What is NEP? NEP in short - new economic policy.

NEP is an abbreviation made up of the first letters of the phrase “New Economic Policy”. The NEP was introduced in Soviet Russia on March 14, 1921 by the decision of the Tenth Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (Bolsheviks) to replace the policy.

“- Be silent. And listen! - Izya said that he had just gone into the printing house of the Odessa Provincial Committee and saw there... (Izya choked with excitement)...a typesetting of the speech Lenin recently delivered in Moscow on the new economic policy. A vague rumor about this speech had been wandering around Odessa for the third day. But no one really knew anything. “We must print this speech,” said Izya... The operation of stealing the set was done quickly and silently. Together and quietly we carried out the heavy lead type of speech, put it on a cab and went to our printing house. The set was placed in the car. The machine rattled and rustled quietly as it printed the historical speech. We read it greedily by the light of a kitchen kerosene lamp, worrying and realizing that history was standing next to us in this dark printing house and we, too, were to some extent participating in it... And the next morning, April 16, 1921, the old Odessa newspaper sellers were skeptics, misanthropes and sclerotics - they began to hastily shuffle along the streets with pieces of wood and shout in hoarse voices: - The newspaper "Morak"! Speech by Comrade Lenin! Read everything! Only in Morak, you won’t read it anywhere else! Newspaper "Morak"! The issue of “Sailor” with a speech sold out in a few minutes.” (K. Paustovsky “Time of great expectations”)

Reasons for the NEP

From 1914 to 1921, the volume of gross output of Russian industry decreased by 7 times
Reserves of raw materials and supplies were exhausted by 1920
Agricultural marketability fell 2.5 times
In 1920, the volume of railway transportation was one-fifth of that in 1914.
Cultivated areas, grain yields, and production of livestock products have decreased.
Commodity-money relations were destroyed
A “black market” formed and speculation flourished
The standard of living of workers has fallen sharply
As a result of the closure of many enterprises, the process of declassification of the proletariat began
In the political sphere, the undivided dictatorship of the RCP (b) was established.
Worker strikes and uprisings of peasants and sailors began

The essence of the NEP

Revival of commodity-money relations
Providing freedom of operation to small producers
Replacement of the surplus appropriation system with a tax in kind, the tax amount decreased by almost half compared to the food appropriation system
The creation of trusts in industry - associations of enterprises that themselves decided what to produce and where to sell the products.
Creation of syndicates - associations of trusts for wholesale sales of products, lending and regulation of trade operations on the market.
Reduction of the bureaucracy
Introduction of self-financing
Creation of the State Bank, savings banks
Restoration of the system of direct and indirect taxes.
Carrying out monetary reform

Results of the NEP

The success of the NEP was the restoration of the destroyed Russian economy and overcoming famine

Legally, the new economic policy was curtailed on October 11, 1931 by a party resolution on a complete ban on private trade in the USSR. But in fact it ended in 1928 with the adoption of the first five-year plan and the announcement of a course for accelerated industrialization and collectivization of the USSR

After the end of the Civil War, Bolshevik Russia found itself on the brink of economic collapse. A large number of enterprises were destroyed, and there was an acute shortage of agricultural products. That is why at the tenth congress of the RCP (b), which took place in March 1921, it was decided to move from war communism to a new economic policy.

The essence and features of the NEP

The new policy was a rather complex structure. Indeed, as a result of the influence of war communism, there were actually only two categories of inhabitants left in the country - workers and peasants. The introduction of the NEP led to the emergence of the bourgeoisie as a new class, whose influence was especially strong in the consumer sphere.

In addition, according to V. Lenin, the NEP maneuver made it possible to strengthen the alliance of the working class and the peasantry. And relative freedom in economic management stabilized the political situation. Thus, the essence of the NEP was to achieve the ultimate goal - building socialism - in a roundabout way.

The main reasons for the introduction of the NEP

The main reasons that prompted the leadership of the young country to introduce the NEP were the following factors:

desire to restore normal economic relations;

normalization of connections between city and countryside;

stabilization of the financial sector;

the need to establish relationships with other countries;

suppression of the growing discontent of the peasants, which resulted in the so-called kulak rebellion.

The impact of the NEP on agriculture

The new policy was marked by the introduction of a tax in kind instead of appropriation. In fact, this led to a reduction in the amounts required to be paid by almost half. Moreover, the entire burden of the tax burden fell on rich peasants, called kulaks. At the same time, peasants were limited in trading agricultural products remaining with them after paying taxes.

Nevertheless, the NEP gave its first results. Beginning in 1922, there were no more problems with food shortages. And three years later, the sown area reached the pre-war level, and the number of livestock increased significantly.

Impact of NEP on the industrial sector

Radical changes were also made in industry. Thus, the chapters were transformed into what were called trusts. They were given complete independence in the financial and economic spheres. Trusts were created both at the centralized and local levels. Their management independently decided all questions about the quantity and nature of products, the place of their sale, etc.

Moreover, the trust’s activities were not financed from the budget, and their debts were not considered government debts. It should be noted that the activities of the trusts after payment of all fees also remained at their disposal. In fact, this led to the formation of a business account in which it independently conducts its activities and uses the profit received.

Thus, it formed a complete government, which, in turn, made it possible to introduce into it the principles of planned management. Already in 1925, making a profit for the trust ceased to be considered the main goal and such a concept as commercial calculation came to the fore. In general, the situation with the trusts was quite contradictory, because their management was carried out on the basis of two mutually exclusive principles - planned and market.

