Lenin and Stalin.

[Worker8]

I just wanted a comparison between Lenin and Stalin's economic plans. What worked and didn't. Mostly how it effected Russia and the people(a little in-depth).

Didn't know where to post this.

[Hiero]

Im not a expert on the subject. But basically the NEP (New Economic Prolicy) was desgined to help speed up argiculture. Farms were still owned by the upper class left over from feudalism. Land and machines (means of production) were owned privatly by the upper class. The idea was that surpless grain was owned by the private farms and sold at their will. This gave incentive to spead up the agriculture sector and expanding it by selling surpluss grain to buy new machines from the industrial cities.

What happened was that the agriculture sector grow faster then the industry, so they were producing much more surpluss. At the end of the NEP the industrial cities began selling their equipment for higher prices, so peasants were holding back on graind waiting for higher prices, or they were selling them to middle trades men for higher prices.

After Lenin's death Stalin realised the NEP had done it's job and now it was time to introduce collectivisation and start rapid industrialisation to compete with the imperialist nations.

This involved forming collective farming of private farmers and fighting the Kulak class who wanted capitalism. The farmers now owned only the grain and had to sell it to the state at prices controlled by the peasants and the party. The state owned the machines and land, so the peasants had not worry of paying for machines which they would take most of their lives paying back.

I can't go much indepth as im not a economist or well enough educated on the subject. I base what i said on a wikipedia article on the NEP and Stalin's book Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR.

[viva le revolution]

In the industrial sector, the revenue earned from the production of consumer goods(finished goods) was diverted and invested into the setting up infrastructure for the production of capital goods( Machinery etc.). In that way, the potential output of the Soviet Union enjoyed a huge leap forward. This of course was during Stalin's time. I'm sorry, but my knowledge of the nitty gritty technicalities is not up to the mark.

[norwegian commie]

This is on the pluss side of Stalins rule, he fighted the Kulaks and reformed the land. Sovjets provising land, school, kindergarden was built and economy, knowledge sprung to the roof. The five year plans under Stalin worked but not after his rule. The first 5 year plan where succseded in 4 years.

Now Stalin had taken one more step towards the ultimate communist society. As for the killing, that pushed Sovjet away from Communism, however without Sovjet and Stalin wed all be honuring a Nazi dictator today and there would be no Jews, Commies, Anarchists, sosial democrats, ect....

People know little of Stalin because he is demonised, so the progress during his rule drowns in the sopposedly and actual killing of political opponents. Hes name is Tabu and hes work rejected, (not saying he was all good) he did have some problems and wanted above all to maintain hes power, for this to work and to elliminate corruption (if you were caught you were killed) he felt he needed to keep the people in a firm bloody grip.

[Worker8]

Another question, what is a controversial matter when you compare Lenin and Stalin?

[ComradeOm]

Originally posted by [email protected] 3 2006, 03:11 AM
Another question, what is a controversial matter when you compare Lenin and Stalin?
Most people think that Stalin was a brutal dictator who made little, if any, contribution to communism. That is widely accepted. There are those who feel the same way about Lenin, something which is not so accepted.

On the original question:

Very briefly. Stalin’s economic policies were not greatly different from that of Lenin’s war communism, which had in itself been conceived under the Tsar’s rule. Economically speaking, its safe to say that the policies of 1918 - 1921 and Stalin’s rule are broadly similar in that they advocate the building of state monopolies. Its also worth noting that this tendency towards centralising was shared by Trotsky.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) came about in 1921 due to need to appease the peasants. It was a step back from the centralised nature of war communism and permitted some market activity. By the time Stalin decided to push ahead with industrialisation the position of the Communists was far more secure.