War Communism - Policies

Policies

War communism included the following policies:

  1. All industry was nationalized and strict centralized management was introduced.
  2. State monopoly on foreign trade was introduced.
  3. Discipline for workers was strict, and strikers could be shot.
  4. Obligatory labour duty was imposed onto "non-working classes."
  5. Prodrazvyorstka – requisition of agricultural surpluses from peasants in excess of absolute minimum for centralized distribution among the remaining population.
  6. Food and most commodities were rationed and distributed in urban centers in a centralized way.
  7. Private enterprise became illegal.
  8. The state introduced military-style control of railroads.

Because all of these measures were implemented in a time of civil war, they were far less coherent and coordinated in practice than they might appear on paper. Large areas of Russia were outside the Bolsheviks' control, and poor communications meant that even those regions loyal to the Bolshevik government often had to act on their own, lacking any orders or central coordination from Moscow. It has long been debated whether "war communism" represented an actual economic policy in the proper sense of the word or merely a set of desperate measures intended to win the civil war at any cost.

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