NEP. Reasons for the transition to the new economic policy, its essence. New economic policy

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

Civil War

The civil war complicated the position of the Bolsheviks. The grain monopoly and fixed prices for grain did not suit the peasantry. Trade also did not justify itself. The supply of grain to large cities was significantly reduced. Petrograd and Moscow were on the verge of starvation.

Rice. 1. Petrograd children receive free meals.

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

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

These measures led to the fact that the Civil War broke out in the countryside.

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

Politics of “War Communism”

In the conditions of an irreconcilable struggle against the white movement, the Bolsheviks take a series of emergency measures , called the policy of "war communism":

surplus appropriation of grain according to the class principle;
nationalization of all large and medium-sized enterprises, tight control over small ones;
universal labor service;
prohibition of private trade;
introduction of a rationing system based on the class principle.

Peasant performances

The tightening of the policy led to disappointment among the peasantry. Particular anger was caused by the introduction of food detachments and committees of the poor. The increased incidence of armed clashes has led to mass uprisings:

Policy change

By the autumn of 1920, the main hostilities of the Civil War were over. The first priority was the transition to peaceful rails. The main economic reason for the transition to the NEP was the restoration of industry and agriculture.

The NEP eased the position 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 Yegoryevsk. 1922

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

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

Under the conditions of the Civil War and the military-communist policy, the population lost any material incentives for production. However, it seemed to the leaders of the Bolsheviks that their policy was not emergency and forced, but quite natural. They were building a classless society of the future, free from commodity-money relations, communism. In response, powerful peasant uprisings broke out one after another in different parts of the country (in the Tambov province, the Middle Volga region, on the Don, the Kuban, in Western Siberia). By the spring of 1921, there were already over 200,000 people in the ranks of those who rebelled against the Bolshevik dictatorship. The surplus in 1920 was not carried out, huge efforts were spent on suppressing rebellions and peasant uprisings.

In March 1921, the sailors and Red Army men of Kronstadt, the largest naval base of the Baltic fleet, took up arms against the Bolsheviks. The labor movement rises up against the power of the Bolsheviks, who spoke of the dictatorship of the proletariat. In the cities, a wave of strikes and demonstrations of workers is growing. IN AND. Lenin was forced to characterize the situation of the winter of 1920-spring of 1921 as an economic and political crisis of Soviet power.

The power of the Bolsheviks was under threat. L.D. To overcome the crisis, Trotsky demanded to tighten the measures of "war communism": to separate the peasants from the land, to create gigantic labor armies and use them on the construction sites of communism. Trotsky also proposed strengthening punitive and repressive organs for organized violence against those who would not voluntarily join the labor armies. His opponents from the so-called "workers' opposition" (A.G. Shlyapnikov, A.M. Kollontai and others) proposed, on the contrary, to abandon the leading role of the Bolsheviks and transfer control to the trade unions.

The most soberly dangerous situation for the Bolsheviks was assessed by Lenin. He refuses to attempt an immediate transition to communism through violence. Domestic policy is built in two directions:

In the economic sphere, the Bolsheviks abandoned their previous course. In order to save their power, they are ready to make concessions to the peasants, go to the liberation of economic life from total state control.

In the political sphere, the previous course was toughened. Centralization and the struggle against opposition forces intensified, and the dictatorial character of Bolshevik rule was preserved.

The first "anti-crisis" measure of the Bolsheviks was the replacement of the surplus with a natural tax in kind. It was approved by the X Congress of the RCP (b), held on March 8-16, 1921. The replacement of the surplus tax with food tax and the permission of free trade marked the beginning of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

With the introduction of the tax in kind (it was less than the surplus and was announced in advance, on the eve of sowing), the peasant had surpluses that he could freely dispose of, i.e. trade. Free trade led to the destruction of the state monopoly not only in the distribution of agricultural products, but also in the management of industry in the city. Enterprises are transferred to self-financing, which made it possible to gradually transition to self-sufficiency, self-financing and self-government. Introduced material incentives for workers. Many enterprises were leased to cooperatives, partnerships or individuals. Thus, the decree on the nationalization of all small and handicraft industries was canceled.

