IB INTERNAL ASSESSMENT

The New Economic Policy under Lenin

Jarrett Smith

Mrs. Trovato

November 11, 2008

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Contents
A. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION................................................................... 3

B. SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE ................................................................... 4

C. EVALUATION OF SOURCES ................................................................ 7

D. ANALYSIS .......................................................................................... 8

E. CONCLUSION ................................................................................... 11

F. LIST OF SOURCES............................................................................. 12

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 A. Plan of Investigation
How did the New Economic Plan create a stable economic policy for Lenin’s Communist

Government?

To conduct this investigation it will be necessary to collect information on the political

rule of Lenin under the Bolshevik regime. It will also be critical to analyze the period in which

the New Economic Plan (NEP) was implemented and how the economic stresses of the period

gave rise to the radical shift in government. This will be evident through the contrast in the

Communist systems of the Soviet Union after years of War Communism. Conducting the

research for this assessment will include searching local libraries for relevant book sources. I will

also draw on several internet sources to gather information, after critical evaluation. In using

sources such as The Russian Revolution by Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick, it will be possible to

examine the policies and legislation passed that comprised the NEP and the way in which they

shaped the future of the revolution. Other sources will include Leonard Shapiro’s Origins of

Modern Communism, which incorporate the NEP as a part of Lenin’s achievement in unifying

the communist nation through reform in economic policy enabling the nation to rise to an

international competitive status.

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 B. Summary of Evidence

 After WWI, over 5 million soldiers of the Red Army were demobilized 1

 Soldiers displaced, armed, without employment became bandits, rebels, and

black market traders

 Bolsheviks struggled to dismantle the systems that existed under imperialist

Russia

 Peasant anger due to food requisition by government

 Volga Region suffered drought and famine2

 Hunger epidemics 1921-1922

 War Communism and Bolshevik Regime had been dependent on Army

 Peasants were the largest group in communist Russia but were widely ignored

by Bolsheviks

 1921, 2 million troops demobilized

 Industrial Closures, drop in coal production, draft, decline in working

industrial class brought threat to the proletariat class of Lenin’s Revolution

 Drop in Workers from 3.6 million in 1917 to 1.5 million in 19203

1
Shapiro, Leonard. The Russian Revolution: Origins of Modern Communism. New York:
Basic Books Inc, 1984

2
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.

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  The “dictator class” proletariats, who were served as the base for the

communist industrial system, began to vanish after the end of WWI, creating

an unstable political status

 Bolsheviks lost European allies as worker’s revolutions began to lose

momentum and interest-apparent in failed German revolt in 1920s

 Lack of foreign allies forced a need to create allies with peasantry

 Peasants had been alienated by food requisition and “War Communism”4

 Riots and violent revolts occurred from peasants including Tambov and

Kondstat as well as a sailor/peasant revolt in Petrograd

 In response to the economic and social conditions, the NEP is passed by

Lenin and one-tenth congress 5

 1st step was to end land requisitions replacing it with a heavy taxes

 NEP placed a fixed quota and how much the government could take in land

requisitions as well as allowing peasants to choose to pay individually for the

social services provided by the Communist system

 The NEP provided for a stable monetary system developing a base for

economic success

 Through NEP trade was permitted at the Small-scale village and community

level allowing a free flowing capitalist system for peasants

3
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.
4
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.
5
Cohen, Stephen F. Rethinking the Soviet Experience: Politics and History since 1917. USA:
Oxford University Press, 1986.
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  Complete Nationalization of industry ends allowing the private sector to

reconstruct itself

 Lenin felt the NEP repudiated Marxist ideals however, he also realized that

some capitalist trade was necessary to the survival of the Communist Regime.

In the interests of the nation it was passed by congress

 Lenin stated, “The Workers would like a better apparatus for us, but they

don’t know how” 6

 State still controlled all large industries

 Foreign entrepreneurs were encouraged to invest in Soviet Industries and

Enterprises7

 The Finance Commissariat and State Bank began to follow bourgeois

financial experts

 This program brought rise to workers party connected with Lenin’s Levy

1924

 NEP debated by congress for it abandoned the tenants of socialism

 Began a period of unification in which all political opposition was

extinguished

6
Lenin, Vladimir. Essential Works of Lenin, What is to be done? And Other Writings. New ed.
New York: Dover Publications, 1987.
7
Shapiro, Leonard. Origins of Modern Communism. New York: Basic Books Inc, 1984

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 C. Evaluation of Sources

i) The Russian Revolution 1917-1932 is a secondary source which covers a selective

perspective of the Bolshevik regime and its establishment of a Communist system. The focus

is narrowed to specific aspects of the revolution of Russia. Its author, Sheila Fitzpatrick,

served as a professor both at Columbia University as well as a visiting faculty member at the

Research School of Australian National University. This source is intended to centralize the

revolution around legislation and policy, with a heavy emphasis on both the NEP of Lenin and

Stalin’s Five Year Plan. The text follows a chronological pattern, addressing the conditions

which served as the source for these events as well as the effects that followed these policies.

ii) Leonard Shapiro, a specialist of the Russian Revolution, served as a professor of

Russian history at the London School of Economics and Political Science. These credentials

support his in-depth study of the subject and his credibility in compiling relevant information.

Shapiro broadened the scope of the assessment, including other aspects of the Soviet Regime

such as the opposition and diversity within the movement. In doing so Shapiro had enlisted

several professors from both the Governmental Department of the London school of

economics as well as the University of Hawaii. Although centralized around the political

events of the revolution the source also provides an evaluation of the general social condition

of the period. There are some portions of the text that reveal his personal bias as expressed in

the dedication of the book which is intended as evidence against the systems of communism.

