
You should remember from earlier in this Section that Russia
contained a large number of minority nationalities in addition to the
Russians themselves. Given that Stalin was a member of one of these
nationalities, the Georgians, he was the logical choice to head the
government department which administered them.
•
During the Russian Civil War, which began in 1918 and lasted for
three years, Stalin undertook a number of political and military tasks
under orders from Lenin and the Revvoensoviet, or Revolutionary
Military Council, which was headed by Trotsky. In particular, he
was involved in the defence of Tsaritsyn, which was later renamed
Stalingrad, in the southeast of the country and of the former Russian
capital, Petrograd, which was renamed Leningrad after Lenin’s
death. He clashed with Trotsky on a number of matters during this
period.
•
From 1919 to 1923, he was Commissar in charge of the Workers’
and Peasants’ Inspectorate. This was a very powerful position, as it
gave him the ability, if he wished, to interfere in the operation of all
government departments.
Stalin as General Secretary
In addition to Stalin’s government responsibilities, by 1922 he also held
several important positions in the Party. These included membership of
the Politburo, the Party’s highest committee which consisted of its most
powerful leaders, and the Orgburo, which administered the Party in
particular appointing and dismissing its officials.
Part 4: The NEP
19
On April 3 1922 the Central Committee of the Communist Party,
including Lenin, unanimously accepted the proposal of Kamenev to
appoint Stalin as the General Secretary of the Party. In theory this was
not a powerful position. It involved running the Party’s Secretariat which
prepared the agenda and the documents for Politburo meetings and then
implemented the Politburo’s decisions. Most of the Party’s leaders were
very happy for Stalin to take on these administrative tasks, which they
regarded as tedious and uninteresting.
However in practice, Stalin used the position of General Secretary to
eventually dominate the Party. He appointed to the Secretariat people
such as Vyacheslav Molotov, who would unquestioningly carry out his
instructions. In the words of the historian Alec Nove in his book,
Stalinism and After, ‘Molotov served Stalin faithfully, using his
considerable organisational gifts to effective purpose’ (Nove, 1989:28).
Increasingly Party organisations had to follow the orders, not of the
Politburo, Central Committee or Orgburo, but of Stalin and the
Secretariat. In 1926, Kamenev told the Fourteenth Congress of the
Communist Party that the Secretariat ‘in fact decided the policies’ of
the Party.
In particular the Secretariat took from the Orgburo the responsibility for
the appointment and dismissal of Party officials. Stalin was also able to
organise for many of his supporters to become members of the Politburo
and the Central Committee, as well as delegates to Party Conferences
and Congresses.
Why do you think this gave Stalin and the Secretariat great power?
Ë
He could select officials, members and delegates who supported
his ideas and policies and would do whatever he instructed them
to do.
Ë
He could remove officials, members and delegates who disagreed
with him or would not implement his policies.
Ë
The Politburo, Central Committee, Conferences and Congresses
were very important because they made many of the major
decisions in the Communist Party.
Ë
All of the above.
Did you answer?
All of the above.
20
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Stalin took various steps to ensure the loyalty and support of Party
officials. These included:
•
paying them a bonus of 100 per cent of their regular salary
•
giving them a special distribution of goods including meat and sugar
•
in the case of the higher officials, sending them on all-expenses-paid
holidays overseas.
This began to create divisions between the Party officials and the mass of
ordinary Russians. V Kondratiev, who was a child at the time, later wrote
in his memoirs:
I remember how, in 1922, our family returned from Poltava to
Moscow. My aunt, an old Bolshevik, … obtained places for us in the
special coach, in which the representatives of the new elite travelled –
functionaries [officials] of the Party, chiefs and Commissars of the
Red Army. The coach smelled of leather, cologne and expensive
cigars. After two years of hunger, we were dressed like beggars.
The passengers of the elite looked at us with curiosity, drank wine,
ate delicacies (in a situation of general hunger in the country) but
none of them offered me, a child looking like a skeleton, even a
morsel of bread, not to speak of chocolate, which could generally be
obtained by the new ‘lords of life’.
Source:
V Kondratiev, We Speak of Ideals, Literaturnaya gazeta in
Alexander Podsheldolkin, translated by Mick Jones, 1991, The
Origins of the Stalinist Bureaucracy – Some New Historical
Facts at
http://www.cix.co.uk/~jplant/revhist/supplem/podsheld.htm
page 2. (accessed October 17 2000)
Circle the correct answer in each of the following sentences.