Under the new regulation of July 7, 1921, handicraft or industrial production could be opened, but no more than one per owner. It was allowed to hire up to 10 workers in mechanized production (“with a motor”) and up to 20 without mechanization (“without a motor”). More specialists began to be attracted to state-owned factories. The abolition of the law on universal labor service in 1921 made it possible to engage in entrepreneurship. The process of formation of the "Soviet bourgeoisie" (NEPmen) began.

The beginning of the NEP coincided with the famine - a consequence of the former policy of "war communism", which deprived agriculture of any reserves, making it defenseless against any crop failure. The grain-bearing regions of Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Crimea, the Urals and the Volga region in 1921 were engulfed in drought. In 1921-1922 starving about 40 provinces with 90 million people, of which 40 million were on the verge of death.

The government was looking for a way out. A number of commissions to help the starving were created. A campaign began for the Russian church to voluntarily donate its valuables to the fund for saving the starving, and valuables began to come from Russian emigrants. However, persecution soon began on the church. For the purchase of food, church property was confiscated, often cruelly. Works of art were sold abroad. The Soviet government appeals to the world for help. It is proposed and provided by the American Relief Administration (ARA), the international proletariat, and the European states.

One of the most important elements of the NEP was the monetary reform of 1922-1924. (People's Commissar for Finance G.Ya. Sokolnikov). The reform began at the end of 1922 with the release of the Soviet chervonets. From that time until March 1924, a stable gold coin and a falling Soviet sign were in circulation at the same time. In 1924, the State Bank bought the remaining Soviet money from the population. The golden chervonets was valued above the British pound sterling and was equal to 5 dollars 14.5 US cents. The ruble has become an international currency.

Among the most important laws adopted by the Soviet government in the early 1920s is the law on concessions (permission, concession). The Soviet country, under an agreement, transferred natural resources, enterprises or other economic facilities to foreign entrepreneurs for a certain period of time. Through concessions V.I. Lenin saw an opportunity to acquire the necessary machines and locomotives, machine tools and equipment, without which it was impossible to restore the economy.

Concessions were concluded between the government of the RSFSR and the Great Northern Telegraphic Society (1921) for the operation of underwater telegraph lines between Russia, Denmark, Japan, China, Sweden and Finland. In 1922, the first international airline Moscow - Koenigsberg was opened. Special joint-stock enterprises are created - Russian, foreign, mixed. But in the future, concessions and mixed enterprises did not develop due to state intervention, which limited the freedom of entrepreneurs.

The cooperation, which during the years of "war communism" was an appendage of the People's Commissariat for Food, received relative independence. The efficiency of cooperative production was at least twice that of state industry. It was provided with a freer organization of labor. In industry by the mid-1920s. 18% of enterprises were cooperative. 2/3 of the cooperative commodity product fell on the cities. By 1927, 1/3 of all peasant households were covered by agricultural cooperation. It consisted of about 50 different types of associations: credit, sugar beet, potato, butter, etc.

The agrarian policy of the Soviet government supported the economically weak poor and middle peasant farms. At the same time, the growth of large peasant (kulak) farms is restrained with the help of tax policy and regular redistribution of land. The share of large farms did not rise above 5% of the total number in the country. However, they were the producers of commercial products. Farms are closed in production for their own consumption, not sale. Population growth leads to fragmentation of peasant households. There is stagnation and a decline in production. At the same time, prices for agricultural products are artificially lowered by the state, which makes their production unprofitable.

The needs for agricultural products of the urban population and industry are increasing, but they cannot be satisfied. The state that retained control over the "command" heights, i.e. over large industry and banks, constantly sought to dictate its terms in other sectors of the economy. Funds for maintaining large-scale industry were constantly withdrawn from other sectors of the economy, hindering their development. The inflated prices of manufactured goods made them unaffordable for the countryside. This is the most important reason for the crises of the NEP of 1923, 1925, 1928, which, in the end, led to the establishment of a rigid command and administrative system, military-communist in its content.

