Essay: To what extent had Lenin created a socialist society in Russia by the time of his death in 1924?
Economic attempts at creating a socialist Russia In 1918, the Bolsheviks established workers control in factories, known as state capitalism. Unfortunately, this change increased worker control but led to a major fall in production and had to be abandoned in favour of War Communism. As the name suggests, War Communism was introduced to meet the demands imposed on Lenin s regime by the need to win the Civil War. State control over the entire production process and the abolition of private business and trade suggests that War Communism was a major move in favour of a Socialist society.
However, the strict and ruthless control over the economy caused resentment. This was most closely seen in the treatment of the peasantry. Using forcible grain requisitioning, the Bolsheviks were able to feed the population in the towns and cities they controlled. However, this was done at a cost. Peasant resentment turned into open rebellion, as in Tambov Province in 1920-21. It also led to a major reduction in the planting of grain by the peasants, leading to a widespread famine by 1921.
Economic attempts at creating a socialist Russia In order to save the regime from collapse and the country from economic devastation, Lenin abandoned War Communism in March 1921 and replaced it with the New Economic Policy. The NEP introduced private business and private trade. It also abandoned forcible grain requisitioning. Although Lenin s regime maintained control over major industry, the commanding heights of the economy, this was a major retreat from a truly Socialist society
Political and ideological factors When Lenin took power in October 1917, he did so as the leader of the workers and poor peasants of Russia. Instead of introducing representative government, Lenin introduced the Red Terror, and Communist dictatorship. The constituent Assembly was forced to close after only 1 day, in January 1918. Russia was ruled by a small clique of leading Bolsheviks from the Politburo. The press was severely censored, as all aspects of the media came under Bolshevik control and became organs of propaganda for the Bolshevik regime. A key feature of Lenin s rule was the recreation of a terror police force. The provisional Government had abolished the Okhrana.
Instead, Lenin created the Cheka. As a ruthless force of approximately 250,000, the Cheka hunted down political opponents of the Bolsheviks. Tens of thousands were imprisoned without trial. The Cheka also ran the gulag, a nationwide network of concentration camps filled with opponents of the regime. Conclusion:By the time of his death, Lenin had created a dictatorship far more ruthless than the tsarist regime he had condemned. In many ways, Lenin was merely a Red tsar and shows another major retreat from a truly socialist society
Conclusion: Therefore, by the time of his death in 1924, Lenin had moved partly towards creating a Socialist-style economy but had abandoned a full-blown Socialist-style economy in March 1921. It also showed that Lenin and the Communists could not pursue an economic policy purely down ideological lines and not take circumstances into consideration.
Ideological external factors A significant cause of the introduction of the NEP was after a group who initially had supported Lenin in 1917, started to lose faith in Lenin and his way of ruling Russia. By March 1921 the Kronstad sailors they demanded a return of freedom of speech, relaxed economic controls due to war communism and a change in the special positions given to members of the Communist Party. These demands were not met and this led directly to an open rebellion against Lenin and his regime and what deemed to be an abandonment of their socialist principles
Overall Conclusion? Therefore, by 1924, the Russian economy had many of the features of a Socialist society. The state controlled large sectors of the economy. Yet over 75% of the Russian population were still peasants working their own land. Instead of a truly Socialist society, Lenin had created a state of workers and peasants. The society created by Lenin was far from free and open. It was a ruthless dictatorship, where only the views of Lenin and the Bolsheviks were accepted. This was shown clearly in the Kronstadt uprising of March 1921, when the revolutionary Baltic Fleet sailors openly rebelled against Lenin, accusing him of abandoning socialism.