When he refers to the ‘lords of life’, Kondratiev means
Party officials / peasants / workers.
The rich and powerful people were / were not hungry.
Kondratiev was curious / jealous / unconcerned about the food which
the ‘new elite’ had.
Did you answer?
When he refers to the ‘lords of life’, Kondratiev means
Party officials / peasants / workers.
The rich and powerful people were / were not hungry.
Kondratiev was curious / jealous / unconcerned about the food which the
‘new elite’ had.
Part 4: The NEP
21
The historian Robert Tucker has written the following about Stalin’s use
of the position of Secretary:
[At first] Lenin didn’t think that the post of Secretary had the
capability of [putting] all power in the hands of only one person …
[However soon] the Secretariat … could influence the order of debate
and the political direction, which enabled it to have an important
strategic position in relation to the orders of the leadership, as well as
the right to fill posts, which made the Secretariat an ideal instrument
for political manipulation.
Source:
Robert Tucker, 1990, Stalin’s Road to Power – 1879-1929,
History and Personality, p 270 in Alexander Podsheldolkin,
translated by Mick Jones, 1991, The Origins of the Stalinist
Bureaucracy – Some New Historical Facts at
http://www.cix.co.uk/~jplant/revhist/supplem/podsheld.htm
page 1. (accessed October 17 2000).
What is the main point being made by Robert Tucker?
Note: the main point or argument is not necessarily a summary of all the
information contained in a source. It is the most important idea expressed
in the source and the rest of the source may simply provide the detailed
information to support or expand on that idea.
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
Did you answer?
Lenin didn’t expect that Stalin would be able to use the position of Secretary
to gain so much power.
Furthermore, remember also that the Communist Party was increasingly
in control of the government and bureaucracy (public service) of Russia.
This meant that whoever controlled the Communist Party virtually
controlled the country’s government, and more and more this was Stalin.
By the end of 1922, Lenin had started to become concerned about the
amount of power that Stalin possessed. Moreover the Party leaders, who
had originally appointed Stalin to the position of General Secretary, must
also have been wondering whether they had made the right decision.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 3.
22
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Death of Lenin
Between late 1921 and his death on January 21 1924, Lenin suffered a
series of strokes, some minor and others more serious. The one in
December 1922 made him a virtual invalid, and from March 1923
onwards he was unable to speak. Following his death, the city of
Petrograd was renamed Leningrad.
Change and continuity, 1917–1924
One of the things you must study in Modern History is change and
continuity. The table below contains a list of forces of change and
continuity in Russia between the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917
and Lenin’s death in 1924.
Next to each one, write ‘change’ if you think it was a force that caused
change in Russia or ‘continuity’ if you think it was a force that continued
things the way they were before the Bolsheviks seized power.
a political system which provided few political freedoms
communism
determination of Russia’s government to control opposition
nationalism, including the desire of minority groups
forindependence
strong leadership of several individual Bolsheviks
the need to build and strengthen the economy
the use of force, even terror, by both the government and its
opponents to achieve objectives
war
Part 4: The NEP
23
Did you answer?
continuity
a political system which provided few political freedoms
change
communism
continuity
determination of Russia’s government to
controlopposition
change
nationalism, including the desire of minority groups
forindependence
change
strong leadership of several individual Bolsheviks
change
the need to build and strengthen the economy
continuity
the use of force, even terror, by both the government
and its opponents to achieve objectives
change
war
Assessment of Lenin
Let’s look at what people, both at that specific time and since his death,
have said about the significance of Lenin in the history of Bolshevism
and the Soviet Union.
Grigory Zinoviev, a leading Bolshevik at the time of Lenin
To know Lenin is to know the road to the victory of the world
revolution.
Source:
Dmitri Volkogonov (tr Harold Shukman), 1995, Lenin: Life and
Legacy, HarperCollins Publishers, p. xxxv.
Ariadna Tyrkova, a writer who knew Lenin
Lenin was an evil man. And he had the evil eyes of a wolf.
Source:
24
Dmitri Volkogonov (tr Harold Shukman), 1995, Lenin: Life and
Legacy, HarperCollins Publishers, p. xxxvii.
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
One Big Union Herald, a socialist newspaper in Melbourne,
1 February 1924
He [Lenin] lived to prove that the theories he fought for were correct,
and demonstrated to the world that Marxism needed no revising ...
