The NEP, abbreviation for the ‘New Economic Policy’, was a number of policies deployed by Vladimir Lenin to improve the conditions of post war USSR. The NEP replaced the system of War Communism which was used between 1918 and 1921. The main motive for the War Communism policy was to support and supply the Red Army with food and weapons during the Russian Civil War. However, after the war the country was in turmoil and the majority of the Soviet Union’s population suffered hardship and poverty. This was when a quick solution was needed to revamp the Russian economy and the NEP policies were the solution. The NEP was made to balance the needs of the well of and the poor. The NEP allowed small business to prosper and make money which seemed popular to the peasants. It had also created more stability within the country in the economical sector but all these successes did not last.
The NEP, having links and similarities between Capitalist and Communist ideas, were opposed by the Communists between the Bolsheviks themselves. This was because they believed the NEP wasn’t totally Communist policy which aggravated some members of the Communist party. They were also worried that a conflict of interest would cause splits between the parties would only be inflicting damage to themselves. Many Bolsheviks resigned mainly because the NEP was a massive withdrawal from the previous policy which was based on pure Communist ideology. The NEP gave the peasants more freedom by allowing them to gain their own profits through their private ownership.
Another reason for the unpopularity of the NEP was the part it played in the agricultural sector of USSR. Agriculture was needed to boost the economy of the country and is one of the most important sources of income. The NEP rule does not allow agriculture being played to its potential. It does not provide sufficient support to transform USSR into an industrial