Literature

NEP. Side view: Collection / comp. V.V. Kudryavtsev. - M. -1991. - S. 42-56.

Russia and the world. Educational book on history. In 2 hours / under total. ed. A.A. Danilova. - M.: VLADOS, 1994. - Part 2. - S. 101-131.

Talapin, A.N. National history. Course of lectures: textbook. manual for students of non-humanitarian faculties of higher professional education / A.N. Talapin, A.A. Tsindic. - Omsk: Publishing House of OmGPU, 2012. - S. 98-99.

The reasons for the transition to the new economic policy, the main directions of the NEP, the economic results of the NEP, Soviet society during the years of the NEP, the economic contradictions of the NEP, the grain procurement crisis.

Reasons for the transition to the NEP. Maindirections of the NEP.

Spring Events 1921 were regarded by the Bolsheviks as a serious political crisis. The Kronstadt rebellion, according to Lenin, was more dangerous for the Bolshevik government than Denikin, Yudenich and Kolchak put together: in it, the spontaneous discontent of the peasants was combined with the military strength of the army. His slogans coincided with the program of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries. Kronstadt showed the real possibility of uniting these three forces. Lenin was the first to understand the danger. He drew two fundamental lessons from the events. To maintain power, firstly, it is necessary to reach an agreement with the peasantry and, secondly, to toughen the fight against everyone who does not agree with the policy of the Bolsheviks. In March 1921, at the 10th Congress of the RCP(b), Lenin announced the transition to a new economic policy (NEP), the first step of which was the abolition of the surplus appraisal, which was hated by the peasants. Instead, it was introduced food tax.

On the replacement of apportionment with a tax in kind

1. The appropriation as a method of state procurement of food, raw materials and fodder is replaced by a tax in kind.

2. This tax must be less than that imposed up to now by way of apportionment of taxation... The tax is levied as a percentage or share deduction from the products produced on the farm, based on the account of the crop, the number of eaters on the farm and the actual presence of livestock in it.

3. ... The percentage of deductions from the farms of the middle peasants and low-powered owners for the farms of urban workers, etc. should be reduced. The farms of the poorest peasants may be exempted from some, and in exceptional cases, from all types of taxes in kind. Diligent peasant owners who increase the sowing areas on their farms, as well as increase the productivity of the economy as a whole, receive benefits for the implementation of the tax in kind ...

4. The amount of products due for delivery by tax is calculated for rural associations (societies). Within the boundaries of a rural association, the tax is distributed among the owners according to their decision ...

5. All stocks of food, raw materials and fodder remaining with the landowners after they have paid the tax are at their complete disposal and can be used by them to improve and strengthen their economy, to increase personal consumption and for exchange for products ... of industry and agricultural production.

Fundamental changes have also taken place in the field of industrial production. The decree on the complete nationalization of industry was repealed. Small and even part of medium-sized enterprises were again transferred to private hands. Some large industrial enterprises were allowed to take in rent private persons. It was also possible to create concessions with the involvement of foreign capital, mixed joint-stock companies and joint ventures.

All these innovations required the abolition of forced labor and the introduction of a labor market. Wages ceased to be egalitarian and now depended on the qualifications of the worker, the quantity and quality of the products he produced. A monetary reform was carried out, the result of which was the introduction in the country of a solid monetary unit backed by gold - the "golden chervonets", which was highly valued in the world currency market.

At the same time, a significant part of industry, all foreign trade remained in the hands of the state. But the state industrial and commercial enterprises (syndicates and trusts) also received significant economic independence, their activities were based on the principles cost accounting and self-sufficiency.

