As against to the provisional Government the government of the Soviet Russia had started drastic transformations in the field of economy. Those transformations were based on the program of Bolsheviks's party.
The foundation of the "reform" was the strict centralization, which led to establishing " military communism " in the country. The idea of transformation of state-monopoly bodies of regulation of capitalist economy in Russia to the mechanism of systematic management of national economy in conditions of dictatorship of Bolsheviks's party had resulted in unprecedented before centralization. By summer of 1920 there were almost 50 central boards created, which controlled large nationalized enterprises, regulated the relations with the non-nationalized minor, handicraft and cooperative industries, coordinated adjacent industries and distributed the production. That system was to a certain extent able to coordinate quantitative increment of production, but not its quality and variety.
November, 14, 1917 the work control over manufacture, purchase, sale of products and materials was established. Functions of the organization of national economy and public finances were assigned to the Supreme Council of National Economy (VSNH) founded in December 2 by the Soviet of People's Commissars. In December, 14, 1917 the Central Military Executive Committee (VTSIK) had passed the decree about nationalization of banks.
In March 1918 the situation of Russian economy went down. The country had lost the important industrial and agricultural areas in Transcaucasia and Ukraine, 40 % of industrial production, 90 % of the iron industry. By the end of 1918 from 9750 enterprises more than 3800 became inactive. In comparison with 1913 the gross output was reduced 3 times as much and had made 1845 million roubles. In 1918 it was made only 31,5 million poods of pig iron, 24,5 million poods of steel and 21,8 million poods of rolled metal.
The way out of the economic crisis was found by means of nationalization of foreign trade in April 1918, the industrial enterprises - in May, reinforcement of the centralized management of the industry and militarization of economy. In the second half of 1918, despite economical difficulties, the growth of military production began. It was produced 900 thousand rifles, 8 thousand machine guns, 2 thousand arms, 500 million cartridges and 2,5 million shells. Reservation of grain monopoly of the state, introduction of food dictatorship and the announcement in May of a crusade against rural bourgeoisie had allowed with assistance of the committees of the rural poor created in June to forcibly withdraw the significant amount of bread from prosperous peasants. 140 million poods of bread was sent to industrial centers and starving areas in 1918-1919.
At the same time all those measures had alienated peasants of average means, which made 60 % of peasantry, against the Soviet authority, became one of the reasons of failure of mobilization to the army and growth of desertions. And only after liquidation at the end of 1918 - the beginning of 1919 the committees of the poor it was possible to reduce the opposition of average peasantry against new authority. In 1920 the Central Committee of the Republican Communist Party (of bolshevics) and the government of Russian Soviet Federative Soviet Republic had undertaken a number of measures on restoration of a national economy. The repairing of railway transportation, i.e. the rolling stock was speeded up. So, since January till April the number of serviceable steam locomotives had increased from 4 up to 5 thousand, and cars - from 167 up to 196 thousand. As a result of reconstruction works in Donetsk coalfield the coal mining had increased from 208 thousand tons in January up to 384 thousand tons in March. The storage of bread had also increased from 100 million poods in May, 1, 1919 up to 163 million (without Ukraine) in May, 1, 1920 г. |
History 