Composite elements of military communism policies. e) Total centralization of the country's national economy management. Why was the same way

Military communism is a peculiar policy that was held from 1918 to 1921 by the young Soviet state. It still causes a lot of disputes in the historians. In particular, few can definitely say how justified (and whether it was). Some elements of policies are considered a reaction to the threat of "white motion", others, presumably, caused civil war. At the same time, the reasons for the introduction of military communism are reduced to several factors:

  1. The arrival of the Bolsheviks, who perceived Engels and Marx's teachings literally as a program action. Many led by Bukharin demanded that all communist events be immediately implemented in the economy. How really it is really and is fulfilled, as far as the reality is true, they did not want to think. Also, as well as the fact that Marx and Engels were more theoretics who had interpreted the practice in favor of their worldviews. In addition, they wrote with the orientation on industrialized countries where there were completely different institutions. Russia of their theory did not take into account.
  2. Absence real experience on managing a huge country among those who came to power. Which showed not only the policy of military communism, but also its results, in particular, a sharp decline in production, a decrease in sowing, loss of peasant interest in agriculture. The state surprisingly quickly came to an incredible decline, it turned out to be undermined.
  3. Civil War. Immediately the introduction of a number of measures was associated with the need to protect the revolution at any cost. Even if it meant hunger.

It is worth noting that Soviet historians, trying to justify that the policy of military communism assumed, told about the deplorable state of the country in which the state was after the First World War and the Board of Nicholas II. However, there is obvious coupling.

The fact is that 1916 was at the front fairly favorable for Russia. He was also marked by an excellent harvest. In addition, if we speak frankly, the communism Military was not guided primarily on the salvation of the state. In many ways, it was a way to strengthen its power in both the internal and foreign policy. That for many dictatorial regimes is very characteristic, the characteristics of the future of Stalin's Board have been laid there.

The maximum centralization of the economy management system, which was superior to even autocracy, the introduction of the priority, rapid hyperinflation, the nationalization of almost all resources and enterprises is far from all the features. There was a mandatory work, which was largely militarized. Fully private trade is prohibited. In addition, the state tried to abandon commodity and money relations, which almost led the country to a complete disaster. However, a number of researchers believe that they still led.

It is worth noting that the main provisions of military communism were based on the equalization. An individual approach is not only a specific enterprise, but even to the industries was destroyed. Therefore, a noticeable decrease in productivity is quite natural. During the years of civil war, this could turn into a catastrophe for a new government, if at least a couple of years would last. So historians believe that folding was timely.

Promverter

Military communism is an extremely controversial phenomenon in itself. However, little caused as many conflicts as the privacy. Its characteristic is quite simple: Soviet authorities, experiencing a constant need for food, decided to organize something like a natural tax. The main objectives were the content of the army opposed by the "white".

After they introduced the privacy, the attitudes of the peasants to the new government deteriorated. The main negative result was that many agrarians began to frankly regret the monarchy, the politician did not arrange them so much. That later served as an impetus to the perception of the peasantry, especially the wealthy, as a potentially dangerous for the communist form of the board of the element. It can be said that as a result of the product, there was an extinguishing. However, the last in itself is too complex historical phenomenon, so it is definitely to argue something problematic here.

In the context of the disclosed issue of a separate mention deserve groups of prospectors. These people who told a lot about capitalist exploitation, they themselves treated the peasants no better. And the study of such a topic as the policy of military communism briefly even shows: they often close no surplus, and the main, the peasants remained completely without food. In fact, under the slogan of externally beautiful communist ideas, robbery took place.

What are the main activities of military communism policies?

A large place in what is happening by nationalization. Moreover, it concerned not only large or medium-sized enterprises, but even small, relating to certain sectors and (or) located in specific regions. In this case, the policies of military communism characterizes the surprisingly low competence of those who tried to manage, weak discipline, inability to organize complex processes. A political chaos in the country only strengthened the problems in the economy. A regular outcome was a sharp decrease in productivity: some factories have reached the level of Petrov's enterprises. Such results of the policies of military communism could not but discourage the leadership of the country.

What else characterized what is happening?

The purpose of the policy of military communism, ultimately, was understood as an achievement of order. However, very soon, many contemporaries understood that the established regime is characterized differently: it resembled the dictatorship. Many democratic institutions that appeared in Russian Empire In the last years of its existence, or only those who started to emerge, were strangled on the root. By the way, a competently thoughtful presentation can show quite colorfully, because there was not a single sphere that military communism would not have affected one way or another. He sought to control everything.

At the same time, the rights and freedoms of individual citizens, including those that were allegedly fought were ignored. Very soon the term military communism for creative intelligentsia has become something like a name of the nominal one. It is for this period that the maximum disappointment of the revolution results. Military communism showed many of the true face of the Bolsheviks.

Evaluation

It should be noted that many are still arguing about how it is worth assessing this phenomenon. Some believe that the concept of military communism was perverted by the war. Others believe that the Bolsheviks themselves were familiar with him only in theory, and when they encountered in practice, they were afraid that the situation could get out of control and turn against them themselves.

When studying this phenomenon, a good help can become, in addition to the usual material, presentation. In addition, it was literally a variety of posters, bright slogans. Some romantics of the revolution were still trying to reflect it. That the presentation will just show.

Military communism - The name of the internal policy of the Soviet state, conducted in 1918-1921 during the civil war. The main goal was to provide cities and a red army with weapons, food and other necessary resources in conditions when all normal economic mechanisms and relations were destroyed by war. The decision to terminate military communism and the transition to the NEPA was made on March 21, 1921 at the X Congress of the RCP (b).

Causes of occurrence. The internal policy of the Soviet state of the civil war was called "Policy of Military Communism". The term "military communism" was proposed by the famous Bolshevik A.A. Bogdanov in 1916 in his book "Questions of Socialism" he wrote that during the war, the inner life of any country was subordinated to the special logic of development: most of the working-age population leaves the sphere of production, without producing anything, and consumes a lot.

There is a so-called "consumer communism". A significant part of the national budget is spent on military needs. This inevitably requires restriction in the field of consumption and control of the state for distribution. War also leads to the coagulation of democratic institutions in the country, so we can say that military communism was due to the needs of wartime.

Another reason for folding this policy can be considered marxist viewthe Bolsheviks who came to power in Russia in 1917. Marx and Engels did not work in detail the features of the communist formation. They believed that it would not be the place of private property and commodity-monetary relations, and there would be an equalization principle of distribution. However, it was about the industrialized countries and about the world socialist revolution as a lump-sum act.

Ignoring the immaturity of the objective prerequisites for the socialist revolution in Russia, a significant part of the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution insisted on the immediate implementation of socialist transformations in all spheres of society, including in the economy. There is a course of "left communists", the most striking representative of which was N.I. Bukharin.

The left communists insisted on the refusal of any compromises with the world and Russian bourgeoisie, the early expropriation of all forms of private property, the coagulation of commodity-money relations, the abolishing of money, the introduction of the principles of the equalist distribution and socialist orders of literally "from today". These views shared most of the members of the RSDLP (b), which was brightly manifested in the debate on the VII (emergency) of the party's congress (March 1918) on the ratification of the Brest world.


Until the summer of 1918 V.I. Lenin criticized the views of the left communists, which is especially clearly visible in his work "the next tasks of Soviet power". He insisted on the need to suspend the "Krasnogvardeysian attack on capital", the organization of accounting and control over the already nationalized enterprises, strengthening labor discipline, the fight against the tunes and the Lododes, the widespread use of the principle of material interest, the use of bourgeois specialists, assisted on certain conditions of foreign concessions.

When after switching to NEPA in 1921 V.I. Lenin was asked if he had no thoughts about Nep, he answered the affirmatively and referred to the "next tasks of Soviet power." True, Lenin defended the erroneous idea of \u200b\u200bdirect product exchange between the city and the village through the universal cooperation of the rural population, which brought his position with the position of the "left communists".

