Lenin’s health began worsening almost from the start of the NEP. A new group of affluent peasants or kulaks, a group long demonised in Bolshevik propaganda and persecuted by the Red Army and the Cheka, began to emerge. nep, n. In 1928 they announced the start of the first five-year plan for the country's industrial and economic development based on severe control by the state. This was done, in Lenin’s words, to provide “breathing space” for the Russian people. Written by Egor Piskunov, RT correspondent. It allowed Russia’s agricultural production to quickly recover and, by 1925, reach similar levels to before World War I. He had a first stroke in May 1922 followed by a second one in March 1923 that heavily damaged the communist leader’s brain. The year is 1921. It did not solve all of Russia’s economic problems, however, nor did not produce immediate results. This only increased opposition to the Bolshevik regime which, in turn, increased the risk of rebellion or counter-revolution. The NEP replaced war communism as the Soviet regime’s official economic policy. Weren’t we on the slippery slope that led back to capitalism? Focusing solely on quick enrichment these newly emerged businessmen didn’t bother much about politics and were more interested in entertainment and finding ways to spend their money. Legal disclaimer The Soviet government would retain control of the “commanding heights” of the economy, such as banking, finance and heavy industry. Date published: June 18, 2019 For more information on usage, please refer to our Terms of Use. Lenin justified it as a temporary “breathing space” for the Russian economy, which had been exhausted by years of World War I, the Civil War and war communism. New Economic Policy. Vladimir Lenin. The NEP also lifted a ban on agricultural and town markets, allowing peasants to buy and sell their surplus produce. The NEP was welcomed by many Russians, who had endured years of requisitioning, shortages, hoarding and restrictions on free trade – but it created ideological tension and divisions in the ranks of the Communist Party. All rights reserved. When this tax was cut by half in 1921, peasants received an incentive to work again and the farming industry began its recovery. Kronshtadt Rebellion, (March 1921), one of several major internal uprisings against Soviet rule in Russia after the Civil War (1918–20), conducted by sailors from the Kronshtadt naval base. It was officially planned as a temporary measure and its main goals were to ease social tension, strengthen the communist regime, get out of the economic crisis, rebuild the industry and lay down the foundation for socialism without waiting for the global revolution. The formal decree that introduced the NEP was called “On the replacement of prodrazvyorstka [grain requisitioning] with prodnalog [a fixed tax]”. 4. A historian’s view: By early 1921, the Soviet regime had been rattled by the Kronstadt rebellion, peasant revolts in the provinces, angry food queues in the cities, strikes by hungry workers and factionalism within the Communist Party. Lenin’s decision to introduce the NEP followed three years of civil war, social disruption, economic deprivation and famine. It eased the harsh restrictions of war communism, the Bolshevik economic policy during the Civil War, and allowed the return of markets and petty trade. But, perhaps, the experiment, no matter how successful it was turning out to be, was already doomed. Feedback © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2020. During this period fine arts lost their influence on mass culture and were substituted by much simpler forms of entertainment – cabarets and restaurants. In fact, things are going so bad, even the revolutionary leadership, backed fearlessly by millions of people just a few years before, is itself becoming a target of mass anger. Vladimir Brovkin. It contained elements of both socialism and capitalism. The NEP did not solve all of Russia’s economic ills either. Collectivization, or the consolidation of individual peasant farms into collective ones, was an assault on the ancient traditions of the Russian peasantry. Many Bolsheviks interpreted it as a surrender or retreat towards capitalism. “The terms in which Lenin defined the relationship between the old economic policy (war communism) and the new (NEP) were of offensive and retreat, construction and pause, leaving no room for a positive acceptance of the NEP in Bolshevik minds. New Economic Policy (NEP), the economic policy of the government of the Soviet Union from 1921 to 1928, representing a temporary retreat from its previous policy of extreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism. The project also included a money reform and gave the green light for long-term loans and new banks. 3. © Autonomous Nonprofit Organization “TV-Novosti”, 2005–2020. We put these questions to ourselves with feelings of anxiety.”. Lenin responded by winding back war communism and relaxing Soviet economic policy. Lenin died in January 1924 and by December the same year Trotsky was removed from all commanding posts while Stalin’s political weight gained strong momentum. Russian Revolution memory quiz – events 1907-1916, Russian Revolution memory quiz – events 1917, Russian Revolution memory quiz – events 1918-1924, Russian Revolution memory quiz – revolutionaries, Russian Revolution memory quiz – tsarists, Russian Revolution memory quiz: concepts (I), Russian Revolution memory quiz: concepts (II), Russian Revolution memory quiz: events 1906 to 1913, Russian Revolution memory quiz: events 1914 to 1916, Russian Revolution memory quiz: events to 1905. Production has fallen to the levels of the times of Peter the Great, hunger and devastation are the general picture all around. The new policy gave birth to a whole new sort of people – NEPmen. The NEP disillusioned many young Bolsheviks who were eagerly awaiting the transition to socialism. Peter Carl Faberge was a world famous master jeweler and head of the ‘House of Faberge’ in Imperial Russia in the waning days of the Russian Empire. 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