Initially, Lenin and his supporters viewed the NEP as a forced retreat caused by an unfavorable balance of power, as a respite before a decisive assault on the heights of communism. It was then that the expression "economic Brest" was born. But already in the autumn of 1921, Lenin came to understand the NEP as one of the possible ways of transition to socialism. “NEP is serious and for a long time,” he said. He viewed the NEP as a peaceful economic competition between different economic structures, as a result of which the socialist structure would gradually supplant private capitalist forms of economy.

Lenin considered two factors to be an undoubted guarantee of victory: the political power of the proletariat, or rather, its party, and the concentration in the hands of the state of commanding heights in the economy, the most important areas of industrial production, foreign trade and finance.

From the memoirs of N. Valentinov

“Lenin,” Steklov told me, “made an amazing turn of policy in terms of courage and decisiveness. "Learn to trade!" - it seemed to me that I would rather cut my lips, but I would not throw out such a slogan. With the adoption of such a directive, it is necessary to cut off entire chapters of Marxism from us ... And when I. M. Vareikis threw such a remark to Lenin, he shouted: “Please don’t teach me what to take and what to discard from Marxism, eggs don’t teach a chicken!”

Economic results of the NEP.

Small industry, retail trade and the countryside adapted most quickly to the NEP. After the terrible drought of 1921 and the hungry year of 1922, agriculture began to gradually increase its volumes. By 1923, pre-revolutionary sown areas were mostly restored. In 1925, the gross grain harvest exceeded by almost 20.7% the average annual harvest of the most favorable five-year period for Russia in 1909-1913. (although in subsequent years, grain production gradually decreased due to the growth in the production of industrial crops). By 1927, the pre-war level was generally reached in animal husbandry. Heavy industry recovered more slowly. But the introduction of cost accounting, material interest, and profits have borne fruit.

By 1928, the country reached the level of 1913 in terms of basic economic indicators, including national income. Still, industrial goods produced in the country could not satisfy the growing demand. This led to an increase in prices, which, in turn, hampered the growth of the living standards of the population.

The introduction of NEP caused a change in the social structure and way of life of people. The most colorful phenomenon was the new Soviet bourgeoisie - Nepmen, Sovburs. They largely determined the face of the era, but they were, as it were, outside the boundaries of Soviet society: they were deprived of voting rights, they could not be members of a trade union. Entrepreneurs were keenly aware of the precariousness of their position. The share of private industry in the total volume of industrial production was low. Private capital rushed primarily into trade. And if the wholesale trade was controlled mainly by the state, then in the retail trade the private trader dominated undividedly.

During the years of the Civil War, the few Russian bourgeoisie, as well as the landlords, were completely destroyed. The intelligentsia suffered a serious loss. The proletariat, according to Lenin, emerged from the Civil War "weakened and to a certain extent declassed by the destruction of its vital basis - large-scale machine industry." In 1920, according to official data, there were 1.7 million industrial workers in Russia, and cadre workers made up no more than 40%, i.e. about 700 thousand people. But already by 1928 the total number of the working class had increased 5 times. With the restoration of industry, the material situation of the workers improved somewhat. In 1925-1926. the working day at industrial enterprises was 7.4 hours. Wages rose, coming close to the pre-war level. Workers received the right to annual leave (at least two weeks). But the growth of living standards was hampered by high prices and a shortage of essential goods. The housing issue, despite the “densification of the bourgeoisie” carried out in the first revolutionary years, not only was not resolved, but even escalated. Despite the rise of industry, unemployment increased. The egalitarian redistribution of land, as well as the policy of restraining the growth of prosperous households through taxation and state support for the poor, led to the middleization of the countryside.

Many peasant farms grew rich quickly. The villagers began to eat better than before the revolution, to eat more bread and meat. But the peasants were dissatisfied with the lack of many industrial goods and, most importantly, with the political restrictions that existed in the "state of the dictatorship of the proletariat" for the villagers.

