War Communism aka War Cannibalism

June 1918
1. Decree on Nationalisation is where it all started
  1. Some capitalism remains, mainly heavy industry nationalised for war effort
1: Aims
1. OF "A pragmatic response to civil war exigencies"
2. Whites- authority=defeat
3. Promote atheism
2: Impact on Industry
1. Industrialisation=no production increase
2. Military need priority
3. Industries starved
4. Factory deprived of workers
  1. Conscription
  2. Food
5. Total industrial output dropped by 20% pre-war
6. 1913 1520m roubles of exports
  1. 1921 20m
7. 1913 coal 29m tonnes produced
  1. 1921 8.9m produced
8. Hyperinflation
  1. Due to scarcity of goods
  2. Gov keeps printing notes
    1. Money becomes worthless and is abolished
Alec Nove "siege economy with a communist ideology. A partly organised chaos"
3: Impact on agriculture
1. 1918-21, grain requisitioning by Cheka
  1. Even seed grain taken, so not enough crop was planted
2. Even less food available
3. Peasants produce minimum to feed selves
4. Kulaks blamed, 100 hanged in public by Lenin' instruction
5. American relief Association, food to 10m people. Oxley says 14m were kept alive
6. Pravda, 1 in 5 starving
  1. 5m died of starvation
7. Grain harvests of 1920/21 produced less than 50% gathered in 1913
8. Tambov Revolt
  1. 70,000 peasant army
  2. Red Army sent in 50,000
  3. Casualties, 240,000 according to Corin
  4. Involving maj of population
4: Marxist features
1. Bukharin: War communism should be kept as permanent economic policy: "socialism in action"
  1. Due to centralisation of industry
  2. Due to ending of private ownership
  3. Due to persecution, or squeezing of the peasants
2. "The more socialism, the less market"

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War Communism aka War Cannibalism

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	Created by Declan Wiseman almost 8 years ago