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“Learning to Lead our Lives” The impact of war Communism and the NEP Skill: Problem Solving NGfL: Russia 1900-1924

The Impact of War Communism and the New Economic Policy. Skill: Problem Solving

The famine affected both the countryside and the cities. There were reports of cannibalism in some districts. This was written 1922 "Sometimes mothers and fathers feed their children human meat as a last resort. Sometimes a starving family eats the body of one of its junior members. Sometimes parents at night seize part of a body from a cemetery and feed it to their children”. What do you think is happening in this picture? What does this tell you about the conditions in Russia at this time? Photograph used with the kind permission of the David King Collection, London

Consequences of War Communism. Sailors protested about their living conditions and how the Communists did not appear to have any regard for ordinary people. Lenin called this ‘a lightning flash that lit up reality’ Agricultural Collapse – 5 million die of starvation Currency collapse:Payment in food and fuel Cities in chaos:*orphaned children *burglary

Getting people on your side Problems with Industry Imagine that you are an advisor to Lenin. You have to try to find solutions to these three BIG problems. What do you suggest? Problems with Farming

Lenin’s answer – The New Economic Policy • Small factories (those employing less than 20 workers) were privatised. • However, all important industries, such as coal and steel remained nationalised • Stopped the Practice of requisitioning food • Peasants now had to supply amount of what they grew to the government • Any extra they were allowed to keep or even sell for profit! New Rouble was introduced to end inflation. Programme of electrification continued and extended to rural areas.

Do you think the New Economic policy was a good idea? Lenin called the NEP ‘ONE STEP FORWARD TWO STEPS BACK’ Picture reproduced with the kind permission of the David King Collection, London Would People in Russia like to see images such as this?

An American journalist describes the economic conditions in Moscow in 1921. 'One morning at the top of my street I saw a man sitting on a sidewalk selling some food packets given by a famine-relief agency. By mid November he had rented a tiny store across the street, handling milk, vegetables, chickens and the freshest eggs and apples. By the following May he had four salesmen in a fair-sized store, to which the peasants brought their produce fresh each morning.'

Imagine that you are a reporter investigating Russian responses to the NEP. Write a ‘sound bite’ for each of the characters below. An Industrialist A communist party member A Private trader A Russian Peasant

Describe the events at Kronstadt in 1921. [2] Explain why there was such serious famine in Russia in 1921. [4] How successful was the New Economic Policy? [5] WJEC EXAM PRACTICESECTION B

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