Now he has passed away, and we, in common with our Russian
comrades and the world’s proletariat in general, sorrow at the great
loss that the Socialist movement has sustained; but find hope and
consolation in the knowledge that the theories and direction that Lenin
gave to the Russian movement have become so deeply implanted in
the minds of the proletariat in Russia that the spirit of Leninism will
carry them on till the objective Socialism – economic emancipation –
has been achieved. In that we can say LENIN STILL LIVES!
Source:
Michael Bucklow and Glenn Russell, 1988, Russia: Why
Revolution?, Longman Cheshire, p. 243.
Leon Trotsky
Had I [Trotsky] not been present in 1917 in Petrograd, the October
Revolution would still have taken place – on the condition that Lenin
was present and in command. If neither Lenin nor I had been present
in Petrograd, there would have been no October Revolution …
Source:
Michael Lynch, 1995, Trotsky: the Permanent Revolutionary,
Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 50–1.
Gordon Greenwood, historian
Bolshevik success [in the October Revolution] was essentially due to
the resolution of Lenin, to the mercurial brilliance of Trotsky, to the
fanatical devotion of the hard core of Bolshevik supporters, and to the
division among their opponents …
The reasons for the success of the Bolshevik forces [in the Russian
Civil War] are clearly discernible … They possessed in Lenin a leader
of great strength and astuteness, and in Trotsky an organiser of
extraordinary capacity …
[Lenin’s] death removed the man who had done most to ensure the
success of the revolution …
Source:
Part 4: The NEP
Gordon Greenwood, 1973, The Modern World A History of Our
Time, Angus and Robertson, pp 427, 432, 444.
25
Dmitri Volkogonov, historian,
Lenin was, I think, the greatest revolutionary of the century …
Having destroyed first the tsarist and then the bourgeois dictatorship
[the Provisional Government], Lenin replaced them by the
dictatorship of his Party … one form of oppression was replaced by
another, both harsher and more repugnant ...
I do not doubt that Lenin wanted earthly happiness for the people, at
least for those he called ‘the proletariat’. But he regarded it as normal
to build this ‘happiness’ on blood, coercion and the denial of freedom.
Source:
Dmitri Volkogonov (tr Harold Shukman), 1995, Lenin: Life and
Legacy, HarperCollins Publishers, pp xxx, 480, xxxix.
Michael Lynch, historian
Trotsky was the main Bolshevik organiser of events in the autumn of
1917. Yet it would be wrong to play down Lenin’s role. He remained
the great inspiration behind the revolution. It is appropriate to think of
Lenin in the autumn of 1917 as the strategist and Trotsky as the
tactician. It was Lenin who constantly pushed the Bolsheviks towards
a seizure of power, refusing to modify his demands in the face of
often quite cogent [convincing] arguments in favour of delay
or caution.
Source:
Michael Lynch, 1995, Trotsky: the Permanent Revolutionary,
Hodder and Stoughton, p. 46.
In the table below, write the names of the authors of the above sources in
the appropriate column.
Have a positive view of Lenin
26
Have a negative view of Lenin
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Did you answer?
Have a positive view of Lenin
Have a negative view of Lenin
Grigory Zinoviev
Ariadna Tyrkova
One Big Union Herald
Dmitri Volkogonov
Leon Trotsky
Gordon Greenwood
Michael Lynch
In the Exercise for this Section, there is a question which requires you to
refer to the viewpoints about Lenin of people both at the time and since.
You have learnt before that with all questions in Modern History that
require an extended response, you should try to refer to historians and
other sources. There are many ways in which you can do this. Below are
some examples with regard to the sources about Lenin that you have just
looked at.
Leon Trotsky and the historians, Gordon Greenwood and Michael
Lynch, have argued that Lenin played a vital part in the success of
the October Revolution.
Although the historian, Dmitri Volkogonov, regards Lenin as ‘the
greatest revolutionary of the century’, he is very critical of the kind
of society that Lenin was responsible for creating, which he
describes as ‘harsh and repugnant’.
The writer, Ariadna Tyrkova, describes Lenin as ‘an evil man’ with
the ‘evil eyes of a wolf’. On the other hand, the Australian One Big
Union Herald newspaper saw him as a great man whose ideas and
actions would lead to the future achievement of socialism.
Grigory Zinoviev believed that Lenin had laid the foundations for the
future ‘victory of the world revolution’. Similarly the One Big Union
Herald newspaper in Melbourne suggested that his spirit would lead
the Russian proletariat to bring about socialism which the newspaper
called ‘economic emancipation’.
