What is NEP? NEP - New Economic Policy

By 1921, the Soviet leadership was faced with an unprecedented crisis that affected all areas of the economy. Lenin decided to overcome it by introducing the NEP (New Economic Policy). This sharp turn was the only possible way out of this situation.

Civil War

The Civil War complicated the situation for the Bolsheviks. The grain monopoly and fixed grain prices did not suit the peasantry. The exchange of goods also did not justify itself. The supply of bread to large cities was significantly reduced. Petrograd and Moscow were on the verge of famine.

Rice. 1. Petrograd children receive free lunches.

On May 13, 1918, a food dictatorship was introduced in the country.
It boiled down to the following provisions:

the grain monopoly and fixed prices were confirmed, peasants were obliged to hand over surplus grain;
creation of food detachments;
organization of committees of the poor.

These measures led to the Civil War breaking out in the village.

Rice. 2. Leon Trotsky predicts a world revolution. 1918

The policy of “war communism”

In conditions of an irreconcilable struggle with the white movement, the Bolsheviks accept a series of emergency measures , called the policy of “war communism”:

grain surplus appropriation according to class principles;
nationalization of all large and medium-sized enterprises, strict control over small ones;
universal labor conscription;
ban on private trade;
introduction of a card system based on class principles.

Peasant protests

The tightening of policies led to disappointment among the peasantry. The introduction of food detachments and committees of the poor caused particular anger. Increasing cases of armed clashes have led to mass uprisings:

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Izhevsk-Votkinsk uprising in the Volga region (August-October 1918);
“Grigorievshchina” in the south of Ukraine (May-July 1919);
“Antonovschina” in the Tambov province (1920-1921).

Antonov's uprising in the Tambov province was called the “Russian Vendee” by analogy with the revolt of French peasants at the end of the 18th century.

Policy change

By the fall of 1920, the main hostilities of the Civil War had ended. The first priority was the transition to a peaceful path. The main economic reason for the transition to the NEP was the restoration of industry and agriculture.

The NEP eased the situation of the peasantry (the introduction of a tax in kind in March 1921) and gave some freedom to private capital. It was a temporary concession to capitalism to create a solid economic base.

Rice. 3. Collection of tax in kind in the city of Yegoryevsk. 1922

Briefly point by point, the reasons for the transition to the NEP were as follows:

the surplus appropriation system did not justify itself, causing mass uprisings;
the ban on private trade practically destroyed commodity-money relations;
workers' control made most small and medium enterprises unprofitable;
The class principle led to the dismissal of old specialists; there were simply no new ones.

At the very end of the Civil War, the leadership of the RCP(b) decided to move from the policy of war communism to the NEP. On the one hand, this decision was dictated by the need to revive the economy destroyed by the war, and on the other, by the desire of the Soviet government to achieve recognition on the world stage. For residents of Soviet Russia, the NEP was an era of temporary revival of small private enterprise and the resumption of commodity-money relations. In foreign policy, the NEP and the associated issue of the first stable Soviet currency - the golden chervonets - became the first steps towards Soviet Russia gaining international recognition.

Many of the hallmarks of the NEP were contrary to fundamental communist teachings. By the end of the 20s, the NEP fulfilled the function of improving the economy, and the state switched to a policy of forced cooperation of privately owned farms with the subsequent establishment of full state control over established enterprises and the elimination of the free market.

The NEP policy assumed:

high food tax from peasants
limiting the number of large private banks to the list
replacement of surplus appropriation with tax in kind
precise fixation of limited norms for the delivery of grain by peasants to the state
some freedom of enterprise for citizens
free trade in consumer goods
allowing industrial enterprises to freely enter foreign markets
permitting the rental of small enterprises by private individuals
creation of concessions involving foreign capital
opening labor exchanges to eliminate unemployment
introduction of a hard national currency
creation of a national banking system
development of state capitalism in its various forms
cash wages
introduction of a tariff system of remuneration
development of production and consumer cooperation
close economic interaction between city and countryside
the right granted by the state to engage in self-employment for the purpose of making a profit
government-granted right to employ hired labor
the right granted by the state to engage in trade and intermediary activities.
During the years of the New Economic Policy, “firm”, fixed prices for industrial and food products were introduced

From a letter written during the NEP years by a “bourgeois specialist” (as he calls himself): “Of course, there are limits to nationalization, and the new economic policy, by returning to the former owners a number of small enterprises that were unnecessarily and unreasonably taken from them, itself clearly outlines these limits.” . Name a word that explains what kind of enterprise (by size) we are talking about.

Did not have
stability of the national currency	strengthening centralization in economic management
equal distribution of food supplies between city and countryside	card distribution system
increase in grain exports	leasing of enterprises was prohibited
increase in grain imports	nationalization of enterprises was actively carried out
most small and medium-sized industrial enterprises were in the hands of private owners	introduction of the equalization principle of wages
physical liquidation of all representatives of the former propertied classes	strengthening the features of the command-administrative system
complete nationalization of the economy (will occur towards the end of industrialization)	nationalization of industry

The food tax, introduced in 1921, provided for the gratuitous delivery to the state of part of the output of peasant farms with the right to sell the rest on the market.