It can be said that in the spring of 1918 the Bolsheviks were chosen between the offensive policy on the bourgeois elements, with supporters of which were "left communists", and a policy of gradual entry into socialism, which Lenin offered. The fate of this choice eventually decided the spontaneous development of the revolutionary process in the village, the beginning of the intervention and mistakes of the Bolsheviks in the agricultural policy in the spring of 1918.

The policy of "military communism" was also largely due to hopes for the early implementation of the world revolution. The leaders of Bolshevism considered the October Revolution as the beginning of the world and expected the arrival of the latter from day to day. In the first months after October in Soviet RussiaIf she was punished for insignificant misconduct (small theft, hooliganism), wrote "enter into prison to the victory of the world revolution", therefore there was a conviction about the inadmissibility of compromises with bourgeois counter-revolution, about the transformation of the country into a single combat camp, about the militarization of the entire inner life.

Essence of politics. The policy of "military communism" included a set of events, affected by the economic and socio-political sphere. The basis of "military communism" was emergency measures in the supply of cities and army food, coagulation of commodity-money relations, the nationalization of the entire industry, including small, privacy, supply of the population with food and industrial goods on cards, universal labor service and maximum control centralization folk economy and the country as a whole.

Chronologically "Military Communism" falls for the period of the civil war, but the individual elements of policies began to occur back at the end of 1917 - early 1918. This applies primarily nationalization of industry, banks and transport. "Krasnogvardeyskaya Attack on Capital", which began after the decree of the WTCIK on the introduction of working control (November 14, 1917), in the spring of 1918, was temporarily suspended. In June 1918, her pace is diminished and all major and secondary enterprises are moving to state property. In November 1920, confiscation of small enterprises was held.

Thus, happened destruction of private property. A characteristic feature of "military communism" is the extreme centralization of the management of the national economy. At first, the control system was built on the principles of collegiality and self-government, but over time the inconsistency of these principles becomes obvious. Fabzavoms lacked competence and experience to manage. Bolshevism leaders understood that before they exaggerated the degree of revolutionary consciousness of the working class, which was not ready for management.

A bet on the state management of a business life is made. On December 2, 1917, the Supreme Council of the National Economy (High) is being created. His first chairman became N. Osinsky (V.A. Obolensky). The tasks of the High Industry included the nationalization of large industries, transportation of transport, finance, the establishment of trade and the like. By the summer of 1918, local (provincial, county) sovnarchoses, subordinates of the EMD, arise.

SNK, and then the Defense Council determined the main directions of the work of the EMD, its masterpieces and centers, and each was a kind of state monopoly in the relevant industry of production. By the summer of 1920, almost 50 masters were created, carrying out the management of major nationalized enterprises. The name of the masters speaks for itself: Glavmetal, Headtextile, Charm Ashar, Slavtoref, Soldiershamal, Heborba, Centrotchelogan, etc.

The centralized control system was dictated by the need for an order guide style. One of the features of the "Military Communism" policy has become emergency system, The tasks of which included subordination of the entire economy to the needs of the front. The Defense Council appointed his commissars with extreme authority.

So, A.I. Rykov was appointed an emergency authorized defense council for the supply of the Red Army (Chusosnabarm). It was endowed with the rights of the use of any apparatus, displacement and arrest of officials, reorganization and rearness of institutions, seizure and details of goods from warehouses and the population under the pretext of "military hurry". All plants who worked for defense were transferred to Chusosnabarm. To manage them, a promnial council was formed, whose decrees were also mandatory for all enterprises.

One of the main features of the "Military Communism" policy is the coagulation of commodity-money relations. This was primarily manifested in the introduction of a nonequivalent natural exchange between the city and the village. In the conditions of galloping inflation, the peasants did not want to sell bread for impairment money. In February - March 1918, only 12.3% of the planned amount of bread received consuming areas of the country.

The rate of bread on cards in industrial centers decreased to 50-100 gr. in a day. Under the conditions of the Brest world, Russia lost rich areas, which aggravated the food crisis. Hunger hit. It should also be remembered that the attitude to the peasantry from the Bolsheviks was two. On the one hand, it was considered as an ally of the proletariat, and on the other (especially middle peasants and fists) - as a support of counter-revolution. On the peasant, even if there is a low-power middle man, they looked with suspicion.

In these conditions, the Bolsheviks took a course on establishing a bread monopoly. In May 1918, the Central Executive Committee adopted the decrees "On the provision of food commissariat of emergency powers to combat a rustic bourgeoisie, covering bread reserves and speculating them" and "On the reorganization of the People's Commissariat of Food and Local Food Organs".

In the conditions of impending hunger, the Nitrid was provided with emergency powers, food dictatorship was established in the country: a monopoly was introduced to trading bread and fixed prices. After making a decree on the bread monopoly (May 13, 1918), trade was actually prohibited. For seizures of food from the peasantry began to form food detachments.

The prospects operated on the principle of formulated by the communion of food cure "If it is impossible to take bread from a rustic bourgeoisie by ordinary means, then it is necessary to take it by force." To help them on the basis of the decrees of the Central Committee of June 11, 1918 are created committees of the poor(Combs). These measures of Soviet power forced the peasantry to take up the weapons. According to the prominent Agrarian N. Kondratieva, "the village for armed violence, flooded by the soldiers returned after the spontaneous demobilization of the army, responded by armed resistance and a number of uprisings."

However, neither food dictatorship nor the combs were able to solve the food problem. Attempts to ban market relations Cities and villages and violent breads of bread in the peasants led only to the wide illegal trading in bread at high prices. Urban population For cards received no more than 40% of the bread consumed, and 60% through illegal trade. Failure to fight in the fight against the peasantry, in the fall of 1918 the Bolsheviks were forced to somewhat weaken the food dictatorship.

A number of decree taken in the fall of 1918, the Government tried to facilitate the taxation of the peasantry, in particular, was canceled by the "Emergency Revolutionary Tax". According to the decisions of the VI All-Russian Congress of Soviets in November 1918, the Combs were merged with the Councils, however, it changed little, since by this time the tips in the countryside consisted mainly of the poor. Thus, one of the main demands of the peasants was implemented - put an end to the politics of the village split.

January 11, 1919 to streamline the exchange between the city and the village decree of the Central Executive Committee introduced production. An existence of surplus in the peasants was prescribed, which were first determined by the "the needs of the peasant family, limited by the established norm." However, soon the surplus began to be determined by the needs of the state and the army.

The state has declared the numbers in advance of their needs, and then they were divided according to the provinces, counties and volathes. In 1920, in the instructions descended from above, it clarified that "the scroll, given to the parish, is already in itself the definition of surplus." And although the peasants on the exversman left only the minimum of grain, yet the initial definition of supplies made certainty, and the peasants were considered as a good compared with the prospectors.

The coagulation of commodity-money relations contributed also prohibition In the autumn of 1918 in most provinces of Russia wholesale and private trading. However, until the end, the Bolsheviks still failed to destroy the market. And although they were assumed to destroy money, the latter were still in the go. Unified monetary system broke up. Only in Central Russia, the walking was 21 money signMoney was printed in many regions. In 1919, the ruble rate fell 3136 times. Under these conditions, the state was forced to go to fatival wages.

Condemned economic system did not stimulate to produce work, the performance of which steadily fell. The development of one worker in 1920 was less than one third of the pre-war level. In the fall of 1919, the earnings of the highly qualified worker exceeded the earnings of the handyman only 9%. We disappeared the material incentives for work, and with them the desire itself went to work.

In many enterprises, absenteeism amounted to 50% of working days. To strengthen discipline, administrative measures were taken mainly. Forced labor grown from the equalization, from the absence of economic incentives, due to the poor of the life of the workers, as well as due to the catastrophic lack of workers hands. The hopes for the class consciousness of the proletariat were not justified. In the spring of 1918

IN AND. Lenin writes that "Revolution ... Requires unquestionable obedience mass single will Labor heads. " Method of Policy "Military Communism" becomes militarization of labor. At first, she covered workers and employees of defense industries, but by the end of 1919 all industries and railway transport were translated into martial law.

