Industrial and Agricultural Change: Towards a Command Economy, 1917–28 (Edexcel A-Level History): Revision Notes
War Communism
Introduction
War Communism was a set of emergency economic policies introduced by Lenin during the Russian Civil War (1918-1921). While its primary purpose was to ensure communist victory in the war, it also reflected key elements of communist ideology. Some radical communists, including Bukharin, believed War Communism represented a genuine step towards creating a truly communist economic system.
War Communism served a dual purpose: it was both a practical wartime necessity and an ideological experiment. This tension between pragmatism and ideology would shape its implementation and eventual abandonment.
War Communism was designed to achieve three main objectives:
- Maintain high levels of industrial production, particularly of war materials
- Ensure the efficient allocation and deployment of workers
- Guarantee food production to feed soldiers, workers and the civilian population
Key measures of War Communism
'Food dictatorship'
Lenin introduced a series of harsh measures to control food distribution and ensure supplies reached soldiers and workers. This became known as the food dictatorship.
Grain requisitioning was the most significant element. The Cheka (secret police) were authorised to seize grain and other foodstuffs directly from peasants without providing any payment. Armed squads would descend on villages and take whatever food they could find.
The Supply Commissariat then implemented a rationing system to distribute the seized food. This system was deliberately unequal:
- Workers and soldiers received the largest rations
- Members of the bourgeoisie (middle class) received the smallest rations
This policy reflected both practical wartime needs and ideological priorities, rewarding those the communists considered essential whilst punishing their class enemies. The unequal rationing system was not just about efficiency – it was a deliberate tool of class warfare.
Labour discipline
War Communism imposed strict controls over workers to maximise production:
- In 1918, the working day was extended to eleven hours
- In 1919, work became compulsory for all able-bodied people aged between 16 and 50
- Harsh punishments were introduced for workers who arrived late or were caught not working hard enough
These measures reflected Lenin's vision of a disciplined, efficient workforce, though they bore little resemblance to the freedom workers had been promised by the revolution. The gap between revolutionary promises and reality was widening dramatically.
The abolition of the market
The chaos of the Civil War led to the breakdown of normal market mechanisms. The communists introduced several radical measures attempting to abolish the market economy entirely:
The abolition of money: The government simply printed more money to meet its needs, which caused hyperinflation (rapid devaluation of currency). Money became practically worthless. Workers were paid through their rations rather than wages, and many public services such as tram transport were provided free of charge.
The abolition of trade: Private trade was declared illegal. All buying and selling outside state control became a criminal offence.
Complete nationalisation: All businesses, regardless of size, were taken over by the state. This went far beyond the earlier policy of nationalising only large industries.
Conscription: Workers were assigned to specific jobs by the state. They had no choice about whether to work in factories or fight in the Red Army.
Lenin argued these measures were not merely wartime expedients but represented progress towards a truly socialist economy where production and distribution would be centrally planned rather than determined by market forces. Bukharin similarly celebrated the abolition of the capitalist market as a major revolutionary achievement, claiming these policies had destroyed the power of the capitalist class.
Consequences of War Communism
War Communism succeeded in its primary military objective – it kept the Red Army supplied throughout the Civil War, enabling communist victory. However, the policy had devastating economic, social and political consequences.
Economic collapse
War Communism triggered a catastrophic decline in both agricultural and industrial production.
Agricultural production collapsed because grain requisitioning provided peasants with absolutely no incentive to grow food. If their grain would simply be seized without payment, there was no point producing more than the bare minimum needed for survival. As a result, agricultural output declined sharply.
Industrial production declined dramatically. Again, there were few incentives for workers to work hard when they were not properly rewarded for their efforts. Additionally, hunger drove many workers to abandon the cities and seek work on farms where they had a better chance of finding food.
The industrial workforce shrank from 3 million workers in 1917 to just 1.2 million in 1922. This was partly due to war casualties but largely because workers were fleeing the cities to escape starvation.