Socio-economic consequences of the NEP:

revival of trade
improving living standards
agricultural restoration

Excess - rising unemployment

The absolute number of unemployed people registered by labor exchanges increased during the NEP period (from 1.2 million people at the beginning of 1924 to 1.7 million people at the beginning of 1929), but the expansion of the labor market was even more significant (the number of workers and employees in all sectors of the national economy increased from 5.8 million in 1924 to 12.4 million in 1929), so that in fact the unemployment rate decreased.

The reason for the transition to the NEP is not	The reason for the transition to the NEP is
the state's desire to revive private production in the country	deep socio-economic crisis in the country
	open action of peasants and workers against the policy of war communism. The slogan of the Kronstadt rebellion were the words: “Power to the Soviets!” Uprising of the sailors of the Kronstadt garrison with the slogan: “For the Soviets - without communists!” happened in March 1921
	Participants in the Kronstadt uprising in March 1921 demanded immediate re-election of the Soviets by secret ballot with free preliminary campaigning.
	a sharp drop in production in the country
	hunger of more than 30 million people in the Volga region A severe crop failure that caused famine in 1921. 30 million people, 5 million of whom died, covered a number of territories of Soviet Russia.

NEP is the introduction of economic methods of economic management.

The state capitalist structure of the economy of the NEP period included	The socialist structure of the economy of the NEP period included	The private capitalist economic structure of the NEP period included...
mixed joint-stock companies, the shares of which were partly owned by the state and partly by private entrepreneurs	state-owned enterprises operating on the principle of self-financing	kulak farms that used hired labor
	agricultural cooperatives	workshops of non-cooperative artisans
The chapters were abolished, and in their place trusts were created - associations of homogeneous or interconnected enterprises that received complete economic and financial independence, up to the right to issue long-term bond issues.	state-owned heavy industry enterprises
During the NEP period, state trusts were all state-owned enterprises operating on the basis of economic accounting.	state-owned light industry enterprises
VSNKh, having lost the right to intervene in the current activities of enterprises and trusts, turned into a coordination center. His staff was sharply reduced. It was at that time that economic accounting appeared, in which an enterprise (after mandatory fixed contributions to the state budget) has the right to independently dispose of income from the sale of products, is itself responsible for the results of its economic activities, independently uses profits and covers losses. Under the conditions of the NEP, Lenin wrote: “state enterprises are transferred to the so-called economic accounting, that is, in fact, to a large extent to commercial and capitalist principles.” Trusts had to allocate at least 20% of profits to the formation of reserve capital until it reached a value equal to half of the authorized capital (soon this standard was reduced to 10% of profits until it reached a third of the initial capital). And the reserve capital was used to finance the expansion of production and compensation for losses in economic activity. The bonuses received by members of the board and workers of the trust depended on the size of the profit.

During the NEP years, the number of working class:

By the beginning of 1926, the size of the working class had reached more than 90% of the 1913 level.

Under NEP, as industry was restored, a new working class grew up, almost as numerous as the old one. The rapid growth of the working class in the late 20s and early 30s was mainly due to the influx to new industrial facilities...

As for the working class, by the beginning of the first five-year plan its total number increased 5 times compared to 1920.

During the NEP, the number of the working class increased significantly, however, since the beginning of this year there has been a sharp change.

Under NEP, as industry was restored, a new working class grew up, almost as numerous as the old one. A few years later, by 1932, industrial employment increased from 10 to 22 million. During the 1930s, so many workers entered industry and the mines that by 1940 the working class was almost 3 times its previous maximum size.

In 1921, Russia was literally in ruins. The territories of Poland, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Western Belarus, the Kara region of Armenia and Bessarabia departed from the former Russian Empire. According to experts, the population in the remaining territories barely reached 135 million. Losses in these territories as a result of wars, epidemics, emigration, and a decline in the birth rate have amounted to at least 25 million people since 1914. During the hostilities, the Donbass, the Baku oil region, the Urals and Siberia were especially damaged; many mines and mines were destroyed. Factories shut down due to a lack of fuel and raw materials. Workers were forced to leave the cities and go to the countryside. The total volume of industrial production decreased by 5 times.

The equipment has not been updated for a long time. Metallurgy produced as much metal as it was smelted under Peter I. The volume of agricultural production decreased by 40% due to the depreciation of money and a shortage of industrial goods. Society has degraded, its intellectual potential has weakened significantly. Most of the Russian intelligentsia were destroyed or left the country.

Kronstadt uprising (rebellion)

The peasants, outraged by the actions of the food detachments, not only refused to hand over grain, but also rose up in armed struggle. The uprisings covered the Tambov region, Ukraine, Don, Kuban, Volga region and Siberia. The peasants demanded a change in agrarian policy, the elimination of the dictates of the RCP (b), and the convening of a Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal equal suffrage. Units of the Red Army were sent to suppress these protests.