At the same time, there was a multimillion-strong mass of "surplus population" in the countryside, barely making ends meet. A huge number of such people in search of a better life rushed to the cities, replenishing the already dense ranks of urban unemployed. Another social result of the NEP was the exorbitant increase in the bureaucratic apparatus. This was caused not only by the active intervention of the state in the sphere of production and distribution, but also by the low qualification of personnel, which forced several people to work in one area of work. In 1917, about 1 million officials worked in the institutions, and in 1927 - 3 million 722 thousand people, of which about 2 million were managers. Many went to work in Soviet institutions for the sake of privileges, primarily food rations.

Economic contradictions of the NEP.

High rates of economic growth were largely due to the effect of restoration: pre-war machines and mechanisms were repaired and put into operation, abandoned arable lands were restored. When in the late 20's. these reserves dried up, huge investments were needed to reconstruct factories and create new industries.

State leaders tried to follow the well-trodden path of attracting foreign investment. But foreign entrepreneurs did not want to risk capital, they were afraid of the unpredictability of the Bolshevik policy. In addition, they had experience in the gratuitous nationalization of foreign property, carried out immediately after the October Revolution. The last hopes that "foreign countries will help us" collapsed in 1929, when a large-scale economic crisis broke out in the West.

Internal opportunities were also small. Private capital could not become the basis for the renewal of the backward Russian economy; it was not allowed into large-scale and even medium-sized industry. There was also no such traditional channel as attracting savings from the population. The majority of the population had no savings at all, and the lack of legal guarantees and a strict taxation system forced people to hide incomes and keep savings in hiding places.

The state sector of income brought little. It was impossible to count on agriculture, which used to be a supplier of export products. The middle peasants produced products primarily for their own consumption and had little connection with the market. Exports of agricultural products have declined, and consequently, imports of much-needed equipment for the country's modernization have declined, not to mention imports of consumer goods. In 1928, the import of equipment was half that in pre-revolutionary Russia. The lack of the necessary industrial products deprived the peasants of incentives to expand production: why strain if there is nothing to buy with the proceeds?

Grain procurement crisis.

In 1927, due to a shortage of manufactured goods to be exchanged for grain, low state prices, and crop failures, the sale of grain and other products to the state was reduced in a number of regions. The situation was aggravated by diplomatic conflicts with European countries. The air smelled of war. Taught by bitter experience, the townspeople rushed to buy essential goods. The plan to export grain abroad was frustrated, the country did not receive enough foreign currency - industrial programs had to be reduced. Prices have skyrocketed. In the autumn of 1927, city shops were a long-forgotten spectacle: butter, cheese, milk disappeared from the shelves, and bread shortages began. Emergency measures were taken to liquidate the crisis. 30,000 party members were sent to the village to beat out bread. In search of hidden grain, the "poor peasants" were again invited, who were given 25% of the confiscated bread for a low fee or on credit.

These measures did not bring the desired results. In 1929 bread cards were introduced. By the end of the year, the ration card system was extended to all food products, and then to industrial products. It became clear that an immediate adjustment of economic policy was required. After the military-communist experiments, Russia returned to the path of a market economy. The national economy of the country began to recover rapidly. However, for a further economic breakthrough, an adjustment of the NEP system was required.

Introduction

Studying the history of the Soviet state, it is impossible not to pay attention to the period from 1920 to 1929.

To find a way out of the current economic crisis, not only the experience of other countries, but also the historical Russian experience can be useful. It should also be noted that the knowledge acquired by experience as a result of the NEP has not lost its significance today.

I made an attempt to analyze the reasons for the introduction of the NEP and solve the following tasks: firstly, to characterize the purpose of this policy; secondly, to trace the implementation of the principles of the New Economic Policy in agriculture, industry, the financial sector and planning. Thirdly, while examining the material at the final stage of the NEP, I will try to find an answer to the question why the policy that had not exhausted itself was replaced.

NEP- this is an anti-crisis program, the essence of which was to recreate a multi-structural economy while maintaining the “commanding heights” in politics, economics, and ideology in the hands of the Bolshevik government.