The Scale of Economic Disaster: Production Figures 1913-1920
The collapse of the Russian economy under War Communism is clear from these statistics:
- Gross industrial output fell to just 31% of 1913 levels by 1920
- Large-scale industry collapsed to only 21% of pre-war production
- Agricultural production fell to 60% of 1913 levels
These figures demonstrate that War Communism had effectively destroyed Russia's productive capacity in just a few years.
Growth of the black market
Despite Lenin's extensive economic controls, the attempt to abolish the market completely failed. The black market flourished as people sought ways to survive.
Historians estimate that only 40% of food consumed in Russia's cities during the Civil War came through the official rationing system. Approximately 60% came from the black market – illegal trading that the government could not control.
Worked Example: Survival Through the Black Market
Workers were forced to steal government resources to make goods they could barter for food. For example, metal workers would steal scrap metal and fuel to manufacture cigarette lighters, which they could then trade for food on the black market.
This demonstrates how the formal economy had broken down so completely that even industrial workers had to resort to petty theft and illegal trading to survive.
Mass poverty
By 1921, the Russian economy was on the verge of complete collapse. Shortages affected all types of commodities.
By late 1920, workshops in major cities were closing because of fuel shortages. The situation became so desperate that the government ordered wooden buildings in Petrograd to be destroyed so their timber could be burned as fuel.
Unemployment rose whilst harvests continued to decline. The 1921 harvest reached only 46% of the 1913 harvest level. In rural areas, this triggered a catastrophic famine that killed approximately 6 million people.
This death toll exceeded all Russian military casualties during the entire Civil War, demonstrating the devastating human cost of War Communism's economic policies.
Political crisis
The combination of mass starvation and deepening economic crisis provoked a serious political challenge to communist rule.
Between August 1920 and June 1921, peasants in the Tambov region rebelled against the Communist Government. This was significant because peasants made up roughly 80% of Russia's population.
Even more alarming for the communists was the Kronstadt mutiny of March 1921. Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base had been among the most loyal supporters of the Bolsheviks in 1917. However, by 1921 they had turned against the government. They demanded a return to free trade and new multiparty elections to the soviets (workers' councils).
The Kronstadt mutiny was particularly threatening because it came from the revolution's most devoted supporters. When even the Kronstadt sailors turned against the government, it was clear that War Communism had created a political crisis that threatened the survival of the Communist Government itself.
The communists responded to both rebellions with extreme military force, crushing them brutally. However, Lenin recognised that these uprisings demonstrated that War Communism had created a political crisis that could not be ignored.
Conclusion
War Communism achieved military victory but created economic ruin. From a military perspective, it was successful – the Red Army remained supplied throughout the Civil War and the communists defeated their enemies.
It was also considered an ideological victory by many communists. The abolition of money and the capitalist market led Lenin and others to believe War Communism provided the foundation for building the new socialist society. Bukharin even welcomed the economic crisis, arguing that capitalism needed to be completely destroyed before socialism could be constructed.
Senior communists therefore did not initially view the economic disaster as a reason to abandon the policy. However, the political crisis proved impossible to ignore. Further rebellions risked destroying the Communist Government entirely. To save the revolution, Lenin was forced to accept an economic compromise and abandon War Communism in favour of the New Economic Policy in 1921.
Key Points to Remember:
- War Communism was introduced as emergency wartime measures but also reflected communist ideology and was seen by some as a step towards true communism
- Key measures included grain requisitioning (seizing food without payment), strict labour discipline (11-hour days, compulsory work), and attempts to abolish the market (ending money and private trade)
- War Communism achieved its military goal of supplying the Red Army and winning the Civil War
- However, it caused economic catastrophe: industrial output fell to 31% of pre-war levels, agricultural production collapsed, and the industrial workforce shrank from 3 million to 1.2 million
- The 1921 famine killed approximately 6 million people, and the black market flourished despite attempts to abolish trade
- Political crisis emerged with the Tambov rebellion and Kronstadt mutiny (March 1921), forcing Lenin to abandon War Communism and introduce the New Economic Policy