Discontent spread to the army. On March 1, 1921, sailors and Red Army soldiers of the Kronstadt garrison under the slogan “For Soviets without Communists!” demanded the release from prison of all representatives of socialist parties, re-election of the Soviets and, as follows from the slogan, the expulsion of all communists from them, granting freedom of speech, meetings and unions to all parties, ensuring freedom of trade, allowing peasants to freely use their land and dispose of the products of their farms , that is, the elimination of surplus appropriation. Convinced of the impossibility of reaching an agreement with the rebels, the authorities launched an assault on Kronstadt. By alternating artillery shelling and infantry actions, Kronstadt was captured by March 18; Some of the rebels died, the rest went to Finland or surrendered.

Thus, the main task of the internal policy of the RCP (b) and the Soviet state was to restore the destroyed economy, create a material, technical and socio-cultural basis for building socialism, promised by the Bolsheviks to the people.

The New Economic Policy aimed at restoring the national economy and the subsequent transition to socialism. The main content of the NEP is the replacement of surplus appropriation with a tax in kind in the countryside, the use of the market and various forms of ownership, the attraction of foreign capital in the form of concessions, and the implementation of a monetary reform (1922-1924), as a result of which the ruble became a convertible currency.

The main political goal of the NEP is to relieve social tensions and strengthen the social base of Soviet power in the form of an alliance of workers and peasants. The economic goal is to prevent further deterioration, get out of the crisis and restore the economy. The social goal is to provide favorable conditions for building a socialist society, without waiting for the world revolution. In addition, the NEP was aimed at restoring normal foreign policy relations and overcoming international isolation.

What are the main reasons for the abandonment of the NEP in the USSR?

The NEP made it possible to quickly restore the national economy destroyed by the First World War and the Civil War.

But by 1925 it became clear that the national economy had reached a contradiction: further progress towards the market was hampered by political and ideological factors, the fear of the “degeneration” of power; a return to the military-communist type of economy was hampered by memories of the peasant war of 1920 and mass famine, and fear of anti-Soviet protests.

All this led to discord in political assessments of the situation. In the second half of the 1920s, the first attempts to curtail the NEP began. Syndicates in industry were liquidated, from which private capital was administratively squeezed out, and a rigid centralized system of economic management was created (economic people's commissariats). Stalin and his entourage headed for the forced confiscation of grain and the forced collectivization of the countryside. Repressions were carried out against management personnel (the Shakhty case, the Industrial Party trial, etc.). By the beginning of the 1930s, the NEP was actually curtailed.

After the end of the Civil War, Bolshevik Russia found itself on the brink of economic collapse. A large number of enterprises were destroyed, and there was an acute shortage of agricultural products. That is why at the tenth congress of the RCP (b), which took place in March 1921, it was decided to move from war communism to a new economic policy.

The essence and features of the NEP

The new policy was a rather complex structure. Indeed, as a result of the influence of war communism, there were actually only two categories of inhabitants left in the country - workers and peasants. The introduction of the NEP led to the emergence of the bourgeoisie as a new class, whose influence was especially strong in the consumer sphere.

In addition, according to V. Lenin, the NEP maneuver made it possible to strengthen the alliance of the working class and the peasantry. And relative freedom in economic management stabilized the political situation. Thus, the essence of the NEP was to achieve the ultimate goal - building socialism - in a roundabout way.

The main reasons for the introduction of the NEP

The main reasons that prompted the leadership of the young country to introduce the NEP were the following factors:

desire to restore normal economic relations;

normalization of connections between city and countryside;

stabilization of the financial sector;

the need to establish relationships with other countries;

suppression of the growing discontent of the peasants, which resulted in the so-called kulak rebellion.

The impact of the NEP on agriculture

The new policy was marked by the introduction of a tax in kind instead of appropriation. In fact, this led to a reduction in the amounts required to be paid by almost half. Moreover, the entire burden of the tax burden fell on rich peasants, called kulaks. At the same time, peasants were limited in trading agricultural products remaining with them after paying taxes.

Nevertheless, the NEP gave its first results. Beginning in 1922, there were no more problems with food shortages. And three years later, the sown area reached the pre-war level, and the number of livestock increased significantly.

Impact of NEP on the industrial sector

Radical changes were also made in industry. Thus, the chapters were transformed into what were called trusts. They were given complete independence in the financial and economic spheres. Trusts were created both at the centralized and local levels. Their management independently decided all questions about the quantity and nature of products, the place of their sale, etc.

Moreover, the trust’s activities were not financed from the budget, and their debts were not considered government debts. It should be noted that the activities of the trusts after payment of all fees also remained at their disposal. In fact, this led to the formation of economic accounting, in which it independently conducts its activities and uses the profit received.

