War Communism in Russia 1917 - 1921

Necessary Policies to Ensure the Success of the Bolshevik Regime

Apr 25, 2009

Withdrawing from World War I after the October Revolution, Lenin and the Bolsheviks faced external intervention and civil war, necessitating stringent internal controls.

Between 1917 and 1921, Russia, following the end of the Romanov dynasty and the seizure of power under Lenin’s Bolsheviks, underwent a prolonged internal struggle the included Civil War and the imposition of “War Communism.” By late 1920 the Bolsheviks had defeated the pro-aristocratic “Whites” as well as neutralized any effects from outside intervention stemming from World War I. Yet the policies of War Communism continued, alienating workers and peasants and threatening to derail the Bolshevik government.

Necessity of War Communism

The October 1917 Revolution occurred after three years of grueling trench warfare and political instability. The last hopeful military offensive, launched by the Provisional Government, which had made the mistake of honoring treaties with the west and staying in the war, collapsed and German armies were occupying large sections of Russian territory.

Lenin’s agreement to the 1918 Brest-Litovsk Treaty came as German units were converging on Petrograd. Even as Russia withdrew from the war, however, opposition armies called the “Whites,” desirous of returning elements of the old order, battled the Bolsheviks. Eventually defeated by Trotskii’s Red Army, these “counterrevolutionaries” characterized the Civil War.

Food and fuel became chief concerns during those terrible years. The richest grain production regions were controlled by White armies and it would not be until the mid to late 1920s that these areas were brought under Bolshevik control. Thus, grain requisitioning from peasants became an integral party of War Communism. Similarly, factories and mines – all industrial enterprises, were nationalized by the regime.

By late 1917, following the revolution, Lenin had ordered the nationalization of banks. This was followed by labor mobilization and the regimentation of the working classes. Although government agents in the countryside were charged with requisitioning surplus grain, they often took everything the peasant had. Peasants were paid in worthless paper money.

Wealthier peasants, like the Kulaks, were specifically targeted as counterrevolutionary types clinging to the old order of class and property. Yet for most peasants, the long-held dream of landownership, only partially achieved at huge cost in 1861 under Tsar Alexander II, carried with it the ownership rights of agricultural production. They particularly resented government run farms. Yet, the war years necessitated such sacrifices and peasants held the view that everything would get better after the last shots were fired.

End of the Civil War and a New Time of Troubles

Russian historians like Paul Avrich and W. Bruce Lincoln compare late 1920 and early 1921 as a Time of Troubles, referring back to the Boris Godunov period of the early 17th century in Russia. Rural opposition to War Communism, particularly in the Don and Volga regions, resembled the great peasant uprisings of earlier history. By February 1921, 118 revolts had been documented.

Continued grain requisitioning caused peasants to cut back on planting, further decreasing the amount of food available, especially in the cities. For the Bolsheviks, who had come to power with the slogan “Peace! Land! Bread!” these months represented a very fragile stability as socialists of various parties and even some disaffected Bolsheviks demanded change.

The demobilization of the Red Army further complicated matters. Swelling the lines of the unemployed, many were subsequently redeployed to work in factories, mines, and rebuilding the infrastructure. Mindful of peasant complaints, Lenin, however, favored a continuation of War Communism and greater bureaucratic centralization.

Part of the Bolshevik fears came from vocal demands for greater personal liberties and a return to the Constituent Assembly. The March 1921 Kronstadt naval revolt, led by men who had been the most ardent supporters of the October Revolution, though suppressed, finally forced Lenin to implement his New Economic Policy (NEP) and end the most onerous aspects of War Communism.

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The copyright of the article War Communism in Russia 1917 - 1921 in Russian/Ukrainian/Belarus History is owned by Michael Streich. Permission to republish War Communism in Russia 1917 - 1921 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.