Reforming the financial sector

New economic relations required significant reforms in the financial field. The main transformations were reduced to the following areas:

creating a deficit-free budget;

cessation of inflation processes;

development of a new tax system;

resumption of work of banks and savings banks;

creation of a unified monetary system and stable currency.

In 1922, the chervonets began to be issued, the cost of which was equal to the pre-revolutionary ten in gold.

After some time, the government initiated two devaluations, during which half a million old sovznak were exchanged for one kopeck. Thus, two parallel currencies were eliminated, but the reform itself was clearly confiscatory in nature. However, the chervonets went international, in particular, it was used in European countries, the Baltic states, etc.

For the further development of the financial system, commercial credit, joint-stock banks and stock exchanges were returned. But the strengthening of the planned component in the economy led to inflation. The Bolsheviks banned the export of chervonets abroad, as a result of which it turned into domestic currency. In general, the reform achieved its goal - the financial system was improved, streamlined, and the national economy was rebuilt in accordance with the requirements of the NEP.

What consequences did the NEP have?

Beginning in 1925, the new policy began to gradually wind down. The private sector was forced out of industry, people's commissariats were created in the field of economy, which practiced a rigid planned approach to economic management. A course towards collectivization and industrialization was adopted. Thus, as of October 1931, when the NEP was officially cancelled, in fact it no longer existed.

The undoubted successes of the new policy include: But due to the lack of qualified personnel, primarily managers, economists, etc., numerous mistakes were made. The country had very low economic potential. Successes were achieved through the use of pre-revolutionary capacities. Private capital and wealthy peasants were discriminated against in every possible way. And with the end of the NEP, it was decided to eliminate the private sector altogether.

Stay up to date with all the important events of United Traders - subscribe to our

NEP- a new economic policy carried out in Soviet Russia and the USSR in the 1920s. It was adopted on March 14, 1921 by the X Congress of the RCP (b), replacing the policy of “war communism” pursued during the Civil War. The New Economic Policy aimed at restoring the national economy and the subsequent transition to socialism. The main content of the NEP is the replacement of surplus appropriation with a tax in kind in the countryside (up to 70% of grain was confiscated during surplus appropriation, and about 30% with the tax in kind), the use of the market and various forms of ownership, attracting foreign capital in the form of concessions, carrying out a monetary reform (1922-1924), in as a result of which the ruble became a convertible currency.

Reasons for the new economic policy.

The extremely difficult situation in the country pushed the Bolsheviks towards a more flexible economic policy. Anti-government peasant uprisings break out in different parts of the country (in the Tambov province, the Middle Volga region, the Don, Kuban, and Western Siberia). By the spring of 1921, there were already about 200 thousand people in the ranks of their participants. Discontent also spread to the Armed Forces. In March, sailors and Red Army soldiers of Kronstadt, the largest naval base of the Baltic Fleet, took up arms against the communists. A wave of mass strikes and demonstrations by workers was growing in the cities.

At their core, these were spontaneous outbursts of popular indignation against the policies of the Soviet government. But in each of them there was also an element of organization to a greater or lesser extent. It was contributed by a wide range of political forces: from monarchists to socialists. These diverse forces were united by the desire to take control of the emerging popular movement and, relying on it, to eliminate the power of the Bolsheviks.

It was necessary to admit that it was not only the war that led to the economic and political crisis, but also the policy of “war communism.” “Ruin, need, impoverishment” - this is how V. I. Lenin characterized the situation that developed after the end of the civil war. By 1921, the population of Russia, compared with the fall of 1917, had decreased by more than 10 million people; industrial production decreased by 7 times; transport was in complete disrepair; coal and oil production was at the level of the end of the 19th century; the area under cultivation has sharply decreased; gross agricultural output was 67% of the pre-war level. The people were exhausted. For a number of years people lived from hand to mouth. There were not enough clothes, shoes, and medicines.

In the spring and summer of 1921, a terrible famine broke out in the Volga region. It was provoked not so much by a severe drought, but by the fact that after the confiscation of surplus production in the fall, the peasants had neither grain left for sowing, nor the desire to sow and cultivate the land. More than 5 million people died from hunger. The consequences of the civil war also affected the city. Due to a lack of raw materials and fuel, many enterprises closed. In February 1921, 64 of the largest factories in Petrograd stopped working, including Putilovsky. The workers found themselves on the street. Many of them went to the village in search of food. In 1921, Moscow lost half of its workers, Petrograd two-thirds. Labor productivity fell sharply. In some industries it reached only 20% of the pre-war level.

One of the most tragic consequences of the war years was child homelessness. It increased sharply during the famine of 1921. According to official data, in 1922 there were 7 million street children in the Soviet Republic. This phenomenon acquired such alarming proportions that the Chairman of the Cheka, F. E. Dzerzhinsky, was appointed head of the Commission for Improving the Lives of Children, designed to combat homelessness.

As a result, Soviet Russia entered a period of peaceful construction with two diverging lines of internal policy. On the one hand, a rethinking of the fundamentals of economic policy began, accompanied by the emancipation of the country's economic life from total state regulation. On the other hand, the ossification of the Soviet system and the Bolshevik dictatorship remained, and any attempts to democratize society and expand the civil rights of the population were resolutely suppressed.

The essence of the new economic policy:

1) The main political task is to relieve social tension in society, strengthen the social base of Soviet power, in the form of an alliance of workers and peasants.

2) The economic task is to prevent further devastation in the national economy, get out of the crisis and restore the country’s economy.

3) The social task is to provide favorable conditions for building socialism in the USSR, ultimately. A minimum program could include such goals as eliminating hunger, unemployment, raising material standards, and saturating the market with necessary goods and services.