Thus, it formed a complete government, which, in turn, made it possible to introduce into it the principles of planned management. Already in 1925, making a profit for the trust ceased to be considered the main goal and such a concept as commercial calculation came to the fore. In general, the situation with the trusts was quite contradictory, because their management was carried out on the basis of two mutually exclusive principles - planned and market.

Reforming the financial sector

New economic relations required significant reforms in the financial field. The main transformations were reduced to the following areas:

creating a deficit-free budget;

cessation of inflation processes;

development of a new tax system;

resumption of work of banks and savings banks;

creation of a unified monetary system and stable currency.

In 1922, the chervonets began to be issued, the cost of which was equal to the pre-revolutionary ten in gold.

After some time, the government initiated two devaluations, during which half a million old sovznak were exchanged for one kopeck. Thus, two parallel currencies were eliminated, but the reform itself was clearly confiscatory in nature. However, the chervonets went international, in particular, it was used in European countries, the Baltic states, etc.

For the further development of the financial system, commercial credit, joint-stock banks and stock exchanges were returned. But the strengthening of the planned component in the economy led to inflation. The Bolsheviks banned the export of chervonets abroad, as a result of which it turned into domestic currency. In general, the reform achieved its goal - the financial system was improved, streamlined, and the national economy was rebuilt in accordance with the requirements of the NEP.

What consequences did the NEP have?

Beginning in 1925, the new policy began to gradually wind down. The private sector was forced out of industry, people's commissariats were created in the field of economy, which practiced a rigid planned approach to economic management. A course towards collectivization and industrialization was adopted. Thus, as of October 1931, when the NEP was officially cancelled, in fact it no longer existed.

The undoubted successes of the new policy include: But due to the lack of qualified personnel, primarily managers, economists, etc., numerous mistakes were made. The country had very low economic potential. Successes were achieved through the use of pre-revolutionary capacities. Private capital and wealthy peasants were discriminated against in every possible way. And with the end of the NEP, it was decided to eliminate the private sector altogether.

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The NEP, introduced as a new economic policy, replaced war communism, which had reigned before it in the national economy and in the country’s economy as a whole. The events that were carried out in Russia from 1918 to 1921 brought the country to the brink of disaster and made it bankrupt. The situation was aggravated by the global boycott that was announced against the young state. So the reasons for the transition to the NEP were basically quite simple - survival. Lenin, who proposed such a step, initially viewed it as a temporary but necessary concession to capitalism. And from the point of view of reviving vitality, the results of the NEP justified themselves: by the end of the 20s, the state had the resources to engage in industrialization and further development. The USSR was able to reach pre-war production levels and even increase capacity (2 times compared to 1913).

But you need to understand everything sequentially. Discussing the reasons for the introduction of the NEP, one cannot fail to note the increased need to relieve acute social tension. Thus, the surplus appropriation system, within which up to 70% of what was grown was taken from the peasants, was replaced by a more progressive and loyal tax in kind: now the state had to pay up to 30%, and in some regions - up to 20%, in addition, it was planned to reduce this indicator from time up to 10% and the introduction of monetary replacement.

So War Communism and the NEP formed a striking contrast. The first resembled a harsh dictatorship, which did not suit the peasantry, who made up 80% of the total population. Armed uprisings broke out everywhere, which became simply dangerous. The second allowed those engaged in agriculture to keep their surplus.

True, the peculiarities of the adoption of the NEP were related to the fact that the state did not intend to completely return to market relations. It intended to organize the exchange of goods: accepting surplus products from peasants for the tools they needed, fabrics and much more. But already the beginning of the NEP showed the utopian nature of this idea. The fact is that the state simply did not have the required amount of goods. So the transition from the policy of war communism to the NEP required resurrecting at least the basis of capitalism and allowing free trade, allowing foreigners with investments into the market.

In short, this was a period of return to capitalism while trying to build a communist state. The chronological framework, which the table shows quite well, fell within the period from 1920 to 1931, and in 1921 there were still some elements of military communism, and in 1928 there was an actual curtailment of this policy, which finally legally ended in 1931.

So, the table shows the framework of the NEP:

date	What's happened	Characteristic
1920-1921	Start	A gradual shift away from the policy of war communism to the NEP.
1927	Breakdown of workpieces	The first signs of the program being curtailed.
1928	Active completion	Increasing criticism of the “kulaks” and wealthy people.
1931	Complete ending	Legal prohibition, registration at the legislative level.

At the same time, the main provisions of the NEP boiled down to increasing economic power. Private capital increased, small enterprises were denationalized. Every citizen was given the right to engage in business. In addition, the transition to the NEP made it possible to attract investment, and trade with other countries intensified. It was a visual presentation of the new state.

The main task - the restoration of the economic system - was achieved in a surprisingly short period of time. And not by the political elite, but by people who have received an incentive to develop. Some even began to compare the pre-revolutionary order with what was in the “roaring 20”, and sometimes conclusions were drawn in favor of the latter. The main objectives of the NEP to increase capital were achieved by 1926.

