He War communism In Russia was a political and economic system that existed during the Civil War of the czarist country, between 1918 and 1921.
This was a means used by the Bolshevik army to have the means to survive during the war and defeat both the tsarist faction and the counterrevolutionaries. War communism had policies that were reluctant to accumulate capital and thus to capitalism.
Introduction to War Communism
The evolution of war communism barely lasted more than a decade, but it was time enough to put into practice the philosophical theories exposed by Karl Marx in the XIX century.
The ideals of socialism thus took to their final consequences in the middle of a set of struggles in which not only the political control of the new Russia was disputed, but also the sovereignty of the nation and its economic stability.
In its entirety, the financial policies of war communism were isolationist and rigged into something that critics of the time criticized as"state capitalism."
In addition, its disastrous results gave rise to the implementation of reforms that gave credence to the claim that the revolution had been betrayed, since it had operated against the interests of the people, which was composed of the peasant class and the class Worker
Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution
One of the most difficult periods in Russian history was the end of Tsarism, but not so much because of the extinction of the old regime as in how the new regime was imposed.
By the end of the 1920s, Russia was undergoing a serious crisis in all its aspects since the empire had not been able to handle the terrible situation of the country that experienced after the First World War (1914-1918).
Before this atmosphere of political frictions, the Russian Empire fell and therefore triumphed the Russian Revolution in 1917. But this victory meant little to calm the heated tempers, reason why a civil war broke out that finished in 1923.
At that time, the Soviet state was born in the face of a strong resistance to which it had to strike with a political and economic plan that would give it the advantage and, consequently, help it to eliminate its enemies.
The Economy of Russian Communism
The economic situation of Russia after the Revolution of 1917 was delicate. Czarism had ceased to exist, but not the problems inherent in the uprisings that the Kremlin took. It was therefore urgent that we seek a way of reactivating production, paying special attention to the demands of two excluded social classes: the peasantry and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie had to be suppressed, as well as the mechanisms with which it obtained its wealth.
The communist economy, or at least that was the case with the Leninist interpretation of classical Marxism, had to be erected through institutional changes that would lead to political, financial and social changes.
In these transformations of revolutionary Russia, private property was no longer to be tolerated, let alone in rural areas, where large estate .
In the urban sector, it is also necessary to end the exploitation of workers, especially in industries.
Policies implemented
Based on this context of struggles faced by the Russian Revolution, war communism appeared as a way to deal with the difficult situation it had during the war.
This was costing many human lives and was also accompanied by material damage with its subsequent erosion of the national budget.
In this way, the Soviet state established that the policies that should be applied in the nation should be the following:
1- Union between the State and the Bolshevik Party
The State and the Party had to form a single political entity that did not admit factions or division of thought. The different Mensheviks and Communists were automatically excluded from the movement.
2- Suppression of the autonomous socialist republics
These were dissolved to join the Soviet Union with a capital, which is Moscow, in which the authority resided. It should be noted that the USSR was centralist and did not admit the local autonomy.
3- Centralized economy, planned and nationalized
The finances were run by the Kremlin, which controlled economic activities. Therefore, the economy was in the hands of the State and not of the companies. Private property was abolished and collective farms were set up, in which crops were requisitioned to feed the army.
4- Work reforms
Self-management was promoted without employers. Protests for working conditions were also banned, which was compulsory and carried out under strict police surveillance, which imposed a strict discipline.
5 - Military Reforms
There was, at first, a militarization in both society and public office, declaring Martial law . Purges were carried out to eliminate potential enemies or their sympathizers, which became more cruel during the era of Stalinism.
goals
Much has been debated about what was to be achieved with war communism. The authors and scholars in the subject converge in that the main motor of this system was the warlike conflict that came with the Russian Revolution, which had to triumph at any place.
It was necessary to gain the support of the people, who had to be integrated into political and economic management through the state programs in which the proletariat was included.
In addition, it is clear that the policies put in place by the Soviet State served as a foundation for a further step towards the struggle for socialism, which according to the Bolsheviks was in a stage of transition between the tsar's capitalism and communism To which they had so much aspired.
War, therefore, was but a necessary circumstance by which the Russians had to pass, in order that a communism could be formed that would break through the counterrevolutionary forces.
Results obtained
Military and political results
The military victory over the counterrevolutionaries was the only objective that was successfully achieved on the agenda of war communism.
In addition, during the postwar period the Red Army was able to dismantle the foci of resistance and to keep Russian borders safe from potential posthumous territorial claims to the Bolshevik Revolution. Of course, the level of internal order that was obtained within the country should be included.
However, the laurels achieved by the revolutionaries were not gratuitous, leaving large amounts of human and material losses that were difficult to repair.
What compensated for the Bolsheviks was the rise of a new political system that came to power.
Lenin's era came to an end and gave open field for other leaders who strengthened communism. Or they radicalized, as in the case of Stalin.
Social Results
Paradoxically, the victory of the Russian Revolution in the Civil War meant a drastic demographic reduction.
This was due not only to combat casualties, but to the numbers of citizens who moved from the cities to the countryside because of the precarious economic conditions of the postwar period.
The urban population, therefore, declined considerably and in favor of a rural population that was increasing rapidly but could not find the means to obtain supplies on collective farms.
What raised the temperature to these confrontations was that there were several internal rebellions within the same communist sine.
The Bolshevik Party realized that dissent was growing, which could only be silenced by military force. The civil uprisings demanded better conditions in the economy that allowed them to subsist, since this generated a social inequality in which the uniformed conformed a kind of privileged caste.
Economic results
They are the most disastrous that has left the politics of war communism. The inflexibility of the Soviet state awakened a parallel market that served to alleviate the cuts implemented by the Kremlin bureaucracy, which was full of restrictions.
As a result, illicit trade, smuggling and corruption increased. It was not until 1921 that these rigid rules were relaxed with the New Economic Policy, in which an attempt was made to remedy the situation.
The self-management of State enterprises, carried out by the peasantry and the proletariat, caused them to end in bankruptcy or to produce less than when they were in private hands.
Production was drastically reduced, with an industrial capacity that by 1921 was only 20 per cent and with wages that were mostly not paid with money but with goods.
To make matters worse, the collapse of the Soviet economy was greater when war communism experienced starvation in which millions died.
The demands and rationing of the State on collective farms gave more food to the army than to the civilian population, which went hungry.
On more than one occasion this was cause for internal uprisings in Russia, where centralist policies were rejected and more just measures were demanded for the people.
References
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- Davies, R.W.; Harrison, Mark and Wheatcroft, S.G. (1993). The Economic Transformation of the Soviet Union, 1913-1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Kenez, Peter (2006). A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End, 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Nine, Alec (1992). An Economic History of the USSR, 1917-1991, 3rd edition. London: Penguin Books.
- Richman, Sheldon L. (1981). "War Communism to NEP: The Road From Serfdom". Journal of Libertarian Studies, 5 (1), pp. 89-97.
- Robertson, David (2004). The Routledge Dictionary of Politics, 3rd edition. London: Routledge.
- Rutherford, Donald (2002). Routledge Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
- Sabino, Carlos (1991). Dictionary of economics and finance. Caracas: Editorial Panapo.