4) And finally, the NEP pursued another, no less important task - the restoration of normal foreign economic and foreign policy relations, to overcome international isolation.

Let's consider the main changes that occurred in the life of Russia with the country's transition to the NEP.

Agriculture

Starting from the 1923-1924 business year, a single agricultural tax was introduced, replacing various in-kind taxes. This tax was levied partly on products and partly on money. Later, after the currency reform, the single tax took exclusively monetary form. On average, the size of the tax in kind was half the size of the surplus appropriation system, and the bulk of it was assigned to the wealthy peasantry. Great assistance in restoring agricultural production was provided by government measures to improve agriculture, the massive dissemination of agricultural knowledge and improved farming techniques among peasants. Among the measures aimed at restoring and developing agriculture in 1921-1925, financial assistance to the countryside occupied an important place. A network of district and provincial agricultural credit societies was created in the country. Loans were provided to low-power horseless, one-horse peasant farms and middle peasants for the purchase of draft animals, machinery, tools, fertilizers, to increase the breed of livestock, improve soil cultivation, etc.

In the provinces that fulfilled the procurement plan, the state grain monopoly was abolished and free trade in bread and all other agricultural products was allowed. Products remaining in excess of the tax could be sold to the state or on the market at free prices, and this, in turn, significantly stimulated the expansion of production on peasant farms. It was allowed to lease land and hire workers, but there were, however, great restrictions.

The state encouraged the development of various forms of simple cooperation: consumer, supply, credit, and fishing. Thus, in agriculture, by the end of the 1920s, these forms of cooperation covered more than half of peasant households.

Industry

With the transition to the NEP, impetus was given to the development of private capitalist entrepreneurship. The main position of the state on this issue was that freedom of trade and the development of capitalism were allowed only to a certain extent and only under the condition of state regulation. In industry, the sphere of activity of a private owner was mainly limited to the production of consumer goods, the extraction and processing of certain types of raw materials, and the manufacture of simple tools.

Developing the idea of state capitalism, the government allowed private enterprise to lease small and medium-sized industrial and commercial enterprises. In fact, these enterprises belonged to the state, their work program was approved by local government institutions, but production activities were carried out by private entrepreneurs.

A small number of state-owned enterprises were denationalized. It was allowed to open their own enterprises with no more than 20 employees. By the mid-1920s, the private sector accounted for 20-25% of industrial production.

One of the features of the NEP was the development of concessions, a special form of lease, i.e. granting foreign entrepreneurs the right to operate and build enterprises on the territory of the Soviet state, as well as to develop the earth’s subsoil, extract minerals, etc. The concession policy pursued the goal of attracting foreign capital to the country's economy.

Of all the industries during the recovery period, mechanical engineering achieved the greatest success. The country began to implement Lenin's electrification plan. Electricity production in 1925 was 6 times higher than in 1921 and significantly higher than the level of 1913. The metallurgical industry was far behind pre-war levels and much work remained to be done in this area. Railway transport, which was badly damaged during the civil war, was gradually restored. The light and food industries were quickly restored.

Thus, in 1921-1925. The Soviet people successfully solved the problems of restoring industry, and production output increased.

Manufacturing control

Major changes took place in the economic management system. This concerned primarily the weakening of centralization characteristic of the period of “war communism”. The central boards in the Supreme Economic Council were abolished, and their local functions were transferred to large district departments and provincial economic councils.

Trusts, that is, associations of homogeneous or interconnected enterprises, have become the main form of production management in the public sector.

Trusts were given broad powers; they independently decided what to produce, where to sell products, and bore financial responsibility for the organization of production, the quality of products, and the safety of state property. Enterprises included in the trust were withdrawn from state supplies and began purchasing resources on the market. All this was called “economic accounting” (khozraschet), according to which enterprises received complete financial independence, up to the issue of long-term bond issues.

Simultaneously with the formation of the trust system, syndicates began to emerge, that is, voluntary associations of several trusts for the wholesale sale of their products, purchases of raw materials, lending, and regulation of trade operations on the domestic and foreign markets.

Trade

The development of trade was one of the elements of state capitalism. With the help of trade, it was necessary to ensure economic exchange between industry and agriculture, between city and countryside, without which normal economic life of society is impossible.

It was supposed to carry out a wide exchange of goods within the local economic turnover. To achieve this, it was envisaged to oblige state enterprises to hand over their products to a special commodity exchange fund of the republic. But unexpectedly for the country's leaders, local trade exchange turned out to be difficult for economic development, and already in October 1921 it turned into free trade.

Private capital was allowed into the trade sphere in accordance with the permission received from government agencies to carry out trade operations. The presence of private capital in retail trade was especially noticeable, but it was completely excluded from foreign trade, which was carried out exclusively on the basis of a state monopoly. International trade relations were concluded only with the bodies of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Trade.

D currency reform

Of no small importance for the implementation of the NEP was the creation of a stable system and stabilization of the ruble.

As a result of heated discussions, by the end of 1922 it was decided to carry out monetary reform based on the gold standard. To stabilize the ruble, denomination of banknotes was carried out, that is, a change in their nominal value according to a certain ratio of old and new notes. First, in 1922, Sovznaki were issued.

Simultaneously with the release of Sovznak, at the end of November 1922, a new Soviet currency was released into circulation - the “chervonets”, equal to 7.74 grams of pure gold, or to the pre-revolutionary ten-ruble coin. Chervonets were primarily intended for lending to industry and commercial operations in wholesale trade; it was strictly forbidden to use them to cover the budget deficit.

