The New Economic Policy (NEP)

New Economic Policy (1921-1924)

War communism failed. By 1921, Russia was facing economic collapse. The Bolsheviks introduced new economic policies to try to fix these problems.

The failure of 'war communism'

War communism failed.
Peasants destroyed their own crops so that the Cheka (secret police) could not seize them.
There were large food shortages, particularly in rural areas.
There was a peasant uprising in Tambov Province.
The Bolshevik leaders did not give workers an active role in decision-making and this caused discontent.

New Economic Policy

The New Economic Policy tried to fix these problems.
Money was reintroduced and so were some other aspects of free markets (capitalism).
Small businesses flourished (did well) across Russia, and it was acceptable for private businesses to employ workers.
Peasants no longer had grain seized from them. They now had to pay taxes, first in goods, then in cash.
The peasants could then sell their grain and keep the money from this. Those who were successful were called the “NEPmen”.

Opponents of NEP

Some communists were disappointed with the NEP. They felt that it betrayed their principles.
Trotsky was one of these opponents.
There were more and more cases of suicide in the Bolshevik party.

Effects of NEP

There was growth in agriculture and industry (although it was slow).
The Scissors Crisis
- Whilst food prices were affordable, the price of factory-made goods increased because of communist policies.
Inequality also increased. Some groups made more money than others from the new system and trade with other countries remained lower than 1913 levels.
As before, the ‘Commanding Heights’ (banks and major industries) stayed nationalised. Russia also remained a one-party state.

1The End of Tsardom

1.1Russia's Economy & Society

1.1.1Industrialisation

1.1.2Living & Working Conditions

1.2Nicholas II's Autocracy & the Court

1.2.1Growth of Revolutionary Opposition

1.2.2The 1905 Revolution & the October Manifesto

1.2.3Reforming Russia Before 1914 - Stolypin

1.2.4The Duma & Political Stalemate

1.3The First World War

1.3.1The Impact of Military Defeats

1.3.2Social & Economic Effects of WW1

1.3.3Romanov Unpopularity

1.3.4The Tsar's Abdication

1.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - The End of Tsardom

2Lenin's New Society

2.1The Provisional Government

2.1.1The Failure of the Government

2.1.2Social & Economic Problems

2.1.3Lenin & Trotsky

2.1.4The Growth of the Bolsheviks

2.1.5The October / November Revolution

2.1.6Top Grade AO2/3 - The Provisional Government

2.2The Impact of Lenin's Dictatorship

2.2.1The End of the First World War

2.2.2The Cheka

2.2.3Red Terror & Centralisation

2.2.4The Civil War & The Red Army

2.2.5Propaganda

2.2.6Top Grade AO2/3 - Early Bolshevism & the Civil War

2.3Social & Economic Developments

2.3.1War Communism

2.3.2The Kronstadt Rising

2.3.3The New Economic Policy (NEP)

2.3.4The Achievements of Lenin & Trotsky

2.3.5Top Grade AO2/3 - Social & Economic Developments

3Stalin's USSR

3.1Stalin the Dictator

3.1.1The Power Struggle to Succeed Lenin

3.1.2The Communist Party & Government

3.1.3The Terror & the Purges

3.1.4The Secret Police

3.1.5Cult of Personality

3.1.6Propaganda & Censorship under Stalin

3.1.7Top Grade AO2/3 - Stalin's Dictatorship

3.2Stalin's Modernisation of the USSR

3.2.1Collectivisation

3.2.2Five Year Plans

3.2.3Social & Economic Consequences

3.2.4Social & Economic Consequences 2

3.2.5The Extent of Modernisation

3.3Impact of the Second World War

3.3.1Stalin's Wartime Leadership

3.3.2Political, Economic & Social Consequences of War

3.3.3Top Grade AO2/3 - Modernisation of the USSR

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