This bias however does not seem to transcend through the entire piece and overall provides a

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 scholarly interpretation of the events of the Russian Revolution and the ways in which it

shaped modern communism.

D. Analysis
The New Economic Plan (NEP) vowed to bring stability to a nation struggling after years

of War and Revolution. Through restricting and tempering communist ideals and policies

founded in Marxism, Lenin was able to introduce aspects of capitalism which operated on the

small village level. In doing so Lenin believed he could restore prosperity to Russia. This would

aid in the country’s rise to an international status in which the nation could compete with other

world powers. 8In this analysis it is critical to include those conditions that drove the creation of

the NEP in post World War One Russia. The original introduction of the NEP was intended to

address the economic and political woes facing Soviet Russia. After years of war with Germany,

Russia had become dependent on War Communism and its Red Army. However, at the

beginning of the 1920s the Soviet Union was at peace and had no need for such a large standing

army. Lenin and his “one tenth congress”9 were forced to demobilize 5 million soldiers, leaving

a large portion of the nation’s male working force unemployed. In 1921 alone, 2 million troops

were demobilized, which in turn left soldiers displaced and starving without pay. 10This also

coincided with large famines which struck the agricultural regions across Russia, especially

8
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.
9
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.
10
Shapiro, Leonard. The Russian Revolution: Origins of Modern Communism. New
York: Basic Books Inc, 1984

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those in the Volga area. The result was the starvation of thousands of peasant farmers. Under

War Communism the government continually confiscated food and land which sparked tension

among peasants. In areas such as Kondstat and Petrograd, peasants responded through guerilla

warfare and revolt.11 Lenin in response to these issues found it necessary to make swift and

radical changes in order to preserve the Communist nation. In his realization of the significance

of the peasant class, which had taken precedence over the proletariat worker, he made the

decision to end all lower level agricultural nationalization. This allowed the private sector to

reconstruct its base in the economy. Under this policy Lenin was able to introduce a stable

monetary system and replace food quotas with a national tax.12 These policies helped eliminate a

large portion of the black-market trade that had become a threat to communist economic

systems. With these ideologies of small-scale capitalism individuals were able to pay into and

receive the social services and benefits of communism through taxation rather than coerced

confiscation.

Although the definition of the Bolshevik regime of Communism began to transform into

a blend of economic styles through the NEP, Lenin still promoted his worker-proletariat class.

Lenin hoped that through the NEP he would be able to aid in the promotion of communism

which had fallen from national and international support. In the creation of the NEP Lenin took

into consideration the decline of the working class which had decreased from 3.6 million in 1917

11
Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University Press,
2008.

12
Cohen, Stephen F. Rethinking the Soviet Experience: Politics and History since 1917. USA:
Oxford University Press, 1986.
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to 1.5 million in 1920.13 This would become evident through his continued nationalization of

large scale industries and the creation of new positions within the government for former

workers. He understood the worker’s plight and even stated, “The worker’s would like a better

apparatus for us but they don’t know how.”14 New reforms began a state of material success in

which foreign investors were encouraged to invest in Russian industries and enterprises. The

Central National Bank and Finance Commissariat also began to re-introduce a bourgeoisie style

of infrastructure, implementing a series of financial economic experts in order to create an

integrated system of both communism and capitalism. This however sparked disputes between

party members and harsh criticism from Menshevik revolutionaries. They felt this policy would

contradict the very basis of Russian Communism as derived from the final stage of Marxist

economic theory. A structured debate was held in 1921 and the decision was made to carry forth

with the NEP and any opposition would be extinguished through new party laws. Under these

laws all opposing members to this reform or any other proposed by Lenin would be forced to

declare themselves as another political party other than the Bolshevik Communist Regime.

13
Shapiro, Leonard. Origins of Modern Communism. New York: Basic Books Inc, 1984

14
Lenin, Vladimir. Essential Works of Lenin, What is to be done? And Other Writings.
New ed. New York: Dover Publications, 1987.

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 E. Conclusion
The New Economic Plan conceived and implemented under Lenin created a stable

economic environment through integrating systems of both Communism and Capitalism. In

doing so Lenin was able to address directly many of the issues facing Russia following the

conclusion of World War I. Allowing free trade and the destruction of socialism on the small-

scale level, Lenin was able to appease the peasant populations of the nation. Through the policies

of NEP, large industries began to grow which produced revenue for the party. Moreover this

revived the industrial working class in Communist Russia which Lenin’s regime depended upon.

However, the system formed under the policy of the New Economic Plan would come into direct

contradiction with many of the ideals of Socialism in which the Bolshevik Regime had been

based upon. Despite this criticism, economic stability had been achieved and a monetary system

had finally been established for all of Communist Russia.

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 F. List of Sources
Primary Sources

Blaisdell, Bob, Ed. The Communist Manifesto and Other Revolutionary Writings. New

York: Dover Publications Inc, 2003.

Lenin, Vladimir. Essential Works of Lenin, What is to be done? And Other Writings. New

Ed. New York: Dover Publications, 1987.

Secondary Sources

Cohen, Stephen F. Rethinking the Soviet Experience: Politics and History since

1917. USA: Oxford University Press, 1986.

Fitzpatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution 1917-1932. 3rd ed. USA: Oxford University

Press, 2008.

Shapiro, Leonard. The Russian Revolution: Origins of Modern Communism. New York:

Basic Books Inc, 1984

Word Count: 1,991

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