In the fall of 1922, stock exchanges were created, where the purchase and sale of currency, gold, and government loans were allowed at a free exchange rate. Already in 1925, the chervonets became a convertible currency; it was officially listed on various currency exchanges around the world. The final stage of the reform was the procedure for repurchasing Sovznak.

Tax reform

Simultaneously with the monetary reform, tax reform was carried out. Already at the end of 1923, the main source of state budget revenues became deductions from the profits of enterprises, rather than taxes from the population. The logical consequence of the return to a market economy was the transition from natural to monetary taxation of peasant farms. During this period, new sources of cash tax are actively being developed. In 1921-1922 taxes were established on tobacco, alcoholic beverages, beer, matches, honey, mineral waters and other goods.

Banking system

The credit system was gradually revived. In 1921, the State Bank, which was abolished in 1918, restored its work. Lending to industry and trade on a commercial basis began. Specialized banks arose in the country: the Commercial and Industrial Bank (Prombank) for financing industry, the Electric Bank for lending to electrification, the Russian Commercial Bank (from 1924 - Vneshtorgbank) for financing foreign trade, etc. These banks provided short-term and long-term lending, distributed loans, assigned loan, discount and deposit interest.

Confirmation of the market nature of the economy can be seen in the competition that arose between banks in the struggle for clients by providing them with especially favorable lending conditions. Commercial credit, that is, lending to each other by various enterprises and organizations, has become widespread. All this suggests that a single money market with all its attributes was already functioning in the country.

International trade

The monopoly of foreign trade did not make it possible to more fully use the country's export potential, since peasants and artisans received only devalued Soviet banknotes, and not foreign currency, for their products. IN AND. Lenin opposed the weakening of the monopoly of foreign trade, fearing the alleged growth of smuggling. In fact, the government feared that producers, having received the right to enter the world market, would feel independent from the state and again begin to fight against the authorities. Based on this, the country’s leadership tried to prevent the demonopolization of foreign trade

These are the most important measures of the new economic policy carried out by the Soviet state. Despite all the diversity of assessments, the NEP can be called a successful and successful policy that was of great and invaluable importance. And, of course, like any economic policy, the NEP has vast experience and important lessons.

The goal of the October Revolution was, neither more nor less, the construction of an ideal state. A country in which everyone is equal, where there are no rich and poor, where there is no money, and everyone does only what they love, at the call of their soul, and not for a salary. But reality did not want to turn into a happy fairy tale, the economy was going downhill, and food riots began in the country. Then the decision was made to move to the NEP.

A country that has survived two wars and a revolution

By the 20s of the last century, Russia from a huge rich power had turned into ruins. The First World War, the coup of 17, the Civil War - these are not just words.

Millions of dead, destroyed factories and cities, deserted villages. The country's economy was practically destroyed. These were the reasons for the transition to the NEP. Briefly, they can be described as an attempt to return the country to a peaceful path.

The First World War not only depleted the country's economic and social resources. It also created the ground for deepening the crisis. After the war ended, millions of soldiers returned home. But there were no jobs for them. The revolutionary years were marked by a monstrous increase in crime, and the reason was not only temporary anarchy and confusion in the country. The young republic suddenly found itself overrun by people with weapons, people unaccustomed to peaceful life, and they survived as experience told them. The transition to the NEP made it possible to increase the number of jobs in a short time.

Economic disaster

The Russian economy at the beginning of the twentieth century practically collapsed. Production decreased several times. Large factories were left without leadership; the thesis “Factory to workers” turned out to be good on paper, but not in life. Small and medium-sized businesses were practically destroyed. Craftsmen and traders, owners of small factories were the first victims of the struggle of the proletariat with the bourgeoisie. A huge number of specialists and entrepreneurs fled to Europe. And if at first it seemed absolutely normal - an element alien to communist ideals was leaving the country, then it turned out that there were not enough workers for the effective functioning of industry. The transition to the NEP made it possible to revive small and medium-sized businesses, thereby ensuring the growth of gross output and the creation of new jobs.

Agriculture crisis

The situation with agriculture was also bad. The cities were starving, and a system of payment in kind was introduced. The workers were paid in rations, but they were too small.

To solve the food problem, surplus appropriation was introduced. At the same time, up to 70% of the collected grain was confiscated from the peasants. A paradoxical situation arose. Workers fled from the cities to the countryside to feed themselves on the land, but even here they were faced with famine, even more severe than before.

The work of the peasants became meaningless. Work for a whole year, then give everything to the state and starve? Of course, this could not but affect agricultural productivity. In such conditions, the only way to change the situation was the transition to the NEP. The date of adoption of the new economic course was a turning point in the revival of dying agriculture. Only this could stop the wave of riots sweeping across the country.

Collapse of the financial system

The prerequisites for the transition to the NEP were not only social. Monstrous inflation devalued the ruble, and products were not so much sold as exchanged.

However, if we remember that the state ideology assumed a complete rejection of money in favor of payment in kind, everything seemed to be normal. But it turned out that it was impossible to provide everyone with food, clothing, and shoes just like that, according to the list. The government machinery is not equipped to perform such small and precise tasks.

The only way that war communism could offer to solve this problem was surplus appropriation. But then it turned out that while city residents work for food, peasants work for free. Their grain is taken away without giving anything in return. It turned out that it is almost impossible to establish trade exchange without the participation of a monetary equivalent. The only way out in this situation was the transition to the NEP. Briefly describing this situation, we can say that the state was forced to return to previously rejected market relations, temporarily postponing the construction of an ideal state.