On November 14, 1919, the SNK adopted the "Regulations on the working disciplinary comrade courts". It provided such punishments as sending malicious violators of discipline for severe public works, and in the case of "persistent reluctance to submit to a friendly discipline" to expose "as not an employment element dismissal from enterprises with transfer to a concentration camp".

In the spring of 1920, it was believed that civil war was already over (in fact it was only a peaceful pass). At this time, the IX Congress of the RCP (b) recorded in its resolution on the transition to the militarization system of the economy, the essence of which "should consist in the entire army approximation to the production process, so that the living human force of certain economic regions is at the same time living human power of certain Military units. " In December 1920, the VIII Congress of Soviets declared the state aversity to conduct the peasant economy.

In the conditions of "military communism" existed universal labor service For persons from 16 to 50 years. On January 15, 1920, SNK issued a decree on the first revolutionary army of labor than we louckled the use of army units on economic work. On January 20, 1920, SNK adopted a decision on the procedure for conducting a labor service, according to which the population regardless of permanent work was attracted to the fulfillment of labor service (fuel, road, gentle, etc.).

The redistribution of labor, carrying out labor mobilization, was widely practiced. Introduced labor books. To control the execution of universal labor service, a special committee was created led by F.E. Dzerzhinsky. Persons evade publicly useful work, strictly punished and lost food cards. On November 14, 1919, SNK adopted the above-mentioned "Regulations on the working disciplinary friendly courts."

The system of military communist measures included the cancellation of the city and rail transport fees, for fuel, forage, food, widespread consumption, medical services, housing, etc. (December 1920). The equation and class principle of distribution is approved. Since June 1918, a card supply is introduced in 4 categories.

The first category provided workers defense enterprises engaged in severe physical labor, and transport workers. According to the second category - other workers, employees, domestic servants, paramedic, teachers, bushes, hairdressers, cabins, tailors and disabled. According to the third category, the director, managers and engineers of industrial enterprises, most of the intelligentsia and ministers of the cult, and the fourth - persons enjoying hired labor and living with capital income, as well as shopkeepers and distribution traders.

Pregnant and nursing women belonged to the first category. Children under three years old additionally received a dairy card, and up to 12 years old - products for the second category. In 1918, in Petrograd, monthly paes on the first category was 25 pounds of bread (1 pound \u003d 409 gr.), 0.5 f. Sugar, 0.5 f. Salts, 4 f. Meat or fish, 0.5 f. vegetable oil, 0.25 f. Coffee surrogates. The fourth category norms were almost three times less than the first. But even these products were extremely irregular.

In Moscow in 1919, a worker on cards received a calorie content of 336 kcal., While the daily physiological norm was 3,600 kcal. The workers of the provincial cities received food below the physiological minimum (in the spring of 1919 - 52%, in July - 67, in December - 27%). According to A. Kollontai, the hungry missy caused the workers, especially women, feelings of despair and hopelessness. In January 1919, in Petrograd there were 33 types of cards (bread, dairy, shoe, tobacco, etc.).

"Military Communism" was considered by the Bolsheviks not only as a policy aimed at surviving Soviet power, but also as the beginning of the construction of socialism. Based on the fact that any revolution is violence, they used widely revolutionary coercion. Popular poster 1918 g said: " Iron hand Congress mankind to happiness! " Especially widespread revolutionary coercion was used against peasants.

After the adoption of the WFCIK of the decision of February 14, 1919, "On socialist land management and measures to transition to socialist farming" propaganda was deployed creating commune and artel. In a number of places, the authorities took the mandatory transition to the spring of 1919 to the collective processing of the Earth. But soon it became clear that the peasantry would not go to socialist experiments, and the attempts to impose collective forms of farms would finally pushed the peasants from the Soviet power, therefore, at the VIII Congress of the RCP (b) in March 1919, delegates voted for the Union of the State with Cellia.

The inconsistency of the peasant politics of the Bolsheviks can be observed on the example of their relationship to cooperation. In an effort to put the socialist production and distribution, they eliminated such a collective form of the amateur time in the economic field as cooperation. Decree of Sovnarkom dated March 16, 1919 "On the consumer communes" set cooperation to the position of the appendage of state power.

All consumer societies on the ground were forcibly merged into cooperatives - "Consumer Communes", which united in the provincial unions, and they, in turn, to the Centrosyuzu. The state laid on consumer communes distribution of food and consumption items in the country. Cooperation as an independent organization of the population ceased to exist. The name "Consumer Communes" caused hostility from the peasants, since they were identified with the total socialization of property, including personal.

During the Civil War, serious changes have undergone a political system of the Soviet state. Her central link becomes RKP (b). By the end of 1920, there were about 700 thousand people in the RKP (b), half of them were at the front.

In party life, the role of the apparatus practicing military methods has grown. Instead of elected teams in the field, the narrow operational bodies were most often operated. Democratic centralism - the basis of party construction - was replaced by the destination system. The norms of collective leadership of the party life were replaced by authoritarianism.

Years of military communism became the time of establishment political dictatorship Bolsheviks. Although representatives of other socialist parties took part in the activities of the Councils after a temporary prohibition, all the same communists accounted for an overwhelming majority in all government agencies, at the congresses of the Soviets and in the executive bodies. The process of splicing of party and state bodies was intensively. The provincial and county party committees often determined the composition of the executive committees and issued orders for them.

Orders that have developed within the party, the Communists, soldered with strict discipline, voluntarily or involuntarily transferred to those organizations where they worked. Under the influence of the Civil War in the country there was a military-order dictatorship, which caused the concentration of management not in elected bodies, but in executive institutions, strengthening unity, the formation of a hierarchy with a huge number of employees, reducing the role of masses in state construction and removing them from power.

Bureaucracyfor a long time becomes chronic disease Soviet state. His reasons were in the low cultural level of the majority of the population. The new state inherited a lot from the previous state apparatus. Old officials soon got places in the Soviet state apparatus, because without people who know managerial work, it was impossible to do. Lenin believed that it would be possible to cope with bureaucratism only when the entire population ("every cook) would participate in government management. But subsequently she became an obvious utopianity of these views.

The war had a huge influence on state construction. The concentration of forces, so necessary for military successes, demanded a rigid centralization of management. The ruling party did not make the highest rate on the amateurness and self-government of the masses, but on the state and party apparatus, capable of implementing the policy necessary for victory over the enemies of the revolution. Gradually, executive bodies (apparatus) completely subordinate representative (tips) bodies.

The reason for the swelling of the Soviet state apparatus was total nationalization of industry. The state, becoming the owner of the main means of production, was forced to ensure the management of hundreds of factories and factories, to create huge management structures engaged in economic and distribution activities in the center and in the regions, and the role of the central bodies increased. The Office was built on top-down on rigid directive-order principles, which limited the initiative on the ground.

In June 1918, L.I. Lenin wrote about the need to promote the "energy and mass dity of the People's Terror". Decree dated July 6, 1918 (Mount of Left Social Economics) restored fatherland. True, the massive nature of execution acquired from September 1918. On September 3, 500 hostages and "suspicious persons" were shot in Petrograd. In September 1918, local CC received from the Dzerzhinsky disposal, which said that in search, arrests and executions they are completely independent, but after their holding Chekists must report before the Council.

For single executions it was not necessary to report. In the fall of 1918, the punitive measures of emergency bodies were almost out of control. This forced the VI Congress of Soviets to limit terror by the framework of the "revolutionary legality". However, the changes that happened by this time and in the state, and in the psychology of society, did not really limit the arbitrariness. Speaking of red terror, it should be remembered that in the territories engaged in white, no less atrocities were going on.

