War Communism

Which of the following statements best describes why War Communism was introduced in 1918?

• The policies of War Communism were unplanned, improvised responses to the collapse of the Russian economy and pressures of the Russian Civil War

• The policies of War Communism were intended as a transitional stage between State Capitalism and true Communism

• Lenin sought to create a Communist society as quickly as possible, and took advantage of the chaos of the Russian Civil to accelerate his plans

• Lenin saw War Communism as a means of mobilising Russians to attack the bourgeoisie and private property, and thus end private property and create a classless utopia

Which of the following statements best describes the main features of War Communism?

• State control of industry, emphasis on development of heavy industry, abolition of money

• Forcible grain requisitioning, rise of an illegal black market, abolition of money

• Forcible grain requisitioning, emphasis on war industries, replacement of money with rations

• State control of industry, replacement of money with rations, forcible grain requisitioning

Which of the following best describes the Decree on Food Supply (May 1918)?

• All surplus grain was declared the property of the Soviet government, and could be forcibly requisitioned without payment

• The Cheka was granted the power to summarily execute ‘kulaks’ who were hoarding grain

• Peasants were required to pay a 10% tax in kind on all grain produced, and could sell the rest at market

• The price of bread was fixed by the Soviet Government, and anyone found selling at higher prices could be imprisoned for 10 years

Lenin blamed food shortages during the Civil War period on ‘kulaks’. Who were the kulaks?

• Lazy peasants who, according to Lenin, did not produce enough food

• Merchants who supposedly hoarded grain in an effort to raise food prices

• Wealthy peasants who Lenin portrayed as the ‘rural bourgeoisie’

• Peasants who were hostile to the Soviet Government

Which of the following was not a cause of the famine of 1921, which claimed 5 million lives?

• Grain requisitioning agents regularly seized seed grain and grain reserves from peasants, leaving them to starve

• Drought caused widespread failure across the Volga region

• Conscription of able-bodied men during WWI and the Civil War disrupted food production

• Lenin deliberately withheld food deliveries from rebellious regions of Ukraine

All of the following factors contributed to declining industrial output under War Communism, except for:

• Too many workers were conscripted into the Red Army, creating shortages of skilled labour in many factories

• Food shortages caused 50% of the urban workforce to return to the countryside between 1917 and 1921

• To supplement their meagre rations, many factory workers spent their time making trinkets to barter for food instead of doing their assigned jobs

• Emphasis on war production led to the closure of all non-essential factories between 1918 and 1921

What slogan did Lenin use to justify the introduction of rationing under War Communism?

• ‘He who does not work, shall not eat!’

• ‘Food for the labourers!’

• ‘Work, Freedom and Bread!’

• ‘All who work will eat!’

The Soviet Government implemented all of the following reforms under War Communism, except for:

• Individual peasant farms were merged into government-run kolkhozes (‘collective farms’)

• All factories were nationalised and placed under the control of Vesenkha (the ‘supreme council for the economy’)

• Industrial workers were paid using rations instead of cash

• All private trade was outlawed

Which of the following best describes how Russian workers and peasants responded to the policies of War Communism?

• Accepted War Communism as a necessary evil during difficult economic times

• Reluctantly accepted War Communism as necessary to fight the Civil War

• Enthusiastically supported War Communism as a means of building a truly equal Communist society

• Resented and protested against the harsh measures of War Communism

Which of the following statements was not a consequence of the Bolshevik policies of War Communism?

• Repressive treatment of workers led to increasing strikes in late 1920 and early 1921

• Efficient economic management caused industrial output to double from 1918 to 1921

• Prioritising war production ensured all Red Army units were well-supplied during the Civil War

• Excessive grain requisitioning contributed to a famine that killed 5 million people in 1921