Notice that the quotes from the sources are quite short. Especially in
exams, it is best to include short quotations rather than trying to
remember long quotes which are easy to mix up or get wrong.
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 4. Note that there
is only one question for this Exercise. As it requires additional
research and planning, we are allowing extra time to complete it.
Part 4: The NEP
27
28
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Possible successors
When Lenin died he had not said whom he thought should succeed him
but despite the series of strokes he suffered, he had dictated to his
secretaries comments about his possible successors. These comments
were in a document officially called ‘Letter to the Congress’ but
generally known as Lenin’s ‘Testament’. Let us look at what he said
about some of the contenders to succeed him as leader of the Communist
Party. You have already met several of these men in this module.
Lenin’s Testament
On December 24 and 25 1922, Lenin dictated:
Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General [of the Communist
Party], has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not
sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with
sufficient caution. Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, … is
distinguished not only by outstanding ability. He is personally perhaps
the most capable man in the present Central Committee, but he has
displayed excessive self-assurance and shown excessive
preoccupation with the purely administrative side of the work.
These two qualities of the two outstanding leaders of the present C.C.
[Central Committee] can inadvertently lead to a split …
… the October episode with Zinoviev and Kamenev [in which they
publicly opposed the Bolsheviks carrying out the revolution in
October 1917] was, of course, no accident, but neither can the blame
for it be laid upon them personally …
… [Nikolai] Bukharin and [Grigori] Pyatakov are, in my opinion, the
most outstanding figures (among the younger Central Committee
members), and the following must be borne in mind about them:
Bukharin is not only a most valuable and major theorist of the Party;
he is also rightly considered the favourite of the whole Party, but his
theoretical views can be classified as fully Marxist only with
great reserve …
As for Pyatakov, he is unquestionably a man of outstanding will and
ability, but shows far too much zeal for the administrative side of the
work to be relied upon in a serious political matter.
Source:
Part 4: The NEP
At http://eserver.org/history/lenin-testament.txt page 1
(accessed 2 September 2005).
29
On January 4 1923, by which time Lenin had learnt more about Stalin’s
role in the ‘Georgian affair’ where Lenin felt he had behaved as a bully,
he made the following addition to his ‘Testament’:
Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable … in
dealing with us Communists, becomes intolerable in a SecretaryGeneral. That is why I suggest the comrades think about a way of
removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his
stead who … differs from Comrade Stalin in … being more tolerant,
more loyal, more polite, and more considerate to the comrades, less
capricious, etc …
Source:
At http://eserver.org/history/lenin-testament.txt page 2
(accessed 2 September 2005).
Lenin’s great fear was that the Communist Party would split, with Stalin
and his supporters on one side and Trotsky and his followers on the
other. His comments were designed to stop that happening by ensuring
stability in the Party.
According to Lenin, which of the following Communist Party figures,
Stalin, Trotsky and Bukharin, had each of the characteristics listed in the
table below?
Doesn’t exercise enough caution
Has great ability
Has too much self-confidence
His views aren’t Marxist enough
Is rude
Lacks loyalty
Places too much emphasis on administrative work
30
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Did you answer?
Stalin
Doesn’t exercise enough caution
Trotsky
Has great ability
Trotsky
Has too much self-confidence
Bukharin
His views aren’t Marxist enough
Stalin
Is rude
Stalin
Lacks loyalty
Trotsky
Places too much emphasis on administrative work
Stalin at Lenin’s funeral
As you learnt, after a long period of incapacitation, Lenin died on
24 January 1924.
Stalin spoke at Lenin’s funeral. Let’s read some of what he said:
In leaving us, Comrade Lenin commanded us to keep the unity of our
Party as the apple of our eye. We swear to thee Comrade Lenin, to
honour thy command.
In leaving us, Comrade Lenin ordered us to maintain and strengthen
the dictatorship of the proletariat. We swear to thee Comrade Lenin, to
exert our full strength in honouring thy command.
In leaving us, Comrade Lenin ordered us to strengthen with all our
might the union of workers and peasants. We swear to thee Comrade
Lenin, to honour thy command.
In leaving us, Comrade Lenin enjoined us to be faithful to the
Communist International. We swear to thee Comrade Lenin, that we
shall dedicate our lives to the enlargement and re-inforcement of
the union of the workers of the whole world, the Communist
International.
Source:
F W Stacey, 1972, Stalin and the Making of Modern Russia,
Edward Arnold, p 11
Now would be an appropriate time to do Exercise 5.
