Russian Revolution and Early Soviet Economic Policies

The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, implemented radical economic changes after seizing power in the October Revolution:

• Established the Supreme Economic Council in December 1917 to oversee nationalization of industries
• Introduced War Communism during the Civil War:
  • Centralized economic control
  • Implemented grain requisitioning, leading to rural famine
• Replaced War Communism with the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921:
  • Allowed small-scale private enterprise
  • Eased restrictions on trade

Definition: War Communism - The Bolsheviks' attempt to eliminate private trade and centralize economic activity during the Russian Civil War (1918-1921).

Overall Summary of Russian Industrialization and Political Change (1855-1964)

Russia underwent dramatic economic and political transformations from 1855 to 1964:

• Tsarist leaders like Alexander II initiated early industrialization efforts, focusing on railway expansion and heavy industry
• The Bolsheviks under Lenin introduced radical changes after the Russian Revolution, including War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP)
• Stalin's Five Year Plans and collectivization drove rapid but brutal industrialization in the 1930s
• Later Soviet leaders like Khrushchev continued industrial development with less extreme methods
• Political reforms were limited, as both tsars and communist leaders generally sought to maintain autocratic control
• Opposition groups faced severe repression, especially under Stalin, though some reforms occurred under Khrushchev

Highlight: The period saw Russia transform from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial power, but at enormous human cost under Stalin's policies.

Stalin's Economic Policies

Joseph Stalin abandoned the NEP and introduced a series of Five Year Plans starting in 1928:

• Set ambitious targets for industrial and agricultural production
• Focused heavily on developing heavy industry
• Implemented forced collectivization of agriculture
• Achieved rapid industrialization but at enormous human cost

Quote: "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed." - Joseph Stalin, 1931

Impacts of Stalin's policies:

• Dramatic increases in industrial output
• Severe agricultural disruptions and famine
• Millions of deaths due to repression and harsh working conditions

Highlight: While Stalin's economic policies transformed the USSR into an industrial power, they came at a tremendous cost in human suffering.