THE N.E.P.
Pat Louisell
In March of 1921, Lenin approved the National Economic Policy or NEP. What the NEP basically encompassed was that there had to be a compromise with the peasants in Russia over the issue of agriculture, or there had to be a socialist revolution. The NEP was basically the former: a compromise with the peasants. The NEP was referred to as a "return to Capitalism" by some. Lenin, although not a fan of capitalist ideals, had decidedly chosen to take a step backwards in order to move forward.
Lenin came before the Congress in March 1921 and proposed the NEP. The NEP was in essence a capitalist free market. The NEP stated that requisitioning of food and agricultural surpluses, a doctrine of War Communism, must be ended. Instead, the government would tax the peasants on a fixed percentage of their production. Trotsky had already proposed a similar policy, but it was rejected by his fellow colleagues, including Lenin. Basically, this promoted a free agricultural market in Russia.
The nation's economy was in terrible shape. Using bullets to gain political control works fine, but feeding people bullets only works when you want them dead. Russia was in serious need of an economic jumpstart, and the NEP could help them do exactly that. The free market created a system where the peasants could grow their own crops, share with the Bolsheviks, and still have enough left over for himself and his family (ideally).
The NEP would have been much more effective if the peasants were organized better under Lenin's rule. By 1921-22, many peasants were still out of the Reds' control, and were fighting them. In order to make up for the serious lack of money, the government placed huge taxes on the peasants. Also, huge requisitions of food from previous years had left a meager amount of seeds left for the following year's crops. The peasants were disorganized and seperated, which made agriculture harder still. By 1921, a famine was hanging over Russia's head. Lenin came to the conclusion that the Communist objectives must be compromised to stop a revolt from within. Lenin's idea was that the purpose of the NEP was to keep the peasants in check and the Communists in power, as well as stabilize the economy, and keep everyone happy. Lenin isn't exactly known to be the most caring of people, however, so he had other motives as well. The economy, by this time, was running dry, so the taxes placed on food could be expected to help spearhead agricultural production and trade. Before this time, a peasant's buisness as a farmer was severely lacking in economic security. Lenin believed that monetary gain was not the primary incentive for going with the NEP in the minds of the peasants. Lenin instead believed that the NEP would help further establish order and rule in Russia, and secure the economy. The lack of food created a serious threat of famine. Lenin decided to change the policy to get food to the cities. Lenin decided to use this time to crush the church.