Main directions of NEP

This policy and the measures taken in the agricultural sector, as well as in the private enterprise sector, have already been touched upon. But it is also worth noting that a monetary reform was also carried out, as a result of which the old rubles began to be equated to the new gold chervonets in a ratio of 1 to 10. Communist efforts to return the value to the national currency were not in vain: a fixed exchange rate was established.

In industry, first trusts and then syndicates were formed. Many of them entered the international market. In a word, the NEP measures were justified. Of course, not all comparisons with Imperial Russia turned out to be in favor of the USSR of this period. However, many of the economic contradictions of the NEP are due to low competence, lack of experience, poor training and shortage of personnel. After all, many excellent specialists either left the country or died. So a comparative description would not be entirely appropriate here.

Advantages and disadvantages

A careful study of the topic “NEP causes, essence, results” allows us to understand that this period really gave a lot to Russia. It made it possible to restore the functionality of many enterprises and improved the situation of the peasantry. The results of the NEP affected, in one way or another, almost all layers of society, affected culture, and were reflected in art. However, it is impossible to say unequivocally that there were no problems at all.

Social contradictions of the NEP

When discussing the reasons for abandoning the NEP, one cannot ignore the issue of the contradictions that have emerged. In particular, the large peasantry wanted land and the opportunity to work on it. Moreover, the more resources this part of the population received, the more it produced. Which ultimately brought grist to the mill of market relations. But such an outcome could not suit the communists: such consequences of the NEP were worse than war for them. After all, there was always a chance that a significant part of the population would like capitalism. If only for this reason, in the opinion of the emerging party, it was dangerous to delay this period.

In addition, as wealth accumulated and private capital increased, the country's leadership lost leverage over the situation. Large enterprises in the form of syndicates became the property of the most successful businessmen, including foreigners. The latter, however, were few in number, since the majority were deterred by the risk of nationalization. But still, a certain part of the companies was bought out.

At the same time, those on whom communism traditionally relied - the workers - received the least from what was happening. Of course, it would be possible to transfer enterprises to them as collective ownership, but in this case the state would lose even more leverage. Moreover, all this no longer resembled communism. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the program was curtailed.

NEP (New Economic Policy) was carried out by the Soviet government from 1921 to 1928. This was an attempt to bring the country out of the crisis and give impetus to the development of the economy and agriculture. But the results of the NEP turned out to be terrible, and ultimately Stalin had to hastily interrupt this process to create industrialization, since the NEP policy almost completely killed heavy industry.

Reasons for introducing the NEP

With the beginning of the winter of 1920, the RSFSR plunged into a terrible crisis. It was largely due to the fact that in 1921-1922 there was a famine in the country. The Volga region suffered mainly (we all understand the notorious phrase “The Starving Volga Region”). Added to this was the economic crisis, as well as popular uprisings against the Soviet regime. No matter how many textbooks tell us that people greeted the power of the Soviets with applause, this was not so. For example, uprisings took place in Siberia, on the Don, in the Kuban, and the largest one was in Tambov. It went down in history under the name Antonov uprising or “Antonovschina.” In the spring of 21, about 200 thousand people were involved in the uprising. Considering that the Red Army at that moment was extremely weak, then this was a very serious threat to the regime. Then the Kronstadt rebellion was born. At the cost of effort, all these revolutionary elements were suppressed, but it became obvious that the approach to government management needed to be changed. And the conclusions were made correctly. Lenin formulated them this way:

The driving force of socialism is the proletariat, which means the peasants. Therefore, the Soviet government must learn to get along with them.
it is necessary to create a unified party system in the country and destroy any dissent.

This is precisely the essence of the NEP - “Economic liberalization under strict political control.”

In general, all the reasons for the introduction of the NEP can be divided into ECONOMIC (the country needed an impetus for economic development), SOCIAL (social division was still extremely acute) and POLITICAL (the new economic policy became a means of managing power).

Beginning of the NEP

The main stages of the introduction of the NEP in the USSR:

Decision of the 10th Congress of the Bolshevik Party of 1921.
Replacing the appropriation tax (in fact, this was the introduction of the NEP). Decree of March 21, 1921.
Allowing free exchange of agricultural products. Decree March 28, 1921.
Creation of cooperatives, which were destroyed in 1917. Decree of April 7, 1921.
Transfer of some industry from state hands to private hands. Decree May 17, 1921.
Creating conditions for the development of private trade. Decree May 24, 1921.
Resolution to TEMPORARILY provide the opportunity for private owners to lease state-owned enterprises. Decree July 5, 1921.
Permission for private capital to create any enterprise (including industrial) with a staff of up to 20 people. If the enterprise is mechanized - no more than 10. Decree of July 7, 1921.
Adoption of a “liberal” Land Code. He allowed not only the rental of land, but also hired labor on it. Decree of October 1922.

