The period from 1917 to 1921 is a really hard time for Russia. The revolution and civil war hit hard on economic well-being. After the end of the disturbing events, the country needed to be reformed, since military innovations were helpless in peacetime.
Historical background of the proclamation
NEP, or New Economic Policy, was the need of the times. The crisis "war communism", adopted during the civil war, was unacceptable for the development of the country in a peaceful period. Prodrazverstka was an unbearable burden for ordinary people, and the nationalization of enterprises and the complete centralization of management did not allow development. The introduction of the NEP is a response to the general dissatisfaction with "war communism".
The situation in the country before the introduction of the NEP
By the end of the civil war, the country was destroyed in every way. The former Russian Empire lost Poland, Latvia, Estonia, part of Ukraine and Belarus, Finland. Mineral development areas suffered - Donbass, oil regions, Siberia. Industrial production declined, and signs of a serious crisis were outlined in agriculture. In addition, outraged by the surplusthe peasants refused to hand over their bread, the situation escalated. The uprisings swept the Don, Ukraine, Kuban, Siberia. The wave of discontent passed to the army. In 1920, the question of the abolition of the surplus appraisal was raised. These were the first attempts to introduce the NEP. Reasons: the crisis state of the economy, the destroyed industrial and agricultural sectors, the hardships of the surplus appropriation that fell on the shoulders of ordinary people, foreign policy failures, currency instability.
Declaring a new path in the economy
Transformations were started in 1921, when the X Congress of the RCP (b) adopted a resolution on the transition to a tax in kind. Initially, the NEP was planned as a temporary measure. The reforms dragged on for several years. The essence of the NEP is to carry out changes in industry, agriculture, and the financial sector, which will make it possible to remove social tensions. The tasks set by the authors of the project of economic reforms concerned the political, economic, social and foreign policy spheres.
It is believed that free trade was the first innovation, but it is not. Initially, it was considered dangerous for the authorities. The Bolsheviks did not immediately come to the idea of entrepreneurship. The NEP period is a time of innovation, which was an attempt to combine socialist power with elements of a market economy.
Industrial reforms
The first innovation was the creation of trusts. They were associations of homogeneous enterprises that had a certain freedom of activity, financial independence. The introduction of the NEP is the beginning of a complete reform of industry. Newassociations - trusts - could decide for themselves what to produce, from what and to whom to sell it. The scope of activity was wide: both the purchase of resources and production by state order. Trusts created reserve capital, which was supposed to cover losses.
NEP is a policy that provided for the formation of syndicates. These associations consisted of several trusts. The syndicates were engaged in foreign trade, providing loans, marketing finished products, and supplying raw materials. Until the end of the NEP period, most of the trusts were in such associations.
Fairs and commodity exchanges were used to organize wholesale trade. A full-fledged market began to function, where raw materials and finished products were purchased. A kind of progenitor of market relations in the USSR was the NEP, the causes of which lay in the disorganization of the economy.
One of the main achievements of the period was the return of cash wages. NEP is the time of the abolition of labor service, the unemployment rate has decreased. During the period of the new economic policy, the private sector in industry actively developed. The process of denationalization of some enterprises is typical. Individuals have received the right to open industrial factories and plants.
Concession has become popular - a form of lease when the tenants are foreign individuals or legal entities. The share of foreign investment was especially high in metallurgy and textile industry.
Innovations in agriculture
NEP is a policy that has affected all sectors of the economy, includingincluding the agricultural sector. The overall assessment of the consequences of innovations is positive. In 1922, the Land Code was approved. The new law banned private ownership of land, only leasehold use was allowed.
The NEP policy in agriculture has affected the social and property structure of the villagers. It was unprofitable for we althy peasants to develop their economy, besides, they paid an increased tax. The poor were able to improve their financial situation. Thus, the poor and the rich became less - the "middle peasants" appeared.