Brief essence of NEP

The reasons for the transition to the NEP were not clear to everyone. Many considered this policy a huge step backward, a return to the petty-bourgeois past, to the cult of enrichment. The ruling party was forced to explain to the population that this was a forced measure that was temporary.

Free trade and private enterprise were again revived in the country.

And if previously there were only two classes: workers and peasants, and the intelligentsia was just a stratum, now the so-called Nepmen have appeared in the country - traders, manufacturers, small producers. They ensured the effective satisfaction of consumer demand in cities and villages. This is exactly what the transition to the NEP looked like in Russia. The date March 15, 1921 went down in history as the day when the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) abandoned the harsh policy of war communism, once again legalizing private property and monetary market relations.

The dual nature of the NEP

Of course, such reforms did not at all mean a full return to the free market. Large factories and factories, banks still belonged to the state. Only it had the right to dispose of the country's natural resources and conclude foreign economic transactions. The logic of administrative and economic management of market processes was of a fundamental nature. Elements of free trade were more like thin shoots of ivy entwining the granite rock of a rigid state economy.

At the same time, there were a huge number of changes that were caused by the transition to the NEP. Briefly, they can be characterized as providing a certain freedom to small producers and traders - but only for a while, to relieve social tension. And although in the future the state had to return to previous ideological doctrines, such a juxtaposition of command and market economies was planned for quite a long time, sufficient to create a reliable economic base that would make the transition to socialism painless for the country.

NEP in agriculture

One of the first steps towards modernizing the previous economic policy was the abolition of food appropriation. The transition to the NEP provided for a food tax of 30%, handed over to the state not free of charge, but at set prices. Even if the cost of grain was small, it was still obvious progress.

The peasants could dispose of the remaining 70% of production independently, albeit within the boundaries of local farms.

Such measures not only stopped hunger, but also gave impetus to the development of the agricultural sector. The hunger has subsided. Already by 1925, the gross agricultural product approached pre-war volumes. This effect was ensured precisely by the transition to the NEP. The year when food appropriation was abolished marked the beginning of the rise of agriculture in the country. The agrarian revolution began, collective farms and agricultural cooperatives were created en masse in the country, and a technical base was organized.

NEP in industry

The decision to transition to the NEP entailed significant changes in the management of the country's industry. Although large enterprises were subordinate only to the state, small ones were freed from the need to obey the central authorities. They could create trusts, independently determining what and how much to produce. Such enterprises independently purchased the necessary materials and sold their products independently, disposing of their income minus taxes. The state did not control this process and was not responsible for the financial obligations of the trusts. The transition to the NEP brought back the already forgotten term “bankruptcy” to the country.

At the same time, the state did not forget that the reforms were temporary, and gradually implanted the principle of planning in industry. The trusts gradually merged into concerns, uniting enterprises involved in the supply of raw materials and manufacturing products into one logical chain. In the future, it was precisely these production segments that were to become the basis of a planned economy.

Financial reforms

Since the reasons for the transition to the NEP were largely economic in nature, urgent monetary reform was required. In the new republic there were no specialists of the required level, so the state recruited financiers who had significant experience during the times of Tsarist Russia.

As a result of economic reforms, the banking system was restored, direct and indirect taxation was introduced, and payment for some services that had previously been provided free of charge. All expenses that did not correspond to the republic's income were ruthlessly abolished.

A monetary reform was carried out, the first government securities were issued, and the country's currency became convertible.

For some time, the government managed to fight inflation, keeping the value of the national currency at a fairly high level. But then the combination of the incompatible - planned and market economies - destroyed this fragile balance. As a result of significant inflation, the chervonets, which were in use at that time, lost their status as a convertible currency. After 1926, it was impossible to travel abroad with this money.

Completion and results of the NEP

In the second half of the 20s, the country's leadership decided to transition to a planned economy. The country reached the pre-revolutionary level of production, but in achieving this goal there were reasons for the transition to the NEP. Briefly, the consequences of applying the new economic approach can be described as very successful.

It should be noted that there was no particular point in continuing the course towards a market economy for the country. After all, in fact, such a high result was achieved only due to the fact that production capacities were launched, inherited from the previous regime. Private entrepreneurs were completely deprived of the opportunity to influence economic decisions; representatives of the revived business did not take part in governing the country.

Attracting foreign investment in the country was not welcomed. However, there were not so many people willing to risk their finances by investing in Bolshevik enterprises. At the same time, there were simply no own funds for long-term investment in capital-intensive industries.

We can say that by the beginning of the 30s, the NEP had exhausted itself, and this economic doctrine had to be replaced by another, one that would allow the country to begin to move forward.

NEP (New Economic Policy) was carried out by the Soviet government from 1921 to 1928. This was an attempt to bring the country out of the crisis and give impetus to the development of the economy and agriculture. But the results of the NEP turned out to be terrible, and ultimately Stalin had to hastily interrupt this process to create industrialization, since the NEP policy almost completely killed heavy industry.