As part of the White Armies, there were special punitive detachments, intelligence and counterintelligence units. They resorted to a massive and individual terror against the population, looking for communists and representatives of the Soviets, participating in the burning and executions of entire villages. In the conditions of decline of morality, terror quickly gained momentum. According to the fault of the other side, tens of thousands of unusual people.

The state was sought to establish total control not only for behavior, but also for the thoughts of their subjects, whose heads were introduced elementary and primitive basins of communism. Marxism becomes a state ideology. The task of creating a special proletarian culture was set. Denied cultural values \u200b\u200band achievements of the past. There was a search for new images and ideals.

Revolutionary avant-garde formed in literature and art. Special attention It was paid to the means of mass propaganda and agitation. Art has become entirely politicized. Revered revolutionary durability and fanaticism, selfless courage, sacrifice in the name of a bright future, class hatred and ruthlessness to enemies. Leading this work, the People's Commissariat of Enlightenment (NarkomPros) led by A.V. Lunacharsky. Active activity unfolded Toleric- Union of proletarian cultural and educational societies.

Tralchults were particularly actively called for the revolutionary overthrowing of old forms in art, a rapid onset of new ideas, cultivation of culture. The ideologists of the latter are such prominent Bolsheviks like A.A. Bogdanov, V.F. Plentnev et al. In 1919, more than 400 thousand people took part in the prostricult movement. The spread of their ideas inevitably led to the loss of traditions and the confusion of society, that in the conditions of war it was unsafe for power. The Levatsky performances of the Tarokoltovtsev forced the drug addresses from time to time to scold, and in the early 1920s and dissolve these organizations at all.

The consequences of "military communism" cannot be separated from the consequences of the Civil War. The cost of enormous efforts by the Bolshevik methods of agitation, tough centralization, coercion and terror managed to turn the republic in the "military camp" and defeat. But the policy of "military communism" did not lead and could not lead to socialism. By the end of the war, the inadmissibility of the race forward, the danger of forcing socio-economic transformations and escalation of violence was obvious. Instead of creating a state of dictatorship of the proletariat, the dictatorship of one party arose in the country, to maintain which revolutionary terror and violence was widely used.

The national economy was paralyzed by the crisis. In 1919, due to the lack of cotton, the textile industry almost completely stood. It gave only 4.7% of pre-war time. The linen industry gave only 29% of the pre-war.

Severed heavy industry. In 1919, all the domains of the country were extinct. Soviet Russia did not produce metal, but lived with reserves inherited from the royal regime. In early 1920, it was possible to launch 15 blast furnaces, and they gave about 3% of the metal that was paid in Tsarist Russia on the eve of the war. The catastrophe in metallurgy affected the metalworking production: hundreds of enterprises were closed, and those worked were periodically set up due to difficulties with raw materials and fuel. Soviet Russia, cut from the Donbass mines and Baku oil, fuel hunger experienced. The main fuel type of steel firewood and peat.

Industry and transport lacked not only raw materials and fuel, but also workers hands. By the end of the Civil War in the industry, less than 50% of the number of proletariat was employed in 1913. The composition of the working class has changed significantly. Now his backbone was not personnel workers, but the immigrants from the unpole layers of the urban population, as well as the peasants mobilized from the villages.

Life forced the Bolsheviks to revise the foundations of "military communism", therefore, at the congress of the party, military communist management methods, based on coercion, were declared talked.

The policy of military communism was based on the task of destroying market and commodity-monetary relations (private property) to replace them with centralized production and distribution.

To carry out this plan, there was a system that could bring the center of the center to the most remote corners of the huge power. In this system, everything should be taken into account and put under control (streams of raw materials and resources, finished products). It believed that military communism would become the last step in front of socialism.

On September 2, 1918, the Central Executive Committee announced the introduction of military situation, the country's leadership passed to the Council of Working and Peasant Defense headed by V.I. Lenin. Fronts commanded the Revuensive, headed by ld Trotsky.

Heavy position at the fronts and in the economy of the country pushed the authorities to introduce a number of emergency measures defined as military communism.

In the Soviet version, he included the privacy (private trading of bread, surplus and reserves were forcibly selected), the beginning of the creation of collective farms and state farms, the nationalization of industry, the prohibition of private trade, the introduction of universal labor obligation, the centralization of management.

By February 1918, enterprises belonged to the royal family, the Russian treasury and private owners were transferred to the state of the state. In the future, chaotic nationalization of small industrial enterprises was carried out, and then entire industries.

Although in Tsarist Russia, the proportion of state (state-owned) property was always traditionally large, the centralization of production and distribution passed quite painfully.

Peasants and a significant part of the workers were configured against the Bolsheviks. From 1917 to 1921, they took anti-Bolshevik resolutions and actively participated in armed anti-government speeches.

The actual nationalization of the Earth and the introduction of equalization land use, the prohibition to rent and buy the Earth and expand the scarce led to a terrifying drop of agricultural production. As a result, hunger began, which caused the death of thousands of people.

During the period of military communism, after the suppression of the anti-Bolshevik speech of the left speakers, the transition to the union of the system was carried out.

Scientific substantiation by the Bolsheviks of the historical process as an irreconcilable class struggle led to the policy of "Red Teppopa", the reason for the introduction of which a series of attempts on party leaders became the introduction.

His essence was in the consistent destruction of displeased "who is not with us, that against us." The list got nobles, intelligentsia, officers, priests, wealthy peasantry.

The main method of the "red terror" was extrajudicial executions, authorized and conducted by the Chech. The policy of "Red Terror" allowed the Bolsheviks to strengthen their power, destroy opponents and those who showed discontent.

Military communism aggravated economic destruction, led to the unjustified death of a huge number of innocent people.


PRODIVERSE
Diplomatic isolation of the Soviet government
Civil War in Russia
The collapse of the Russian Empire and the formation of the USSR
Military communism Institutions and organizations Armed formations Events February - October 1917:

After October 1917:

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Military communism - the name of the internal policy of the Soviet state held in 1918-1921. In civil war. Its characteristic features were the extreme centralization of economic management, the nationalization of large, medium and even small industries (partially), the state monopoly on many products of agriculture, the priority, the prohibition of private trade, turning into commodity-monetary relations, the equalization in the distribution of material goods, the militarization of labor. Such a policy corresponded to the principles on the basis of which, according to Marxists, a communist society should have arisen. In historiography there are different opinions on the reasons for the transition to such a policy - someone from historians believed that it was an attempt by the command method "to introduce communism", others explained it by the reaction of the Bolshevik leadership on the realities of the Civil War. The same contradictory assessments were given to this policy and the leaders of the Bolshevik party themselves, who headed the country during the civil war. The decision on the termination of military communism and the transition to the NEPA was made on March 15, 1921 at the X Congress of the RCP (b).

The main elements of the "Military Communism"

Liquidation of private banks and confiscation of deposits

One of the first actions of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution was armed seizure of the State Bank. The buildings of private banks were seized. On December 8, 1917, the decree of SNK "On the abolition of the noble land bank and the peasant marching bank" was adopted. Decree "On the nationalization of banks" from 14 (27) December 1917, the banking was announced by the state monopoly. The nationalization of banks in December 1917 was supported by the confiscation of cash of the population. All gold and silver were confiscated in coins and ingots, paper money, if they exceeded the amount of 5,000 rubles and were charged with "easy way". For small contributions that remaining unconfixed, the rate of receiving money from accounts is not more than 500 rubles per month, so that the non-confiscated residue quickly eaten inflation.

Nationalization of industry

Already in June-July 1917, "Flight of Capital" began from Russia. Foreign entrepreneurs fled first, who searched cheap in Russia labor: After the February Revolution, the establishment of a turning order of an 8-hour working day, the struggle for the increase in wages, legal agents have deprived of entrepreneurs of their super-profits. Constantly an unstable situation encouraged to flee and many domestic industrialists. But the thoughts on the nationalization of a number of enterprises attended at all of the left-handed minister of trade and industry A. I. Konovalov even earlier, in May, and for other reasons: constant conflicts of industrialists with workers who caused strikes on the one hand and lockouts on the other, disorganized and without The undervalued war economy.