Many peasants have increased plots of land, increased motivation to work. In addition, the burden of taxes lay on the inhabitants of the village. And the state's spending was huge - for the army, for industry, for the restoration of the economy after the civil war. Taxes from we althy peasants did not help raise the level of development, so new ways of filling the treasury had to be used. So, the practice of buying grain from peasants at low prices appeared - this led to a crisis and the emergence of the concept of "price scissors". The climax of the economic depression is 1923. In 1924-25, the crisis repeated itself again - its essence was a significant drop in the indicators of the amount of harvested grain.
NEP is a time of change in agriculture. Not all of them led to positive results, but features of a market economy appeared. By the end of the NEP period, the crisis only increased.
Financial
Changes in the monetaryappeals. The main task of the NEP is to stabilize the financial sector and normalize foreign exchange relations with other countries.
The first step of the reformers was the denomination of the currency. The currency was backed by gold reserves. The resulting issue was used to cover the budget deficit. It was mainly the peasants and the proletariat who suffered from the financial changes in the state. There was a widespread practice of government borrowing, increasing the tax on luxury and lowering the basic necessities.
At the beginning of the NEP, reforms in the financial sector were successful. This made it possible to carry out the second stage of transformations in 1924. It was decided to introduce a hard currency. Treasury notes were in circulation, and chervonets were used for international payments. Credit became popular, thanks to which most of the purchase and sale transactions took place. On the territory of the USSR, several large banking structures were opened that worked with industrial enterprises. Community banks provided financial support at the local level. Gradually, the financial system expanded. Banks appeared that worked with agricultural institutions, foreign economic structures.
Political development of the country during the NEP
Economic reforms were accompanied by political struggle within the state. Authoritarian tendencies were growing in the country. The period of Vladimir Lenin's rule can be called a "collective dictatorship". Power was concentrated in the hands of Lenin and Trotsky, but from the end of 1922 the situation changed. Trotsky's opponentscreated a personality cult of Lenin, and Leninism became a direction of philosophical thought.
The struggle in the Communist Party itself intensified. There was no homogeneity within the organization. An opposition formed that advocated giving full power to the workers' trade unions. Related to this was the appearance of a resolution that proclaimed the unity of the party and the obligation to comply with the decisions of the majority by all its members. Almost everywhere, party positions were occupied by the same persons as employees of state structures. Belonging to the ruling circles became a prestigious goal. The party was constantly expanding, so over time they began to carry out "purges" aimed against the "deceitful" communists.
The period after Lenin's death was a crisis. The conflict between old and young party members intensified. The organization gradually stratified - more and more privileges were received by the top, which received the name "nomenklatura".
So, even in the last years of Lenin's life, his "heirs" began to share power. They tried to push the leaders of the old model away from management. Trotsky in the first place. He was fought in various ways, but most often they were simply accused of various “sins”. Among them are deviationism, Menshevism.
Completion of reforms
The positive features of the NEP, which manifested themselves at the initial stage of transformation, were gradually erased due to unsuccessful and uncoordinated actions of the party leadership. The main problem is the conflict between the authoritarian communist system and attempts to introduce a market economy model. These weretwo poles that did not feed, but destroyed each other.
The New Economic Policy - the NEP - has been gradually fading since 1924-1925. Market features were supplanted by a centralized control system. In the end, planning and state leadership took over.
In fact, the NEP ended in 1928, when the first five-year plan and the course towards collectivization were proclaimed. Since then, the New Economic Policy has ceased to exist. Officially, the NEP was curtailed only after 3 years - in 1931. Then there was a ban on private trade.
Results
NEP is a policy that has helped rebuild a shattered economy. The problem was the lack of qualified specialists - this lack did not allow to build an effective government of the country.
Industry achieved high levels, but problems remained in the agricultural sector. She was given insufficient attention and finances. The system was ill-conceived, so there was a strong imbalance in the economy. A positive feature is the stabilization of the currency.