The ideological foundation of the NEP was laid at the 10th Congress of the RCP (b), which met in 1921 (if you remember, its participants went straight from this congress of delegates to suppress the Kronstadt rebellion), adopted the NEP and introduced a ban on “dissent” in the RCP (b). The fact is that before 1921 there were different factions in the RCP (b). This was allowed. According to logic, and this logic is absolutely correct, if economic relief is introduced, then within the party there must be a monolith. Therefore, there are no factions or divisions.

Justification of the NEP from the point of view of Soviet ideology

The ideological concept of the NEP was first given by V.I. Lenin. This happened at a speech at the tenth and eleventh congresses of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which took place in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Also, the rationale for the New Economic Policy was voiced at the third and fourth congresses of the Comintern, which also took place in 1921 and 1922. In addition, Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin played a major role in formulating the tasks of the NEP. It is important to remember that for a long time Bukharin and Lenin acted in opposition to each other on NEP issues. Lenin proceeded from the fact that the time had come to ease the pressure on the peasants and “make peace” with them. But Lenin was going to get along with the peasants not forever, but for 5-10 years. Therefore, the majority of members of the Bolshevik Party were sure that the NEP, as a forced measure, was being introduced for just one grain procurement company, as a deception for the peasantry. But Lenin especially emphasized that the NEP course is taken for a longer period. And then Lenin said a phrase that showed that the Bolsheviks were keeping their word - “but we will return to terror, including economic terror.” If we remember the events of 1929, then this is exactly what the Bolsheviks did. The name of this terror is Collectivization.

The New Economic Policy was designed for 5, maximum 10 years. And it certainly fulfilled its task, although at some point it threatened the existence of the Soviet Union.

Briefly, the NEP, according to Lenin, is a bond between the peasantry and the proletariat. This is precisely what formed the basis of the events of those days - if you are against the bond between the peasantry and the proletariat, then you are an opponent of the workers’ power, the Soviets and the USSR. The problems of this bond became a problem for the survival of the Bolshevik regime, because the regime simply did not have the army or equipment to crush the peasant revolts if they began en masse and in an organized manner. That is, some historians say that the NEP is the Brest peace of the Bolsheviks with their own people. That is, what kind of Bolsheviks are the International Socialists who wanted a world revolution. Let me remind you that it was this idea that Trotsky promoted. First, Lenin, who was not a very great theorist, (he was a good practitioner), he defined the NEP as state capitalism. And immediately for this he received a full portion of criticism from Bukharin and Trotsky. And after this, Lenin began to interpret the NEP as a mixture of Socialist and capitalist forms. I repeat - Lenin was not a theorist, but a practitioner. He lived by the principle - it is important for us to take power, but what it will be called is unimportant.

Lenin, in fact, accepted Bukharin’s version of the NEP with its wording and other attributes..

The NEP is a socialist dictatorship based on socialist production relations and regulating the broad petty-bourgeois organization of the economy.
Lenin

According to the logic of this definition, the main task facing the leadership of the USSR was the destruction of the petty-bourgeois economy. Let me remind you that the Bolsheviks called peasant farming petty-bourgeois. You need to understand that by 1922 the building of socialism had reached a dead end and Lenin realized that this movement could only be continued through the NEP. It is clear that this is not the main path, and it contradicted Marxism, but as a workaround it was quite suitable. And Lenin constantly emphasized that the new policy was a temporary phenomenon.

General characteristics of NEP

The totality of the NEP:

rejection of labor mobilization and an equal wage system for all.
transfer (partial, of course) of industry into private hands from state ones (denationalization).
creation of new economic associations - trusts and syndicates. Widespread introduction of self-financing
the formation of enterprises in the country at the expense of capitalism and the bourgeoisie, including the Western one.

Looking ahead, I will say that the NEP led to the fact that many idealistic Bolsheviks shot themselves in the forehead. They believed that capitalism was being restored, and they shed blood in vain during the Civil War. But the non-idealistic Bolsheviks made great use of the NEP, because during the NEP it was easy to launder what was stolen during the Civil War. Because, as we will see, NEP is a triangle: it is the head of a separate link of the party’s Central Committee, the head of a syndicator or trust, and also NEPman as a “huckster,” in modern language, through whom this whole process takes place. In general, this was a corruption scheme from the very beginning, but the NEP was a forced measure - the Bolsheviks would not have retained power without it.

NEP in trade and finance

Development of the credit system. In 1921, a state bank was created.
Reforming the financial and monetary system of the USSR. This was achieved through the reform of 1922 (monetary) and the replacement of the money of 1922-1924.
The emphasis is on private (retail) trade and the development of various markets, including the All-Russian one.

If we try to briefly characterize the NEP, then this structure was extremely unreliable. It took ugly forms of merging the personal interests of the country's leadership and everyone who was involved in the "Triangle". Each of them played their role. The menial work was done by the NEP man speculator. And this was especially emphasized in Soviet textbooks, saying that it was all private traders who ruined the NEP, and we fought against them as best we could. But in fact, the NEP led to colossal corruption of the party. This was one of the reasons for the abolition of the NEP, because if it had been maintained further, the party would simply have completely disintegrated.