Reasons and prerequisites for the transition to the NEP

- A deep economic and financial crisis that has engulfed industry and agriculture.
- Mass uprisings in the countryside, speeches in the cities, and the army and at the front.
- The collapse of the idea of "introducing socialism by eliminating market relations"
- The desire of the Bolsheviks to retain power.
- The decline of the revolutionary wave in the West.

Goals:

Political: remove social tension, strengthen social. the base of Soviet power in the form of an alliance of workers and peasants;

Economic: get out of the crisis, restore agriculture, develop industry on the basis of electrification;

Social: without waiting for the world revolution, to ensure favorable conditions for building a socialist society;

Foreign policy: overcome international isolation and restore political and economic relations with other states.

The leading ideologists of the NEP, apart from Lenin, were N.I. Bukharin, G.Ya. Sokolnikov, Yu. Larin.

By the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of March 21, 1921, adopted on the basis of the decisions of the Tenth Congress of the RCP (b), the surplus appropriation was canceled and replaced by a tax in kind, which was about half as much. Such a significant indulgence gave a certain incentive to the development of production, the peasantry, tired of the war.

The introduction of the tax in kind did not become a single measure. The 10th Congress proclaimed the New Economic Policy. Its essence is the assumption of market relations. The NEP was seen as a temporary policy aimed at creating the conditions for socialism.

There was no organized tax and financial system in the country. There was a sharp drop in labor productivity and the real wages of workers (even when taking into account not only the monetary part of it, but also supplies at fixed prices and free distributions).

The peasants were forced to hand over all the surpluses, and most often even part of the most necessary things, to the state without any equivalent, because. there were almost no industrial goods. Products were confiscated by force. Because of this, mass demonstrations of peasants began in the country.

Since August 1920, in the Tambov and Voronezh provinces, the "kulak" rebellion continued, led by the Socialist-Revolutionary A. S. Antonov; a large number of peasant formations operated in Ukraine (Petliurists, Makhnovists, etc.); insurgent centers arose in the Middle Volga region, on the Don and Kuban. The West Siberian "rebels", led by the Social Revolutionaries and former officers, in February-March 1921 created armed formations of several thousand people, captured almost completely the territory

Tyumen province, the cities of Petropavlovsk, Kokchetav and others, interrupting the railway communication between Siberia and the center of the country for three weeks.

The Decree on the Tax in Kind was the beginning of the liquidation of the economic methods of "war communism" and the turning point for the New Economic Policy. The development of the ideas underlying this decree was the basis of the NEP. However, the transition to the NEP was not seen as a restoration of capitalism. It was believed that, having strengthened in the main positions, the Soviet state would be able to expand the socialist sector in the future, ousting the capitalist elements.

An important moment in the transition from direct product exchange to a monetary economy was the decree of August 5, 1921 on the restoration of the mandatory collection of fees for goods sold by state bodies to individuals and organizations, incl. cooperative. For the first time, wholesale prices began to form, which had previously been absent due to the planned supply of enterprises. The Price Committee was in charge of setting wholesale, retail, procurement prices and charges on the prices of monopoly goods.

Thus, until 1921, the economic and political life of the country proceeded in accordance with the policy of "war communism", a policy of complete rejection of private property, market relations, absolute control and management by the state. Management was centralized, local enterprises and institutions did not have any independence. But all these cardinal changes in the country's economy were introduced spontaneously, were not planned and viable. Such a tough policy only exacerbated the devastation in the country. It was a time of fuel, transport and other crises, the fall of industry and agriculture, the lack of bread and the rationing of products. There was chaos in the country, there were constant strikes and demonstrations. In 1918 martial law was introduced in the country. In order to get out of the plight created in the country after the wars and revolutions, it was necessary to make cardinal socio-economic changes.

In 1921-1941. the economy of the RSFSR and the USSR went through two stages in the development:

1921-1929 gg. - NEP period, during which the state temporarily moved away from total administrative-command methods, went to the partial denationalization of the economy and the admission of small and medium-sized private capitalist activities;
1929-1941 gg. - the period of return to the full nationalization of the economy, collectivization and industrialization, transition to a planned economy.