The Bolsheviks after the October coup were encountered with the same problems. The first decrees of the Soviet power no transfer "Workers' factories" did not assume that the approved and SNK and SNK 14 (27) of November 1917, the Regulations on the working control, which specifically stipulate the rights of entrepreneurs, but before the new government, arose questions: what to do with abandoned enterprises and how to prevent lockouts and other forms of sabotage?

Began as adoption of the adverse enterprises, nationalization in the future turned into a measure to combat counter-revolution. Later, at the XI Congress of the RCP (b), L. D. Trotsky recalled:

... in Petrograd, and then in Moscow, where this wave of nationalization was hung, we were delegations from the Ural Plants. I have a silent heart: "What will we do? - Take something we take, and what will we do? " But from conversations with these delegations it turned out that the Military measures are absolutely necessary. After all, the director of the factory with all his apparatus, connections, the office and the correspondence is the same real cell on a particular Ural, or St. Petersburg, or Moscow factory, is the cell of the very counter-revolution, the cell is economic, durable, solid, which with weapons in hand Control against us. Therefore, this measure was the politically necessary measure of self-preservation. Go to more correct accounting that we can organize, we could start the struggle. We could only after ensured not absolutely, but at least the relative possibility of this economic work. From the point of view of the abstract-economic, it can be said that that our policy was erroneous. But if you put it in the world environment and in the situation of our position, it was, from the point of view of the political and military in the broad sense of the word absolutely necessary.

The first was nationalized 17 (30) November 1917 Factory of the Partnership for Lykinskaya Manufactory A. V. Smirnova (Vladimir Province). In total from November 1917 to March 1918, according to industrial and professional census of 1918, 836 industrial enterprises were nationalized. On May 2, 1918, SNK adopted a decree on the nationalization of the sugar industry, on June 20 - oil. By the autumn 1918, 9542 enterprises were concentrated in the hands of the Soviet state. All major capitalist ownership of the means of production was nationalized by the method of gratuitous confiscation. By April 1919, almost all major enterprises (with the number of hired workers more than 30) were nationalized. By the beginning of 1920, the average industry was mainly nationalized. Hard centralized production management was introduced. To control the nationalized industry was created.

Monopoly Foreign Trade

At the end of December 1917 international trade It was raised under the control of the People's Commerce and Industry, and in April 1918 declared a state monopoly. A merchant fleet was nationalized. Decree on the nationalization of the fleet declared nationwide indivisible property of Soviet Russia shipping enterprises owned by joint-stock companies, share partnerships, trading homes and sole large entrepreneurs who own the marine and river vessels of all types.

Forced labor service

Forced labor service was introduced, first for "non-hard classes". Adopted on December 10, 1918, the Code of Labor Law (KZOT) established a labor service for all RSFSR citizens. Decrets adopted by SNK on April 12, 1919 and on April 27, 1920, a self-altitude transition to new job And the absenteeism, severe labor discipline was installed at enterprises. The system of unpaid voluntary-compulsory labor on weekends and holidays in the form of "Saturdays" and "Sundays" is also widely distributed.

However, the proposal of Trotsky in the Central Committee received only 4 votes against 11, the majority led by Lenin to change policies was not ready, and the IX Congress of the RCP (b) took the course to "Militarization of the economy".

Food dictatorship

The Bolsheviks were continued by the bread monopoly, proposed by the temporary government, and the product introduced by the Tsarist government. May 9, 1918 decree, confirming the state monopoly of the Bread Trade (introduced by the Interim Government) and prohibiting private trading bread. On May 13, 1918, the decree of the Central Executive Committee of the Emergency Powers on the Provision of the People's Commissioner for the Food Commissioner, shelters bread reserves and speculating them, "the main provisions of the food dictatorship were established. The goal of the food dictatorship was centralized workpiece and distribution of food, suppressing the resistance of fists and the fight against silence. Narcarrod received unlimited powers in the preparation of food. Based on the decree dated May 13, 1918, the Central Executive Committee established the norms of shower consumption for the peasants - 12 grain pounds, 1 pound cereals, etc. - similar to the standards introduced by the Provisional Government in 1917. All bread exceeding these norms was supposed to be transferred to the state at the specified prices established by him. In connection with the introduction of a food dictatorship in May-June 1918, a food-requisition army of the Narkomskode of the RSFSR (production), consisting of armed prospects, was established. For the management of sales on May 20, 1918, the Office of the Municipal Commissioner and the military leader of all prospects were created. To fulfill this problem, armed prospects were created endowed with extreme authority.

V.I. Lenin explained the existence of the privacy and the reasons for the refusal of it:

There is one of the forms of transition from a kind of "military communism", forced to be extremely needed, ruin and war, to the right socialist product. And this last, in turn, is one of the forms of transition from socialism with features caused by the predominance of small peasantry in the population, to communism.

A kind of "military communism" was that we actually took all surplus from the peasants and sometimes not surplus, and the part of the food required for the peasant was taken to cover the costs of the army and on the maintenance of workers. We took mostly in debt, for paper money. Otherwise, we could not defeat landowners and capitalists in the ruined fine-peasant country ... But no less you need to know this measure of this merit. "Military Communism" was forced to war and ruin. He was not and could not be responding to the economic tasks of the proletariat with politics. He was a temporary measure. The correct policies of the proletariat, carrying out his dictatorship in a small-peasant country, is the exchange of bread on the products of the industry, the necessary peasant. Only such a food policy meets the tasks of the proletariat, only it is able to strengthen the foundations of socialism and lead to its complete victory.

Production is the transition to it. We are still so broken, so crushed by the oppression of the war (formerly yesterday and able to flash thanks to the greed of the capitalists tomorrow), which we cannot give a peasant for all the bread products we need. Knowing it, we introduce a custom, t.-e. The minimum necessary (for the army and for workers).

On July 27, 1918, the Narcarrode adopted a special decree on the introduction of an ubiquitous class food soldering with a division into four categories, providing measures to account for reserves and distribution of food. At first, the class packs acted only in Petrograd, from September 1, 1918 - in Moscow - and then was distributed to the province.

Suppliers were divided into 4 categories (then 3): 1) all workers working in particularly difficult conditions; Nursing the mother's breasts until the 1st year of the child and the crumbles; Pregnant women from the 5th month 2) All working on hard work, but in conventional (not harmful) conditions; Women - hostess with a family of at least 4 people and children from 3 to 14 years; disabled 1st category - dependents 3) all workers engaged in light work; Women owners with family to 3 people; Children under 3 years old and teenagers 14-17 years old; All students over 14 years old; unemployed registered on the labor exchange; Pensioners, invalids of war and labor and other disabled 1st and 2nd categories on dependency 4) All the individuals of the male and female receive income from foreign labor; Persons of free professions and their families are not public service; Persons of uncertain classes and all the other people not named above.

The volume of the issued corresponded by groups as 4: 3: 2: 1. First of all, products were simultaneously issued in the first two categories, in the second - on the third. The issuance of the 4th was carried out as the demand for the first 3rd. With the introduction of class cards, any others were canceled (the card system acted from mid-1915).

  • Prohibition of private entrepreneurship.
  • The elimination of commodity and money relations and the transition to direct commodity exchange regulated by the state. Empting money.
  • Military railway management.

Since all these measures were taken during the Civil War, they were much less agreed in practice and coordinated than was planned on paper. Large areas of Russia were noteplied by the Bolsheviks, and the lack of communications led to the fact that even regions formally submitted to soviet government Often, it was necessary to act independently, in the absence of centralized management from Moscow. Until now, it remains a question - whether Military communism has an economic policy in the full sense of the word, or only a set of disparate measures taken to win a civil war at any cost.