Beginning in 1921, the Soviet leadership set a course towards weakening Centralization. In addition, much attention was paid to the element of reforming economic systems in the country. Labor mobilizations were replaced by labor exchanges (unemployment was high). Equalization was abolished, the card system was abolished (but for some, the card system was a salvation). It is logical that the results of the NEP almost immediately had a positive impact on trade. Naturally in retail trade. Already at the end of 1921, the Nepmen controlled 75% of trade turnover in retail trade and 18% in wholesale trade. NEPism has become a profitable form of money laundering, especially for those who looted a lot during the civil war. Their loot lay idle, and now it could be sold through the NEPmen. And many people laundered their money this way.

NEP in agriculture

Adoption of the Land Code. (22nd year). Transformation of the tax in kind into a single agricultural tax since 1923 (since 1926, entirely in cash).
Agricultural cooperation cooperation.
Equal (fair) exchange between agriculture and industry. But this was not achieved, as a result of which the so-called “price scissors” appeared.

At the bottom of society, the party leadership's turn to the NEP did not find much support. Many members of the Bolshevik Party were sure that this was a mistake and a transition from socialism to capitalism. Someone simply sabotaged the decision of the NEP, and those who were especially ideological even committed suicide. In October 1922, the New Economic Policy affected agriculture - the Bolsheviks began implementing the Land Code with new amendments. Its difference was that it legalized wage labor in the countryside (it would seem that the Soviet government was fighting precisely against this, but it did the same thing itself). The next stage occurred in 1923. This year, something happened that many had been waiting for and demanding for so long - the tax in kind was replaced by an agricultural tax. In 1926, this tax began to be collected entirely in cash.

In general, the NEP was not an absolute triumph of economic methods, as it was sometimes written in Soviet textbooks. It was only outwardly a triumph of economic methods. In fact, there was a lot of other things there. And I don’t just mean the so-called excesses of local authorities. The fact is that a significant part of the peasant product was alienated in the form of taxes, and taxation was excessive. Another thing is that the peasant got the opportunity to breathe freely, and this solved some problems. And here the absolutely unfair exchange between agriculture and industry, the formation of the so-called “price scissors,” came to the fore. The regime increased prices for industrial products and decreased prices for agricultural products. As a result, in 1923-1924 the peasants worked for practically nothing! The laws were such that the peasants were forced to sell approximately 70% of everything that the village produced for next to nothing. 30% of the product they produced was taken by the state at market value, and 70% at a reduced price. Then this figure decreased, and it became approximately 50/50. But in any case, this is a lot. 50% of products are priced below the market price.

As a result, the worst happened - the market ceased to perform its direct functions as a means of buying and selling goods. Now it has turned into an effective time of exploitation of the peasants. Only half of the peasant goods were purchased with money, and the other half was collected in the form of tribute (this is the most accurate definition of what happened in those years). The NEP can be characterized as follows: corruption, a swollen apparatus, massive theft of state property. The result was a situation where peasant production was used irrationally, and often the peasants themselves were not interested in high yields. This was a logical consequence of what was happening, because the NEP was initially an ugly design.

NEP in industry

The main features that characterize the New Economic Policy from the point of view of industry are the almost complete lack of development of this industry and the huge level of unemployment among ordinary people.

The NEP was initially supposed to establish interaction between city and village, between workers and peasants. But it was not possible to do this. The reason is that industry was almost completely destroyed as a result of the Civil War, and it was not able to offer anything significant to the peasantry. The peasantry did not sell their grain, because why sell if you can’t buy anything with money anyway. They simply stored the grain and did not buy anything. Therefore, there was no incentive for the development of industry. It turned out to be such a “vicious circle”. And in 1927-1928, everyone already understood that the NEP had outlived its usefulness, that it did not provide an incentive for the development of industry, but, on the contrary, destroyed it even more.

At the same time, it became clear that sooner or later a new war was coming in Europe. Here is what Stalin said about this in 1931:

If in the next 10 years we do not cover the path that the West has covered in 100 years, we will be destroyed and crushed.
Stalin

To put it in simple words, in 10 years it was necessary to raise industry from the ruins and put it on par with the most developed countries. The NEP did not allow this to be done, because it was focused on light industry and on Russia being a raw materials appendage of the West. That is, in this regard, the implementation of the NEP was a ballast that slowly but surely dragged Russia to the bottom, and if this course had been maintained for another 5 years, it is unknown how World War 2 would have ended.

The slow pace of industrial growth in the 1920s caused a sharp rise in unemployment. If in 1923-1924 there were 1 million unemployed in the city, then in 1927-1928 there were already 2 million unemployed. The logical consequence of this phenomenon is a huge increase in crime and discontent in cities. For those who worked, of course, the situation was normal. But overall the situation of the working class was very difficult.

