- Bolsheviks (Reds) vs Mensheviks (Whites)
- Leader of the Bolsheviks: Vladimir Lenin
- Leader of the Mensheviks: L. Martov
Historical context
- coincided with the global event 1914-1918 World War I
- in order to survive, 🇷🇺 Russia signed an agreement with 🇩🇪 Germany to pull out of the war to focus on their internal threat of the Mensheviks
- the Mensheviks were supported by foreign countries
- the Bolsheviks fought for survival – the survival of communism
- in order to fight the war, the Bolsheviks needed food – to feed troops + general population
- farmers and labourers held the food; they stored it in their warehouses
- the Bolsheviks forced the farmers to hand over their crops without compensation
Communism in war
Summar
Life was very hard for peasants in Communist Russia. A sizeable population harboured resentment under the surface, leading to Lenin instituting a 1921-03 New Economic Policy lot of them harboured resentment under the surface.
- grain requisitioning: forcibly taking food from peasants without due compensation
- Bolsheviks sent units of Red guards and soldiers to the countryside to find grain for the cities
- industrial workers needed food to continue working to produce bullets, artillery, etc.
- troops needed food to continue fighting
- Bolsheviks sent units of Red guards and soldiers to the countryside to find grain for the cities
- banning of private trade: no formal free market
- the state trading organisation was incompetent and chaotic
- a huge black market developed
- nationalisation of trade and industry: all trade and industry brought under state control
- people turned over their factories and shops because they were desperate to keep their jobs
- all small businesses were shut and handed over to the government, sometimes by force
- labour discipline: fines for various offences like lateness and absenteeism
- systems rewarding workers based on output and not hours spent were revived
- rationing: todo