A significant change in the economic policy of the country in 1921 was caused by:

ü The policy of “war communism”, which justified itself in the midst of the civil war (1918 - 1920) , became ineffective during the transition of the country to civilian life;

ü The "military" economy did not provide the state with everything necessary, forced unpaid labor was inefficient;

ü Agriculture was in an extremely neglected state; there was an economic and spiritual break between the city and the countryside, between the peasants and the Bolsheviks;

ü Anti-Bolshevik uprisings of workers and peasants began across the country (the largest: “Antonovshchina” - a peasant war against the Bolsheviks in the Tambuv province led by Antonov: the Kronstadt rebellion);

ü The slogans “For Soviets without Communists!”, “All power to the Soviets, not to the parties!”, “Down with the dictatorship of the proletariat!” became popular in society!

With the further preservation of "war communism", labor service, non-monetary exchange and distribution of benefits by the state the Bolsheviks risked finally losing the confidence of the majority of the masses - workers, peasants and soldiers who supported them during the civil war.

At the end of 1920 - beginning of 1921. there is a significant change in the economic policy of the Bolsheviks:

b At the end December 1920 the GOELRO plan is adopted at the VIII Congress of Soviets;

b B March 1921 at the Tenth Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, a decision is made to end the policy of "war communism" and start a new economic policy (NEP);

b Both decisions, especially about NEP, are made by the Bolsheviks after fierce discussions, with the active influence of V.I. Lenin.

GOELRO plan- The state plan for the electrification of Russia assumed within 10 years to carry out work on the electrification of the country. This plan provided for the construction of power plants, power lines throughout the country; distribution of electrical engineering, both in production and in everyday life.

According to V.I. Lenin, electrification was to be the first step in overcoming the economic backwardness of Russia. The importance of this task was emphasized by V.I. Lenin with the phrase: Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country.. After the adoption of the GOELRO party, electrification became one of the main directions of the economic policy of the Soviet government. Back to top 1930s in the USSR as a whole, a system of electrical networks was created, the use of electricity was widespread in industry and in everyday life, in 1932s on the Dnieper was launched the first large power plant - Dneproges. Subsequently, the construction of hydroelectric power plants began throughout the country.

Nep's first steps

1. Replacing the surplus in the countryside with a tax in kind;

Prodrazverstka It is a system of procurement of agricultural products. It consisted in the obligatory delivery by the peasants to the state at fixed prices of all surpluses (in excess of the established norms for personal and household needs) of bread and other products. It was carried out by food detachments, commanders, local Soviets. Plan assignments were deployed by counties, volosts, villages, and peasant households. This angered the peasants.

2. Cancellation of labor service - labor ceased to be mandatory (like military service) and became free;

labor service - voluntary opportunity or legal obligation to perform socially useful work (usually low paid or not paid at all)

3. Gradual rejection of the distribution and introduction of monetary circulation;
4. Partial denationalization of the economy.

When the NEP was carried out by the Bolsheviks exclusively command-administrative methods began to be replaced by:

b State-capitalist methods in big industry

b Partially capitalist methods in small and medium production, service sector.

At the beginning 1920s created throughout the country trusts, which united many enterprises, sometimes industries and managed them. The trusts tried to work as capitalist enterprises (they independently organized production and marketing of products based on economic interests; they were self-financing), but at the same time they were owned by the Soviet state, and not by individual capitalists. Because of this, this stage NEP was named state capitalism(as opposed to "war communism", its control-distribution and private capitalism in the USA and other countries)

Trusts - this is one of the forms of monopolistic associations, in which the participants lose their industrial, commercial, and sometimes even legal independence.

The largest trusts Soviet state capitalism were:

b "Donugol"

b "Chemical Coal"

b Yugostal

b "State trust of machine-building plants"

b Severles

b "Sakharotrest"

In small and medium-sized production, in the sphere of service, the state decided to allow private capitalist methods.