Reasons for introducing the NEP

With the beginning of the winter of 1920, the RSFSR plunged into a terrible crisis. It was largely due to the fact that in 1921-1922 there was a famine in the country. The Volga region suffered mainly (we all understand the notorious phrase “The Starving Volga Region”). Added to this was the economic crisis, as well as popular uprisings against the Soviet regime. No matter how many textbooks tell us that people greeted the power of the Soviets with applause, this was not so. For example, uprisings took place in Siberia, on the Don, in the Kuban, and the largest one was in Tambov. It went down in history under the name Antonov uprising or “Antonovschina.” In the spring of 21, about 200 thousand people were involved in the uprising. Considering that the Red Army at that moment was extremely weak, then this was a very serious threat to the regime. Then the Kronstadt rebellion was born. At the cost of effort, all these revolutionary elements were suppressed, but it became obvious that the approach to government management needed to be changed. And the conclusions were made correctly. Lenin formulated them this way:

The driving force of socialism is the proletariat, which means the peasants. Therefore, the Soviet government must learn to get along with them.
it is necessary to create a unified party system in the country and destroy any dissent.

This is precisely the essence of the NEP - “Economic liberalization under strict political control.”

In general, all the reasons for the introduction of the NEP can be divided into ECONOMIC (the country needed an impetus for economic development), SOCIAL (social division was still extremely acute) and POLITICAL (the new economic policy became a means of managing power).

Beginning of the NEP

The main stages of the introduction of the NEP in the USSR:

Decision of the 10th Congress of the Bolshevik Party of 1921.
Replacing the appropriation tax (in fact, this was the introduction of the NEP). Decree of March 21, 1921.
Allowing free exchange of agricultural products. Decree March 28, 1921.
Creation of cooperatives, which were destroyed in 1917. Decree of April 7, 1921.
Transfer of some industry from state hands to private hands. Decree May 17, 1921.
Creating conditions for the development of private trade. Decree May 24, 1921.
Resolution to TEMPORARILY provide the opportunity for private owners to lease state-owned enterprises. Decree July 5, 1921.
Permission for private capital to create any enterprise (including industrial) with a staff of up to 20 people. If the enterprise is mechanized - no more than 10. Decree of July 7, 1921.
Adoption of a “liberal” Land Code. He allowed not only the rental of land, but also hired labor on it. Decree of October 1922.

The ideological foundation of the NEP was laid at the 10th Congress of the RCP (b), which met in 1921 (if you remember, its participants went straight from this congress of delegates to suppress the Kronstadt rebellion), adopted the NEP and introduced a ban on “dissent” in the RCP (b). The fact is that before 1921 there were different factions in the RCP (b). This was allowed. According to logic, and this logic is absolutely correct, if economic relief is introduced, then within the party there must be a monolith. Therefore, there are no factions or divisions.

Justification of the NEP from the point of view of Soviet ideology

The ideological concept of the NEP was first given by V.I. Lenin. This happened at a speech at the tenth and eleventh congresses of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which took place in 1921 and 1922, respectively. Also, the rationale for the New Economic Policy was voiced at the third and fourth congresses of the Comintern, which also took place in 1921 and 1922. In addition, Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin played a major role in formulating the tasks of the NEP. It is important to remember that for a long time Bukharin and Lenin acted in opposition to each other on NEP issues. Lenin proceeded from the fact that the time had come to ease the pressure on the peasants and “make peace” with them. But Lenin was going to get along with the peasants not forever, but for 5-10 years. Therefore, the majority of members of the Bolshevik Party were sure that the NEP, as a forced measure, was being introduced for just one grain procurement company, as a deception for the peasantry. But Lenin especially emphasized that the NEP course is taken for a longer period. And then Lenin said a phrase that showed that the Bolsheviks were keeping their word - “but we will return to terror, including economic terror.” If we remember the events of 1929, then this is exactly what the Bolsheviks did. The name of this terror is Collectivization.

The New Economic Policy was designed for 5, maximum 10 years. And it certainly fulfilled its task, although at some point it threatened the existence of the Soviet Union.

Briefly, the NEP, according to Lenin, is a bond between the peasantry and the proletariat. This is precisely what formed the basis of the events of those days - if you are against the bond between the peasantry and the proletariat, then you are an opponent of the workers’ power, the Soviets and the USSR. The problems of this bond became a problem for the survival of the Bolshevik regime, because the regime simply did not have the army or equipment to crush the peasant revolts if they began en masse and in an organized manner. That is, some historians say that the NEP is the Brest peace of the Bolsheviks with their own people. That is, what kind of Bolsheviks are the International Socialists who wanted a world revolution. Let me remind you that it was this idea that Trotsky promoted. First, Lenin, who was not a very great theorist, (he was a good practitioner), he defined the NEP as state capitalism. And immediately for this he received a full portion of criticism from Bukharin and Trotsky. And after this, Lenin began to interpret the NEP as a mixture of Socialist and capitalist forms. I repeat - Lenin was not a theorist, but a practitioner. He lived by the principle - it is important for us to take power, but what it will be called is unimportant.

Lenin, in fact, accepted Bukharin’s version of the NEP with its wording and other attributes..

The NEP is a socialist dictatorship based on socialist production relations and regulating the broad petty-bourgeois organization of the economy.
Lenin

According to the logic of this definition, the main task facing the leadership of the USSR was the destruction of the petty-bourgeois economy. Let me remind you that the Bolsheviks called peasant farming petty-bourgeois. You need to understand that by 1922 the building of socialism had reached a dead end and Lenin realized that this movement could only be continued through the NEP. It is clear that this is not the main path, and it contradicted Marxism, but as a workaround it was quite suitable. And Lenin constantly emphasized that the new policy was a temporary phenomenon.

General characteristics of NEP

The totality of the NEP:

rejection of labor mobilization and an equal wage system for all.
transfer (partial, of course) of industry into private hands from state ones (denationalization).
creation of new economic associations - trusts and syndicates. Widespread introduction of self-financing
the formation of enterprises in the country at the expense of capitalism and the bourgeoisie, including the Western one.