Part 4: The NEP
31
32
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Exercises – Part 4
Exercise 1
Name: _______________________________
A new economic direction
1
Using the information in this Section, circle or highlight the correct
words in the following sentences.
At the end of the Civil War, the Russian economy was
in a very strong / weak condition. There was a substantial
shortage / abundance of food and Russia had to accept aid
from the United States / Australia.
The Bolsheviks replaced requisitioning with a quota / tax
and allowed farmers to sell surplus produce on the
closed / open market.
They nationalised / privatised some small non-agricultural
businesses but they kept / lost ownership of large industrial
enterprises. The NEP created / strengthened the class known
as ‘NEP men’.
2
Why did the Bolsheviks introduce the NEP?
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Part 4: The NEP
33
3
Compare and contrast War Communism and the NEP.
Compare means to show how things are similar
Contrast means to show how things are different
War Communism and NEP
similarities
34
War Communism and NEP
differences
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
Exercise 2
Name: _______________________________
Inside the Party
1
Complete the following table of reasons for and against the extension
of the NEP. Use point form.
Reasons for extending the NEP
2
Reasons for abandoning the NEP
Using your own words, describe the main differences between the
viewpoints of Nikolai Bukharin and the ‘Left Opposition’ about how
Russia should be modernised.
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Part 4: The NEP
35
3
Evaluate the extent to which the NEP compromised the Communist
Party’s ideology.
Evaluate means to make a judgement
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36
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
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Part 4: The NEP
37
Exercise 3
Name: _______________________________
Lenin and Stalin
1
Briefly outline the differences between Lenin and Stalin’s proposals
for the Russian territories following the Civil War.
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2
Create a timeline of Stalin’s life to 1922.
You may need to refer back to Parts 1 and 2 for information on his
early years.
38
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
3
Describe Stalin’s progression from revolutionary to General
Secretary of the Party.
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Part 4: The NEP
39
Exercise 4
Name: _______________________________
Death of Lenin
1
Assess the role of Lenin in the events in Russia and the Soviet Union
from 1917 to 1924. Make sure you refer to the views of historians
and others.
Assess means make a judgement of value, outcomes and results
You may need to refer to previous Parts of this module to complete
this question. Remember to include an introduction, several
paragraphs, each looking at a different point and a conclusion where
you make a judgement about Lenin’s role.
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40
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
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Part 4: The NEP
41
Exercise 5
Name: _______________________________
Possible successors
1
The events listed below are in the wrong order. Use the information
in this Section to work out the correct order. Write ‘1’ next to the
event that happened first, ‘2’ next to the event that happened second,
and so on.
Death of Lenin.
End of Civil War.
Foundation of USSR.
Lenin described Stalin as ‘too rude’.
Lenin’s first stroke.
Nationalities broke away from Russia.
Stalin was appointed as General Secretary of Communist Party.
2
Read the following extract from Trotsky’s autobiography, My Life,
and answer the questions which follow.
… It was a decoded telegram from Stalin telling me that Lenin had
died. I passed it to my wife; she had already guessed it.
The Tiflis [where Trotsky was staying during ill health] authorities
soon received a similar telegram. The news of Lenin’s death was
spreading in ever-widening rings. I got the Kremlin on the direct
wire. In answer to my inquiry I was told: “The funeral will be on
Saturday, you can’t get back in time, and so we advise you to continue
your treatment’ [for illness]. Accordingly, I had no choice. As a
matter of fact the funeral did not take place until Sunday and I could
easily have reached Moscow by then. Incredible as it may appear, I
was even deceived about the date of the funeral. The conspirators
[Stalin, etc] surmised correctly that I would never think of verifying it,
and later on they could always find an explanation. I must recall the
fact that the news of Lenin’s first illness was not communicated to e
until the third day. This was a system. The object was to ‘gain time’.
Source:
42
L. Trotsky, 1986, My Life; An attempt at an
autobiography, Penguin, p. 530
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941
a
Is this a primary or secondary source?
_______________________________________________________
b
How could an historian use this source in a study of the possible
successors to Lenin?
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c
Do you consider the source reliable? Explain your answer.
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Part 4: The NEP
43
3
Read again the extracts from Lenin’s ‘Testament’ found in this
Section. Use that information to answer the following question.
Which of the men mentioned in Lenin’s ‘Testament’
(ie, Stalin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin or Pyatakov)
do you think Lenin wanted as his successor as leader of the
Communist Party? Give reasons for your answer.
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44
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917–1941