Development of the USSR economy during the NEP period

Economic booms alternated with crises. Everyone knows the crises of 1923, 1925 and 1928, which also led to famine in the country.
Lack of a unified system for the development of the country's economy. The NEP crippled the economy. It did not provide an opportunity for the development of industry, but agriculture could not develop under such conditions. These 2 spheres slowed each other down, although the opposite was planned.
The grain procurement crisis of 1927-28 28 and, as a result, the course to curtail the NEP.

The most important part of the NEP, by the way, one of the few positive features of this policy, is “lifting up the financial system from its knees.” Let’s not forget that the Civil War has just ended, which almost completely destroyed the Russian financial system. Prices in 1921 compared to 1913 increased 200 thousand times. Just think about this number. Over 8 years, 200 thousand times... Naturally, it was necessary to introduce other money. Reform was needed. The reform was carried out by People's Commissar of Finance Sokolnikov, who was assisted by a group of old specialists. In October 1921, the State Bank began its work. As a result of his work, in the period from 1922 to 1924, depreciated Soviet money was replaced by Chervontsi

The chervonets was backed by gold, the content of which corresponded to the pre-revolutionary ten-ruble coin, and cost 6 American dollars. Chervonets was backed by both our gold and foreign currency.
Historical reference

Sovznak were withdrawn and exchanged at the rate of 1 new ruble 50,000 old signs. This money was called “Sovznaki”. During the NEP, cooperation actively developed and economic liberalization was accompanied by the strengthening of communist power. The repressive apparatus also strengthened. And how did this happen? For example, on June 6, 22, GlavLit was created. This is censorship and establishing control over censorship. A year later, GlavRepedKom emerged, which was in charge of the theater’s repertoire. In 1922, by decision of this body, more than 100 people, active cultural figures, were expelled from the USSR. Others were less fortunate and were sent to Siberia. The teaching of bourgeois disciplines was banned in schools: philosophy, logic, history. In 1936 everything was restored. Also, the Bolsheviks and the church did not ignore them. In October 1922, the Bolsheviks confiscated jewelry from the church, supposedly to fight hunger. In June 1923, Patriarch Tikhon recognized the legitimacy of Soviet power, and in 1925 he was arrested and died. A new patriarch was no longer elected. The patriarchate was then restored by Stalin in 1943.

On February 6, 1922, the Cheka was transformed into the state political department of the GPU. From emergency ones, these bodies turned into state, regular ones.

The NEP culminated in 1925. Bukharin addressed an appeal to the peasantry (primarily to the wealthy peasants).

Get rich, accumulate, develop your farm.
Bukharin

At the 14th party conference, Bukharin's plan was adopted. He was actively supported by Stalin, and criticized by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. Economic development during the NEP period was uneven: first crisis, sometimes recovery. And this was due to the fact that the necessary balance between the development of agriculture and the development of industry was not found. The grain procurement crisis of 1925 was the first sound of the bell on the NEP. It became clear that the NEP would soon end, but due to inertia it continued for several more years.

Cancellation of NEP - reasons for cancellation

July and November plenum of the Central Committee of 1928. Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party and the Central Control Commission (to which one could complain about the Central Committee) April 1929.
reasons for the abolition of the NEP (economic, social, political).
was the NEP an alternative to real communism.

In 1926, the 15th party conference of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) met. It condemned the Trotskyist-Zinovievist opposition. Let me remind you that this opposition actually called for a war with the peasantry - to take away from them what the authorities need and what the peasants are hiding. Stalin sharply criticized this idea, and also directly voiced the position that the current policy had outlived its usefulness, and the country needed a new approach to development, an approach that would allow the restoration of industry, without which the USSR could not exist.

Since 1926, a tendency towards the abolition of the NEP gradually begins to emerge. In 1926-27, grain reserves for the first time exceeded pre-war levels and amounted to 160 million tons. But the peasants still did not sell bread, and industry was suffocating from overexertion. The left opposition (its ideological leader was Trotsky) proposed confiscating 150 million poods of grain from wealthy peasants, who made up 10% of the population, but the leadership of the CPSU (b) did not agree to this, because this would mean a concession to the left opposition.

Throughout 1927, the Stalinist leadership conducted maneuvers to completely eliminate the left opposition, because without this it was impossible to resolve the peasant question. Any attempt to put pressure on the peasants would mean that the party has taken the path that the “Left Wing” is talking about. At the 15th Congress, Zinoviev, Trotsky and other left oppositionists were expelled from the Central Committee. However, after they repented (this was called in party language “disarming before the party”) they were returned, because the Stalinist center needed them for the future fight against the Bucharest team.

The struggle for the abolition of the NEP unfolded as a struggle for industrialization. This was logical, because industrialization was task number 1 for the self-preservation of the Soviet state. Therefore, the results of the NEP can be briefly summarized as follows: the ugly economic system created many problems that could only be solved thanks to industrialization.