- Gov’t policy of Soviet Union from 1921-1928
- was a pull back from War Communism, b/c Bolsheviks lost support due to harsh policies right after taking power
- War Communism had brought Russia to an extremely poor economic state, so the Bolsheviks and Lenin needed to retreat from it and institute a new policy
- March 1921: was Kronshtadt Rebellion, convinced Lenin that something needed to change
- 10th party congress instituted NEP
- included return of agriculture, retail trade, small scale industry to private ownership
- money reintroduced in 1922
- state kept control of heavy industry, transport, banking, foreign trade
- This allowed people to recover after the Civil War
- small businesses and managers who did very well in this period: “NEP Men”
- NEP was meant to be temporary, and the eventual goal was to institute full communism
- it allowed Communists to solidify power
- Supporter: Nikolay Bukharin
- Opposition: Leon Trotsky
- Non-Committal: Joseph Stalin
- Problem with NEP: Gov’t inability to get enough grain to feed workforce
- 1928-29: Russian leader Joseph Stalin stopped private ownership of land again because of this, ensure that the gov’t would be able to get enough food
- this was end of NEP
- followed by state control of all industry by 1931
- caused destruction of many successful private farmers
- NEP was based on prodnalog (tax on food)
- he was admitting that people actually owned things
- 1924, was replaced by tax on money
- were unenforced restriction on private ownership
- gave farmers incentive to grow more food b/c leftover food could be sold
- Some people did not agree with NEP
- sacrificed socialism for a form of capitalism
- some believed, according to Marx, political structure would follow economic structure, so if they allowed free market economy, the political structure would have to change, go against communism
- Lenin said revolution couldn’t survive unless they kept support of peasants, were losing support through War Communism, needed a period to go back to capitalism
- NEP helped stop 1921 famine, made Russia much more successful