Looking ahead, I will say that the NEP led to the fact that many idealistic Bolsheviks shot themselves in the forehead. They believed that capitalism was being restored, and they shed blood in vain during the Civil War. But the non-idealistic Bolsheviks made great use of the NEP, because during the NEP it was easy to launder what was stolen during the Civil War. Because, as we will see, NEP is a triangle: it is the head of a separate link of the party’s Central Committee, the head of a syndicator or trust, and also NEPman as a “huckster,” in modern language, through whom this whole process takes place. In general, this was a corruption scheme from the very beginning, but the NEP was a forced measure - the Bolsheviks would not have retained power without it.

NEP in trade and finance

Development of the credit system. In 1921, a state bank was created.
Reforming the financial and monetary system of the USSR. This was achieved through the reform of 1922 (monetary) and the replacement of the money of 1922-1924.
The emphasis is on private (retail) trade and the development of various markets, including the All-Russian one.

If we try to briefly characterize the NEP, then this structure was extremely unreliable. It took ugly forms of merging the personal interests of the country's leadership and everyone who was involved in the "Triangle". Each of them played their role. The menial work was done by the NEP man speculator. And this was especially emphasized in Soviet textbooks, saying that it was all private traders who ruined the NEP, and we fought against them as best we could. But in fact, the NEP led to colossal corruption of the party. This was one of the reasons for the abolition of the NEP, because if it had been maintained further, the party would simply have completely disintegrated.

Beginning in 1921, the Soviet leadership set a course towards weakening Centralization. In addition, much attention was paid to the element of reforming economic systems in the country. Labor mobilizations were replaced by labor exchanges (unemployment was high). Equalization was abolished, the card system was abolished (but for some, the card system was a salvation). It is logical that the results of the NEP almost immediately had a positive impact on trade. Naturally in retail trade. Already at the end of 1921, the Nepmen controlled 75% of trade turnover in retail trade and 18% in wholesale trade. NEPism has become a profitable form of money laundering, especially for those who looted a lot during the civil war. Their loot lay idle, and now it could be sold through the NEPmen. And many people laundered their money this way.

NEP in agriculture

Adoption of the Land Code. (22nd year). Transformation of the tax in kind into a single agricultural tax since 1923 (since 1926, entirely in cash).
Agricultural cooperation cooperation.
Equal (fair) exchange between agriculture and industry. But this was not achieved, as a result of which the so-called “price scissors” appeared.

At the bottom of society, the party leadership's turn to the NEP did not find much support. Many members of the Bolshevik Party were sure that this was a mistake and a transition from socialism to capitalism. Someone simply sabotaged the decision of the NEP, and those who were especially ideological even committed suicide. In October 1922, the New Economic Policy affected agriculture - the Bolsheviks began implementing the Land Code with new amendments. Its difference was that it legalized wage labor in the countryside (it would seem that the Soviet government was fighting precisely against this, but it did the same thing itself). The next stage occurred in 1923. This year, something happened that many had been waiting for and demanding for so long - the tax in kind was replaced by an agricultural tax. In 1926, this tax began to be collected entirely in cash.

In general, the NEP was not an absolute triumph of economic methods, as it was sometimes written in Soviet textbooks. It was only outwardly a triumph of economic methods. In fact, there was a lot of other things there. And I don’t just mean the so-called excesses of local authorities. The fact is that a significant part of the peasant product was alienated in the form of taxes, and taxation was excessive. Another thing is that the peasant got the opportunity to breathe freely, and this solved some problems. And here the absolutely unfair exchange between agriculture and industry, the formation of the so-called “price scissors,” came to the fore. The regime increased prices for industrial products and decreased prices for agricultural products. As a result, in 1923-1924 the peasants worked for practically nothing! The laws were such that the peasants were forced to sell approximately 70% of everything that the village produced for next to nothing. 30% of the product they produced was taken by the state at market value, and 70% at a reduced price. Then this figure decreased, and it became approximately 50/50. But in any case, this is a lot. 50% of products are priced below the market price.

As a result, the worst happened - the market ceased to perform its direct functions as a means of buying and selling goods. Now it has turned into an effective time of exploitation of the peasants. Only half of the peasant goods were purchased with money, and the other half was collected in the form of tribute (this is the most accurate definition of what happened in those years). The NEP can be characterized as follows: corruption, a swollen apparatus, massive theft of state property. The result was a situation where peasant production was used irrationally, and often the peasants themselves were not interested in high yields. This was a logical consequence of what was happening, because the NEP was initially an ugly design.

NEP in industry

The main features that characterize the New Economic Policy from the point of view of industry are the almost complete lack of development of this industry and the huge level of unemployment among ordinary people.

The NEP was initially supposed to establish interaction between city and village, between workers and peasants. But it was not possible to do this. The reason is that industry was almost completely destroyed as a result of the Civil War, and it was not able to offer anything significant to the peasantry. The peasantry did not sell their grain, because why sell if you can’t buy anything with money anyway. They simply stored the grain and did not buy anything. Therefore, there was no incentive for the development of industry. It turned out to be such a “vicious circle”. And in 1927-1928, everyone already understood that the NEP had outlived its usefulness, that it did not provide an incentive for the development of industry, but, on the contrary, destroyed it even more.

At the same time, it became clear that sooner or later a new war was coming in Europe. Here is what Stalin said about this in 1931:

If in the next 10 years we do not cover the path that the West has covered in 100 years, we will be destroyed and crushed.
Stalin

To put it in simple words, in 10 years it was necessary to raise industry from the ruins and put it on par with the most developed countries. The NEP did not allow this to be done, because it was focused on light industry and on Russia being a raw materials appendage of the West. That is, in this regard, the implementation of the NEP was a ballast that slowly but surely dragged Russia to the bottom, and if this course had been maintained for another 5 years, it is unknown how World War 2 would have ended.

