War communism

War communism or military communism (Russian: Военный коммунизм, Vojenný kommunizm) was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. War communism began in June 1918, enforced by the Supreme Economic Council (Russian: Высший Совет Народного Хозяйства), known as the Vesenkha. It ended on 21 March 1921, with the beginning of the New Economic Policy, which lasted until 1928. The system has often been described as simple authoritarian control by the ruling and military castes to maintain power and control in the Soviet regions, rather than any coherent political ideology.^[1] The Soviet propaganda justified it by claiming that the Bolsheviks adopted this policy with the goal of keeping towns (the proletarian power-base) and the Red Army stocked with food and weapons since circumstances dictated new economic measures.

The deadly Russian famine of 1921–22, which killed about five million people, was in part triggered by Vladimir Lenin's war communism policies, especially food requisitioning.^[2]^[3] However, the famine was preceded by bad harvests, harsh winter, drought especially in the Volga Valley which was exacerbated by a range of factors including the war, the presence of the White Army and the methods of war communism.^[4] The outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhus were also contributing factors to the famine casualties.^[5]^[6]

^ Himmer, Robert (1994). "The Transition from War Communism to the New Economic Policy: An Analysis of Stalin's Views". The Russian Review. 53 (4): 515–529. doi:10.2307/130963. JSTOR 130963 – via JSTOR.
^ The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "War Communism". Encyclopaedia Britannica.
^ Mawdsley, Evan (1 March 2007). The Russian Civil War. Pegasus Books. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-933648-15-6.
^ Götz, Norbert; Brewis, Georgina; Werther, Steffen (23 July 2020). Humanitarianism in the Modern World: The Moral Economy of Famine Relief. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-108-49352-9.
^ Heinzen, James W. (1 February 2004). Inventing a Soviet Countryside: State Power and the Transformation of Rural Russia, 1917-1929. University of Pittsburgh Pre. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8229-7078-1.
^ Raleigh, Donald J. (11 May 2021). Experiencing Russia's Civil War: Politics, Society, and Revolutionary Culture in Saratov, 1917-1922. Princeton University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-4008-4374-9.

[1] Himmer, Robert (1994). "The Transition from War Communism to the New Economic Policy: An Analysis of Stalin's Views". The Russian Review. 53 (4): 515–529. doi:10.2307/130963. JSTOR 130963 – via JSTOR.

[2] The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "War Communism". Encyclopaedia Britannica.

[3] Mawdsley, Evan (1 March 2007). The Russian Civil War. Pegasus Books. p. 287. ISBN 978-1-933648-15-6.

[4] Götz, Norbert; Brewis, Georgina; Werther, Steffen (23 July 2020). Humanitarianism in the Modern World: The Moral Economy of Famine Relief. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-108-49352-9.

[5] Heinzen, James W. (1 February 2004). Inventing a Soviet Countryside: State Power and the Transformation of Rural Russia, 1917-1929. University of Pittsburgh Pre. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8229-7078-1.

[6] Raleigh, Donald J. (11 May 2021). Experiencing Russia's Civil War: Politics, Society, and Revolutionary Culture in Saratov, 1917-1922. Princeton University Press. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-4008-4374-9.

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