The most common areas of application of private capital:

- Agriculture
- petty trade
- Handicraft
- Service sector

Private shops, shops, restaurants, workshops, and private households in the countryside are being set up across the country.

“... By the decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars, the apportionment is canceled, and instead a tax on agricultural products is introduced. This tax should be less than the grain allocation. It should be appointed even before the spring sowing, so that each peasant can take into account in advance what share of the crop he must give to the state and how much will remain at his full disposal. The tax should be levied without mutual responsibility, that is, it should fall on an individual householder, so that a diligent and industrious owner does not have to pay for a sloppy fellow villager. When the tax is paid, the remaining surplus of the peasant is placed at his full disposal. He has the right to exchange them for food and implements, which the state will deliver to the countryside from abroad and from its own factories and factories; he can use them to exchange for the products he needs through cooperatives and in local markets and bazaars ... "

The tax in kind was initially set at about 20% of the net product of peasant labor (that is, to pay it, it was necessary to hand over almost half as much bread as with food appropriation), and subsequently it was planned to be reduced to 10% of the crop and converted into cash.

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

The most common form of small private farming was cooperation - association of several persons for the purpose of carrying out economic or other activities. In Russia, production, consumer, trade, and other types of cooperatives are being created.

NEP: goals, objectives and main contradictions. Results of the NEP

Reasons for the transition to the NEP. During the years of civil war, the policy of “military communism." While the civil war, the peasants put up with the policy of the surplus appraisal, but when the war began to come to an end, the peasants began to express dissatisfaction with the surplus appraisal. It was necessary to immediately abolish the policy of "war communism".

In March 1921, at the 10th Congress of the Bolshevik Party (RKP (b)) the transition to the NEP was proclaimed. NEP - new economy. politics - transitional period from capitalism to socialism

The essence of the NEP:

1. Replacing the surplus with a tax in kind. In a short time, the famine was ended, and agriculture began to rise. In 1922, according to the new land code, land was allowed to be leased for a long-term lease (up to 12 years).

2. Introduction to the TAR . Transfer of economy to market rails. From 1922-1924 a monetary reform was carried out in the country, and a chervonets, a hard currency, was put into circulation. The all-Russian domestic market was restored. Large fairs have been re-established.

3. Wage has become monetary in terms of quantity and quality.

4. Canceled labor service.

5. Enterprises of small and medium industry were leased to a private owner. A private sector emerged in industry and trade.

6. Allowed to create cooperatives.

7. Commanding heights in the country's economy were in the hands.

8. Few businesses have been leased to foreign firms in the form of concessions.

9. From 1922-1925 a number of banks were created. Inflation was stopped; stabilized the financial system; improved financial situation of the population.

10. As a result of the assumption of capitalist enterprises and private trade, a new figure appeared in the social structure of the country - Nepmen.

Results of the NEP.

In just 5 years, from 1921-1926. the level of industrial production reached the level of 1913. Agriculture exceeded the level of 1913 by 18%.

In industry, state trusts occupied key positions, in the credit and financial sphere - state and cooperative banks, in agriculture - peasant farms covered by the simplest types of cooperation.

The following were adopted: a code of labor laws, land and civil codes, a judicial reform was prepared. Revolutionary tribunals were abolished, the activities of the prosecutor's office and the bar resumed.

Crises of the NEP:

Autumn 1923- Crisis in the sale of industrial goods, "commodity hunger".

Autumn 1924, autumn 1925- Crisis of shortage of manufactured goods.

Winter 1927/1928- Crisis of grain procurements. The Soviet government actually eliminated the free sale of bread.

Against the backdrop of economic difficulties, the NEP was gradually curtailed. Chervonets stopped converting. By the end of the 1920s, commodity exchanges and wholesale fairs were closed, and commercial credit was liquidated. Many private enterprises were nationalized. Cooperatives closed. Peasants were forcibly driven into collective farms. Having abandoned the NEP, they wanted to minimize. time to build socialism.