SEQ Lenin S Economic Policy

Explain the impact of Lenin’s economic policies (8m) Lenin’s economic policies included the War Communism, which was implemented during the civil war in 1918 as well as the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was implemented in 1921. War communism was the name given to the name of the harsh economic measure the Bolsheviks adopted during the civil war. The aims was to put Communism theories into practice by redistributing wealth among the Russian people as well as help with the Civil War by keeping the towns and the Red Army supplied with food and weapons. This policy had both negative and positive impacts.
Firstly, War Communism brought upon 7 million deaths to the Russian people due to grain requisition during the Civil War organized by the Bolsheviks for their army. This led to food shortages which, along with the bad weather in 1920 and 1921, caused a terrible famine. Peasants refused to co-operate in producing more food as the government simply took it away. This resulted in the suffering of the Russian people; the decrease in standard of living, and even caused cannibalism which is morally and ethically wrong. This caused an increase in the unhappiness in the Russian people who were in constant despair. Furthermore, War Communism used terror to control the Russian population, such as killing all strikers and peasants who did not hand over the surplus produce they had. Food was rationed and free enterprise was made illegal, and all production and trade were controlled by the state, which showed that the people did not have freedom. Some peasants even had to hide spare food to prevent it from being taken during grain requisitioning which the Bolsheviks implemented. There was unhappiness about the system as people felt that peace, bread and land had not been delivered. This collectively caused the people to lose their trust in the Bolsheviks and eventually cause a decrease in support for the Bolsheviks. In 1921, the sailors at the Kronstadt