Results and assessment of military communism

The Key Economic Authority of Military Communism was the Supreme Council of the National Economy, created by the project of Yuri Larina, as the central administrative planning body of the economy. According to their own memories, Larin designed the main departments (Glavnya) of the High Specification of the German "Crygshelshafthene" (Industry Regulation Centers in War Time).

Alfoy and Omego's new economic order of the Bolsheviks declared "work control": "The proletariat himself takes the case in his hands." "Work control" very soon discovered its true nature. These words sounded always as the beginning of the destruction of the enterprise. Any discipline was immediately destroyed. Power in the factory and the factory passed to quickly replacing committees, in fact, in no one for anything for anything. Knowing, honest workers were expelled and even killed. Labor productivity decreased inversely proportionally increase wages. The ratio was often expressed in dizzying figures: the fee increased, and the performance fell by 500-800 percent. The enterprises continued to exist only due to the fact that or the state who owned the printing machine took to her maintenance of the workers, or the workers sold and eaten the main capital of enterprises. According to Marxist teaching, the socialist coup will be caused by the fact that the productive forces will grow out forms of production and with new socialist forms will be able to further progressive development, etc., and so on. Experience discovered all the falsehood of these rascases. With the "socialist" orders, an emergency decrease in labor productivity has come. Our productive forces under "socialism" regressed to the times of Petrovsky fortress factories. Democratic self-government finally ruined our railways. With income of 1½ billion rubles, railways had to pay about 8 billion on only the content of workers and employees. Wanting to capture the financial power of the "bourgeois society" in their hands, the Bolsheviks of the Krasnogvardeysky collapse "nationalized" all banks. Really, they acquired only those few mall millions that they managed to capture in safes. But they destroyed a loan and deprived industrial enterprises of all sorts of money. So that hundreds of thousands of workers do not remain without earnings, the Bolsheviks had to open a cash bank for them, imperatively replenished with rampant printing of paper money.

Instead of the unprecedented growth in labor architects, its result was not height, but on the contrary, a sharp decline: for 1920 labor productivity decreased, including due to mass malnutrition, up to 18% of the pre-war. If the revolution, the average worker consumed on the day of 3820 calories, already in 1919 this figure fell to 2680, which was not enough for heavy physical labor.

The release of industrial products by 1921 decreased three times, and the number of industrial workers was halved. At the same time, the states of the High rose about a hundred times, with 318 people up to 30 thousand; The glaring example was the gasoline trust, which rushed to 50 people in the composition of this body, despite the fact that it was necessary to control this trust with only one plant number of 150 workers.

The situation of Petrograd was particularly severe, the population of which during the civil war decreased from 2 million 347 thousand people. Up to 799 thousand, the number of workers has decreased five times.

The decline in agriculture became as sharp. Due to the complete disinterest of peasants to increase in the conditions of "military communism" crops, grain production fell in 1920 compared with pre-war twice. According to Richard Pipes,

In such a situation, it was enough to spoil the weather so that hunger would come in the country. With the communist board, there was no excessive on the agriculture, therefore, it would be nothing to fight with his consequences.

For the organization of products, the Bolsheviks organized another strongly born body - a drug addict headed by Zürpet A. D. Despite the efforts of the state for the establishment of food security, a massive hunger of 1921-1922 began, during which up to 5 million people died. The policy of "military communism" (especially the priority) caused dissatisfaction with the wide layers of the population, especially the peasantry (uprising on Tambovschina, in Western Siberia, Kronstadt and others). By the end of 1920, a practically continuous belt of peasant uprisings appears in Russia ("Green Flood"), aggravated by the tremendous masses of deserters, and the mass demobilization of the Red Army began.

A severe position in industry and agriculture was aggravated by the final collapse of transport. The share of so-called "patients" of steam locomotives has reached 13% to 61% for 1921, the transport approached the threshold, after which the capacity had to be enough only to maintain their own needs. In addition, firewood was used as fuel for steam locomotives, extremely reluctantly prepared by peasants on labor service.

The experiment on the organization in the 1920-1921 labor armies was completely failed. The first work, demonstrated, according to the expression of the Chairman of its Council (Pre-Sendrum - 1) Trotsky L. D., "Monstrous" (monstrously low) labor productivity. Only 10 - 25% of her personnel were engaged in labor activity as such, and 14% due to ripped clothes And the lack of shoes did not come out of the barracks at all. The mass desertion of labor armies is widely distributed, which in the spring of 1921 finally comes out from under any control.

In March 1921 at the X Congress of the RCP (b), the tasks of the Policy of Military Communism were recognized as the leadership of the country and introduced a new economic policy. V. I. Lenin wrote: "" Military communism "was forced to war and ruin. He was not and could not be responding to the economic tasks of the proletariat with politics. He was a temporary measure. " (Full. Cons. Op., 5 ed., Vol. 43, p. 220). Lenin also argued that "Military Communism" must be put in the Bolsheviks not in guilt, but in merit, but at the same time it is necessary to know the measure of this merit.

In culture

  • Life in Petrograd times of military communism is described in the novel Ain Rand "We are alive."

Notes

  1. Terra, 2008. - T. 1. - P. 301. - 560 p. - ( Big Encyclopedia). - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-273-00561-7
  2. See, for example: V. Chernov. Great Russian revolution. M., 2007.
  3. V. Chernov. Great Russian revolution. P. 203-207
  4. The position of the WTCIK and SNK on working control.
  5. Eleventh Congress RCP (b). M., 1961. P. 129
  6. Code of Code of Proceedings of 1918 // Annex from tutorial I. Ya. Kiselev "Labor law of Russia. Historical and Legal Research "(Moscow, 2001)
  7. In an order-memo on the 3rd Red Army - the 1st revolutionary army of labor, in particular, said: "1. The 3rd army performed its combat task. But the enemy has not yet completely broken on all fronts. Still predatory imperialists threaten Siberia with Far East. Antenant's hired troops threaten Soviet Russia from the West. White Guard Gangs in Arkhangelsk are still sitting. The Caucasus has not yet been released. Therefore, the 3rd revolutionary army remains under the bayonet, retains its organization, its inner spike, his martial spirit - in case the socialist fatherland will call it to new combat tasks. 2. But, imbued with debt consciousness, the 3rd revolutionary army does not want to lose time with nothing. For those weeks and months, the respite, which she fell into a share, she will apply their forces and means for the economic raising of the country. Staying the combat force, the formidable enemies of the working class, it turns into the same time in the revolutionary army of labor. 3. The revolutionary military council of the 3rd Army is included in the labor army council. There, along with members of the Revolutionary Military Council, representatives of the main economic institutions will be Soviet Republic. They will provide the necessary leadership on different footprints. " For the full text of the order, see: the order of the 3rd Red Army - the 1st Revolutionary Army of Labor
  8. In January 1920, "Theses of the Central Committee of the RCP on the mobilization of industrial proletariat, labor service, the militarization of the economy and the use of military units for testing needs" were published in the subjection discussion, in paragraph 28 of which it was said: "As one of the transitional forms to carry out universal Labor service and to the widest use of publicized labor should be used for labor purposes, military units exempted from combat missions, up to large army compounds. Such is the meaning of the transformation of the III of the army in the I army of labor and transfer this experience to other armies "(see IX Congress of the RCP (b). Stenogafi report. Moscow, 1934. P. 529)
  9. L. D. Trotsky Major Food and Land Policy Questions,: "In the same February 1920, L. D. Trotsky contributed to the Central Committee of the RCP (b) proposals for the replacement of Natural Tax Protecting, which actually led to the abandonment of politics" military communism ". These proposals were the results of a practical acquaintance with the position and mood of the village in the Urals, where in January - February was Trotsky as chairman of the revolutionary military council of the republic. "
  10. V. Danilov, S. Esikov, V. Kanishchev, L. Protasov. Introduction // The peasant uprising of the Tambov province in 1919-1921GG "Antonovshchyna": documents and materials / d. Ed. V.Danilov and T.zhanin. - Tambov, 1994: overcome the process of "economic degradation" was proposed: 1) "Replacing the removal of excessive percentage (a kind of income tax), with such a calculation so that a larger turn or better processing is still benefit," and 2) "Having established a greater match between the issuance of the peasants of the products of the industry and the number of breads of bread not only by wagons and villages, but also in the peasant yards." As you know, from this and began in the spring of 1921 a new economic policy. "
  11. See X Congress RCP (b). Stenogafi report. Moscow, 1963. P. 350; Xi Congress RCP (b). Stenogafi report. Moscow, 1961. P. 270
  12. See X Congress RCP (b). Stenogafi report. Moscow, 1963. P. 350; V. Danilov, S. Esikov, V. Kanishchev, L. Protasov. Introduction // The peasant uprising of the Tambov province in 1919-1921GG "Antonovshchyna": documents and materials / d. Ed. V.Danilov and T.zhanin. - Tambov, 1994: "After the defeat of the main forces of counter-revolution in the East and the south of Russia, after the liberation of the almost all territory of the country, the change in the food policy has become possible, and by the nature of relations with the peasantry - and necessary. Unfortunately, the proposals of L. D. Trotsky in the Politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) were rejected. The decendment with the abolition of the exversmanship for the whole year had the tragic consequences, Antonovshchina as a mass social explosion could not be. "
  13. See IX Congress RCP (b). Stenogafi report. Moscow, 1934. According to the report of the Committee on economic construction (p. 98), the Congress adopted a resolution "On the next tasks of economic construction" (p. 424), in paragraph 1.1 of which, in particular, was said: "Approving the theses of the Central Committee of the RCP on the mobilization of industrial proletariat, labor service, militarization of the economy and the use of military units for business needs, the congress decides ... "(p. 427)
  14. Kondratyev N. D. Bread Market and its regulation during the war and revolution. - M.: Nauka, 1991. - 487 p.: 1 l. Port., Il., Table
  15. A.S. Rogue. Socialism, culture and Bolshevism