The slow pace of industrial growth in the 1920s caused a sharp rise in unemployment. If in 1923-1924 there were 1 million unemployed in the city, then in 1927-1928 there were already 2 million unemployed. The logical consequence of this phenomenon is a huge increase in crime and discontent in cities. For those who worked, of course, the situation was normal. But overall the situation of the working class was very difficult.

Development of the USSR economy during the NEP period

Economic booms alternated with crises. Everyone knows the crises of 1923, 1925 and 1928, which also led to famine in the country.
Lack of a unified system for the development of the country's economy. The NEP crippled the economy. It did not provide an opportunity for the development of industry, but agriculture could not develop under such conditions. These 2 spheres slowed each other down, although the opposite was planned.
The grain procurement crisis of 1927-28 28 and, as a result, the course to curtail the NEP.

The most important part of the NEP, by the way, one of the few positive features of this policy, is “lifting up the financial system from its knees.” Let’s not forget that the Civil War has just ended, which almost completely destroyed the Russian financial system. Prices in 1921 compared to 1913 increased 200 thousand times. Just think about this number. Over 8 years, 200 thousand times... Naturally, it was necessary to introduce other money. Reform was needed. The reform was carried out by People's Commissar of Finance Sokolnikov, who was assisted by a group of old specialists. In October 1921, the State Bank began its work. As a result of his work, in the period from 1922 to 1924, depreciated Soviet money was replaced by Chervontsi

The chervonets was backed by gold, the content of which corresponded to the pre-revolutionary ten-ruble coin, and cost 6 American dollars. Chervonets was backed by both our gold and foreign currency.
Historical reference

Sovznak were withdrawn and exchanged at the rate of 1 new ruble 50,000 old signs. This money was called “Sovznaki”. During the NEP, cooperation actively developed and economic liberalization was accompanied by the strengthening of communist power. The repressive apparatus also strengthened. And how did this happen? For example, on June 6, 22, GlavLit was created. This is censorship and establishing control over censorship. A year later, GlavRepedKom emerged, which was in charge of the theater’s repertoire. In 1922, by decision of this body, more than 100 people, active cultural figures, were expelled from the USSR. Others were less fortunate and were sent to Siberia. The teaching of bourgeois disciplines was banned in schools: philosophy, logic, history. In 1936 everything was restored. Also, the Bolsheviks and the church did not ignore them. In October 1922, the Bolsheviks confiscated jewelry from the church, supposedly to fight hunger. In June 1923, Patriarch Tikhon recognized the legitimacy of Soviet power, and in 1925 he was arrested and died. A new patriarch was no longer elected. The patriarchate was then restored by Stalin in 1943.

On February 6, 1922, the Cheka was transformed into the state political department of the GPU. From emergency ones, these bodies turned into state, regular ones.

The NEP culminated in 1925. Bukharin addressed an appeal to the peasantry (primarily to the wealthy peasants).

Get rich, accumulate, develop your farm.
Bukharin

At the 14th party conference, Bukharin's plan was adopted. He was actively supported by Stalin, and criticized by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev. Economic development during the NEP period was uneven: first crisis, sometimes recovery. And this was due to the fact that the necessary balance between the development of agriculture and the development of industry was not found. The grain procurement crisis of 1925 was the first sound of the bell on the NEP. It became clear that the NEP would soon end, but due to inertia it continued for several more years.

Cancellation of NEP - reasons for cancellation

July and November plenum of the Central Committee of 1928. Plenum of the Central Committee of the Party and the Central Control Commission (to which one could complain about the Central Committee) April 1929.
reasons for the abolition of the NEP (economic, social, political).
was the NEP an alternative to real communism.

In 1926, the 15th party conference of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) met. It condemned the Trotskyist-Zinovievist opposition. Let me remind you that this opposition actually called for a war with the peasantry - to take away from them what the authorities need and what the peasants are hiding. Stalin sharply criticized this idea, and also directly voiced the position that the current policy had outlived its usefulness, and the country needed a new approach to development, an approach that would allow the restoration of industry, without which the USSR could not exist.

Since 1926, a tendency towards the abolition of the NEP gradually begins to emerge. In 1926-27, grain reserves for the first time exceeded pre-war levels and amounted to 160 million tons. But the peasants still did not sell bread, and industry was suffocating from overexertion. The left opposition (its ideological leader was Trotsky) proposed confiscating 150 million poods of grain from wealthy peasants, who made up 10% of the population, but the leadership of the CPSU (b) did not agree to this, because this would mean a concession to the left opposition.

Throughout 1927, the Stalinist leadership conducted maneuvers to completely eliminate the left opposition, because without this it was impossible to resolve the peasant question. Any attempt to put pressure on the peasants would mean that the party has taken the path that the “Left Wing” is talking about. At the 15th Congress, Zinoviev, Trotsky and other left oppositionists were expelled from the Central Committee. However, after they repented (this was called in party language “disarming before the party”) they were returned, because the Stalinist center needed them for the future fight against the Bucharest team.

The struggle for the abolition of the NEP unfolded as a struggle for industrialization. This was logical, because industrialization was task number 1 for the self-preservation of the Soviet state. Therefore, the results of the NEP can be briefly summarized as follows: the ugly economic system created many problems that could only be solved thanks to industrialization.