Literature

  • Revolution and Civil War in Russia: 1917-1923 Encyclopedia in 4 volumes. - Moscow:

"Military Communism" is the Bolshevik policies, which has been conducted from 1918 to 1920 and led to the Civil War in the country, as well as to a sharp disconnect of the population with a new government. As a result, Lenin hastily was forced to minimize this course, and declare the beginning of a new policy (NEPA). The term "military communism" was introduced by Alexander Bogdanov. Owl began the policy of military communism takes in the spring of 1918. Subsequently, Lenin wrote that it was a forced measure. In fact, such a policy was logical and normal from the point of view of the Bolshevik course arising from the goals of the Bolsheviks. And the civil war, the birth of military communism, only contributed to the further development of this idea.

The reasons for the introduction of military communism are as follows:

  • Creating a state for communist ideals. The Bolsheviks sincerely believed that they would be able to create a non-market society with a complete lack of money. For this, as it seemed to them, we need terror, and it is possible to achieve it only to create special conditions in the country.
  • Complete submission of the country. To fully concentrate power in his hands, the Bolsheviks needed full control over all government agencies, as well as over government resources. Make it could only be terror.

The question of "Military Communism" is important in the historical sense to understand what happened in the country, as well as to the correct causal relationship of events. With this and we will understand this material.

What is "military communism" and what is its accuracy?

Military communism is a policy conducted by the Bolsheviks from 1918 to 1920. In fact, it ended in the first third of 1921, or rather, at that moment she was finally minimized, and the transition to NEPU was announced. This policy is characterized by combating private capital, as well as the establishment of total control literally over all areas of people's lives, including on the sphere of consumption.

Historical reference

The last words in this definition it is very important to understand - the Bolsheviks took control of the consumption process. For example, autocratic Russia controlled production, but consumption was allowed for samoneck. The Bolsheviks went further ... In addition, military communism assumed:

  • nationalization of private entrepreneurship
  • food dictatorship
  • cancel trade
  • universal labor service.

It is very important to understand what events caused, and what consequence. Soviet historians suggest that military communism was needed, because an armed struggle between red and white, each of whom tried to capture power. But in fact, Military Communism was first introduced, and as a result of introducing this policy, the war began, including the war with its own population.

What is the essence of the politics of military communism?

The Bolsheviks, as soon as they captured power, seriously believed that they would be able to completely cancel money, and in the country there would be natural trade in class sign. But the problem was that the situation in the country was very difficult and then it was necessary to simply keep power, and socialism, communism, Marxism and so on - moved to the background. This was due to the fact that in early 1918 there was a giant unemployment in the country, and inflation that reached 200 thousand percent. The reason for the simple - the Bolsheviks did not recognize private property and capital. As a result, they spent nationalization and terror captured capital. But instead, they did not suggest anything! And hereina is indicative, the reaction of Lenin, which in all the troubles of the events of 1918-1919 accused ... ordinary workers. According to him, people in the country are idlers, and they lies all the wines and for hunger, and for the introduction of the politics of military communism, and for a red terror.


The main features of military communism briefly

  • Introduction of the privacy in agriculture. The essence of this phenomenon is very simple - forcibly from the peasants was clicked almost everything that was produced by them. Decree was signed on January 11, 1919.
  • Exchange between the city and the village. This Bolsheviks wanted, and their "textbooks" on the construction of communism and socialism spoke about this. In practice, it failed to achieve this. But to worsen the position and cause the anger of the peasants, which resulted in the uprising, - managed.
  • Nationalization of industry. RKP B naively believed that it was possible to build socialism in 1 year, remove the entire private capital, having spent the nationalization for this. They spent it, but the results did not give it. Moreover, in the future, the Bolsheviks were forced to conduct NEP in the country, which in many respects had denationalization traits.
  • Prohibition of land rental, as well as on the use of hired strength for its processing. This is again one of the postulates of the "textbooks" of Lenin, but led it to the decline of agriculture and hunger.
  • Complete cancellation of private trading. And this cancellation did even when it was obvious that it was harmful. For example, when in the cities there was a clear lack of bread and the peasants came and sold him - the Bolsheviks began to fight the peasants and apply penalties to them. As a result - again hunger.
  • Introduction of labor service. Initially, this idea wanted to be implemented for bourgeois (rich), but quickly understood that people are missing, and a lot of work. Then they decided to go further, and announced that everything should work. All citizens from 16 to 50 years have been required to work, including in labor.
  • Distribution of natural forms of calculation, including for wages. The main reason for such a step is terrible inflation. The fact that I was worth 10 rubles in the morning, by the evening it could have been worth 100 rubles, and by the next morning 500.
  • Privileges. The state provided accommodation for free, public transport, did not take a fee for utilities and other payments.

Military communism in industry


The main thing is why the Soviet power began, this is the nationalization of industry. And this process was shocked. So, by July 1918, 500 enterprises were nationalized in the RSFSR, by August 1918 - more than 3 thousand, by February 1919 - more than 4 thousand. With the leaders and owners of enterprises, as a rule, did not do anything - all the property was selected and all. There is another thing here. All enterprises were subordinated to the military industry, that is, everything was done for victory over the enemy (white). In this regard, the nationalization policy can be understood as enterprises that were necessary to the Bolsheviks for the war. But after all, among nationalized factories and factories there were also purely civilians. But they were little interested in the Bolsheviks. Such enterprises were withdrawn and closed to better times.

Military communism in industry is characterized by the following events:

  • Resolution "On the organization of supply". In fact, private trade and private supply was destroyed, but the problem was that another was not supplied to the change of private supply. As a result, the supply collapsed completely. The decision was signed by the Council of People's Commissar on November 21, 1918.
  • Introduction of labor service. At first, the work was concerned only by the "bourgeois elements" (autumn 1918), and then all able-bodied citizens from 16 to 50 years were attracted to the works (decree of December 5, 1918). To give coherence to this process in June 1919, employment records were introduced. They actually attached a worker to a certain place of work, change without options. This, by the way, are those books that are in the go to this day.
  • Nationalization. By the beginning of 1919, all major and medium private enterprises were nationalized in the RSFSR! In small business, there was a share of private owners, but they were extremely small.
  • Militarization of labor. This process was introduced in November 1918 at railway transport, and in March 1919 on river and sea transport. This meant that the work in these sectors was equated to the service in the Armed Forces. The laws here began to apply the corresponding.
  • The decision of the 9th Congress of the RCP B of 1920 (the end of March - early April) on the transfer of all workers and peasants to the position of mobilized soldiers (TRADARMY).

But in general, the main task was the industry and the subordination of her new power for the war with white. Did it manage to achieve this? No matter how much the Soviet historians do not assure us in the fact that, in fact, the industry during these years was destroyed and finally finished. In part, this can be written off to war, but only partly. The whole focus is that the Bolshevik bid was on the city and industry, and the winning civil war was able to win only thanks to the peasantry, which choosing between the Bolsheviks and Denikin (Kolchak) chose red, as the smallest evil.

The whole industry obeyed central government In the face of Masterkov. They focused on themselves 100% of obtaining all industrial products, in order to further distribute it to the needs of the front.

Politics of military communism in agriculture

But the main events of those years took place in the village. And these events were very important and extremely crying for the country, because terror was deployed to obtain bread and everything necessary to ensure the city (industry).


Organization of the exchange of goods, mainly without money

On March 26, 1918, a special decree was adopted for the implementation of PVC, which is known as "On the organization of trade". The focus is the whole that despite the adoption of the decree no functioning and real exchange of goods between the city and the village was not. It was not for the fact that the law is bad, but by the fact that the law was attached to this law, which in the root contradicted the law and prevented activities. It was the instruction of the Commissar of Food (Narcarrod).

At the initial stage of the formation of the USSR, the Bolsheviks were made to accompany each law by instructions (by registered acts). Very often, these documents contradicted each other. In many ways, because of this, there were so many bureaucratic problems in the first years of the authorities of the Soviets.

Historical reference

What was this in the instructions of the Narkomskaya? She completely forbid any sale of bread in the area, except in cases where the region handed over the amount of grain that was "recommended" by the Soviet authorities. And even in this case, an exchange was assumed, and not for sale. Instead of agricultural products, products were offered products, cities. Moreover, the system was arranged in such a way that most of this exchange received representatives of the authorities who were engaged in "extortion" on the village in favor of the state. This led to a logical reaction - the peasants (even small owners on Earth) began to cover bread, and extremely reluctantly gave him to the state.

Seeing that it is impossible to get bread on the village in a peaceful way, the Bolsheviks created a special detachment - Combs. These "comrades" arranged a real terror in the village, knocking out the force that they needed. Formally, it concerned only rich peasants, but the problem is that how to determine the rich from not rich - no one knew.

Emergency Powers NarcarProd

The policy of military communism gained its turnover. The next important step happened on May 13, 1918, when the decree was adopted, which in the literal sense of the word pushed the country to the Civil War. Decree This Emergency Capital Destination. These powers ended up People's Commissar Food. This decree was highly idiotic. If you get away from dry letters of the law and understand what he was cut, then what we come to: - a fist is any person who did not pass the bread as much as the state ordered him. That is, the peasant say that he needs to pass, conditionally, 2 tons of wheat. A rich peasant does not fall, as he is not profitable - he just hides. Poor does not learn, because he does not have this wheat. In the eyes of the Bolsheviks both of these people are fists. This was actually an announcement of war to the entire peasant population. According to the most modest estimates of the Bolsheviks recorded approximately 60% of the country's population in the "enemies"!

For a greater demonstration of the horror of those days, I want to bring Trotsky's quotation (one of the ideological inspirationors of the revolution), which he voiced at the very beginning of the establishment of the authorities of the Soviets:

Our party for the civil war! Civil War need bread. Long live a civil war!

Trotsky ld

That is, Trotsky, as well as Lenin (then there was no disagreement between them), played for military communism, for terror and for war. Why? Because only it was possible to keep power, wringing all his miscalculation and flaws to war. By the way, this taking still many use.

Producer and combs

At the next stage, the prospects (food detachments) and the Combeds were created (the committees of the poor). It was on their shoulders that the task of the selection of the peasants of bread lay. And the norm was established - the peasant could leave 192 kilograms of grain per person. The rest is surplus that needed to give away the state. These detachments performed their duties extremely reluctantly and undisciplined. Although they managed to collect a little over 30 million grain pounds. On the one hand, the figure is large, but on the other hand, within the framework of Russia is extremely insignificant. Yes, and the Combs themselves often sold taken away bread and grain, bought out the right from the peasants not to take surplus and so on. That is, after a couple of months after the creation of these "divisions", the question arose about their liquidation, since they not only did not help, but they prevented the Soviet power and even more aggravated the situation in the country. As a result, at the next congress of the WCP B (in December 1918), the "poor committees" were eliminated.

The question arose - how to logically justify people this step? After all, no further, as a couple of weeks before, Lenin argued everyone that the commored was extremely needed and cannot be managed by the country. Kamenev came to the rescue of the leader of the world proletariat. He said briefly - the Combs are no longer needed, since they disappeared into them.

Why actually Bolsheviks poly for this step? It is naive to believe that they became a pity of the peasants who were tied by the commored. The answer is different. At this very time, the civil war turned to the red back. Act a real threat to the victory whites. In such a situation, it was necessary to seek help and support to peasants. But for this it was necessary to earn their respect and, what none, but love. Therefore, it was decided - with peasants you need to get enough and put up.

Major problems in supply and complete destruction of private trading

By mid-1918, it became clear that the main task of military communism was failed - the trade exchange was failed. Moreover, the situation was complicated, since hunger began in many cities. Suffice to say that most cities (including big cities) Provided themselves with bread only by 10-15%. The rest of the citizens provided "bags".

The bags are independent peasants, including the poor who independently come to the city where bread and grain were sold. Most often in these transaction, a natural exchange was observed.

Historical reference

It would seem - the Soviet government should carry "bags" who save the city from hunger. But the Bolsheviks needed full control (remember, I also said at the beginning of the article that this control was established above all, including on consumption). As a result, the struggle with bags began ...

Full destruction of private trading

On November 21, 1918, decree "On the organization of supply" was published. The essence of this law was that now only the Narkomrod had the right to provide the population with any goods, including bread. That is, any private sales, including the activities of "bags", turned out to be outlined. Their goods were in favor of the state, and the merchants themselves were arrested. But in this desire to control all the Bolsheviks came very far. Yes, they completely destroyed private trading, leaving only the state, but the problem is that the state there was nothing to offer to the population! The supply of a city and commodity exchanges with a village was broken finally! And it was not by chance during the civil war were "red", there were "white" and were, few people know, "green". The latter were representatives of the peasantry and defended his interests. Green did not see a big difference between white and red, so they fought with everyone.

As a result, the relaxation began on those measures that had strengthened the Bolsheviks for two years. And it was a measure forced because terror, in all his manifestations, people are tired, and it was impossible to build a state on one violence alone.

Results of military communism policies for the USSR

  • In the country, the one-party system was finally developed, and all the power was at the Bolsheviks.
  • A non-market economy has been created in the RSFSR, a fully controlled state, and in which private capital has completely removed.
  • The Bolsheviks received control over all resources of the country. As a result, it was possible to establish power and win the war.
  • The aggravation of the contradictions between the workers and the peasantry.
  • The pressure on the economy, since the policy of Bolsheviks led to social problems.

As a result, military communism, briefly about which we spoke in this material, completely failed. Rather, this policy has fulfilled its historical mission (the Bolsheviks have strengthened in power due to terror), but it had to hastily fold and move to the NEPA, otherwise the power was not to keep. So the country is tired of terror, which was a business card of the policy of military communism.