War Communism

1. War Communism and the
Great Famine
Key Terms, Events,
Names:
Conscription,
Nationalisation,
Communist
Sundays, Soviet
Farms, Grain tax,
Vesenkha, Kulaks

2. War communism was introduced by the Bolshevik government to
help it fight the Civil War against the (1). The Bolsheviks were
Communists. They wanted to take control of (2) * and food
production in Russia.
The Bolsheviks took control of (3) * , mines, workshops and railways.
Grain was taken away from the (4) * using force. Private (5) * was not
allowed. Food was (6) * . War communism failed. Peasants hid grain.
Many peasants were arrested or (7) * . Peasants grew less grain.
There was a (8) * in 1921. The number of goods produced by
factories (9) * . The sailors at the naval base at (10) * revolted against
the Bolshevik government.
War communism was introduced by the Bolshevik government to
help it fight the Civil War against the (1). The Bolsheviks were
Communists. They wanted to take control of (2) * and food
production in Russia.
The Bolsheviks took control of (3) * , mines, workshops and railways.
Grain was taken away from the (4) * using force. Private (5) * was not
allowed. Food was (6) * . War communism failed. Peasants hid grain.
Many peasants were arrested or (7) * . Peasants grew less grain.
There was a (8) * in 1921. The number of goods produced by
factories (9) * . The sailors at the naval base at (10) * revolted against
the Bolshevik government.
War Communism: In a
Nutshell!
Fill in the blanks with the below:
Krondstrat, Whites, factories, trade, peasants,
industry, famine, fell, shot, rationed
Fill in the blanks with the below:
Krondstrat, Whites, factories, trade, peasants,
industry, famine, fell, shot, rationed

3. What was War
Communism?
These were policies imposed by the
Bolsheviks to assist during the Civil War.
They included the following:
1.Involved forced conscription – to industry
or the Red Army.
2.Forced confiscation of grain and food
(called requisitioning).
3.Establishment of Soviet Farms on large
estates.
4.Nationalisation of industry – told factories
what to produce
5.Rationing of food and a grain tax.
6.Introduction of ‘Communist Sundays’ – a
day where loyal Communists were
expected to ‘volunteer’ to aid the war
effort.
These were policies imposed by the
Bolsheviks to assist during the Civil War.
They included the following:
1.Involved forced conscription – to industry
or the Red Army.
2.Forced confiscation of grain and food
(called requisitioning).
3.Establishment of Soviet Farms on large
estates.
4.Nationalisation of industry – told factories
what to produce
5.Rationing of food and a grain tax.
6.Introduction of ‘Communist Sundays’ – a
day where loyal Communists were
expected to ‘volunteer’ to aid the war
effort.
War Communism had
two main aims:
1.To put communist
theories into practice
by re-distributing
wealth among the
Russian people.
2.Help with the civil war
by keeping the towns
and Red Army
supplied with food and
weapons.
War Communism had
two main aims:
1.To put communist
theories into practice
by re-distributing
wealth among the
Russian people.
2.Help with the civil war
by keeping the towns
and Red Army
supplied with food and
weapons.
1

4. War Communism in
Industry
• 1918 – industrial production running at
about 30% of 1913 levels.
• Problems from the Provisional
Government continued – lack of raw
materials, failures of the transport
system and inflation.
• The Allies blocked foreign trade from
entering Russia.
• Industry put under centralised state
control run by the Supreme Council of
State Economy called Vesenkha.
• Vesenkha aimed to bring discipline to
factories.
• Workers were fined for lateness or not
meeting their output target.
• Each worker had a record-book
which they had to present in order to
get food rations.
• Trade Unions were taken over the
Communist Party officials
• 1918 – industrial production running at
about 30% of 1913 levels.
• Problems from the Provisional
Government continued – lack of raw
materials, failures of the transport
system and inflation.
• The Allies blocked foreign trade from
entering Russia.
• Industry put under centralised state
control run by the Supreme Council of
State Economy called Vesenkha.
• Vesenkha aimed to bring discipline to
factories.
• Workers were fined for lateness or not
meeting their output target.
• Each worker had a record-book
which they had to present in order to
get food rations.
• Trade Unions were taken over the
Communist Party officials
2

5. Grain requisitioning – War
Communism and the Peasants
• The food crisis in Russia continued in the
new regime.
• During 1918, industrial goods were so
scarce, and at such high prices,
peasants saw no point in sending food
to market.
• They were virtually subsistence farmers.
• The Bolsheviks were convinced that the
peasants were deliberately hoarding
food and armed Cheka units were sent
into the countryside to seize grain.
• Grain-requisitioning squads of 75 men
were sent to overcome any peasant
resistance.
• By 1920, 8000 members of the
requisitioning parties had been
murdered by peasants who literally
had no more grain or patience to give.
• The food crisis in Russia continued in the
new regime.
• During 1918, industrial goods were so
scarce, and at such high prices,
peasants saw no point in sending food
to market.
• They were virtually subsistence farmers.
• The Bolsheviks were convinced that the
peasants were deliberately hoarding
food and armed Cheka units were sent
into the countryside to seize grain.
• Grain-requisitioning squads of 75 men
were sent to overcome any peasant
resistance.
• By 1920, 8000 members of the
requisitioning parties had been
murdered by peasants who literally
had no more grain or patience to give.
3

6. War Communism and the
Kulaks
• Richer peasants named ‘Kulaks’
were blamed for the rising prices
during the food shortage.
• The Communists believed they
were hoarding grain and sent
groups of Cheka to force the
Kulaks to hand it over. Mass terror
and suspicion resulted.
• Peasants would now only produce
enough grain to feed their families
= food shortages.
• Historians debate as to whether the
food shortages were caused by
hoarding or because War
Communism removed any
incentive to produce a surplus.
• Richer peasants named ‘Kulaks’
were blamed for the rising prices
during the food shortage.
• The Communists believed they
were hoarding grain and sent
groups of Cheka to force the
Kulaks to hand it over. Mass terror
and suspicion resulted.
• Peasants would now only produce
enough grain to feed their families
= food shortages.
• Historians debate as to whether the
food shortages were caused by
hoarding or because War
Communism removed any
incentive to produce a surplus.
1

7. 500 000 (est.) died in the Red Terror, but can you work out the links
and significance of these pictures?
The Cheka & The Red
Terror
LO: How was the War
Communism enforced
by the Bolsheviks?

8. Source Analysis
Write a letter to a middle class
relative in America who fled
Russia after the Bolsheviks seized
power in 1917. Tell them:
•How War Communism operates
•How people in the cities are
faring, particularly the middle
classes.
•What is happening in the
countryside.
•About the power of the Cheka
and how control is kept.
Write a letter to a middle class
relative in America who fled
Russia after the Bolsheviks seized
power in 1917. Tell them:
•How War Communism operates
•How people in the cities are
faring, particularly the middle
classes.
•What is happening in the
countryside.
•About the power of the Cheka
and how control is kept.
Use the source sheet and your
own knowledge to help you
with this letter
Use the source sheet and your
own knowledge to help you
with this letter

9. The Great Famine
• The Great Famine killed many
Russians through malnutrition and
epidemics.
• Historians estimate that at least
five million died of starvation and
disease, though this figure could
be as high as eight million.
• In 1921 the situation was so
desperate, the Bolsheviks
accepted famine relief from the
ARA (an American charity).
• The ARA imported over a million
tons of grain and fed in excess of
10 million people per day in
Russia.
• The Great Famine killed many
Russians through malnutrition and
epidemics.
• Historians estimate that at least
five million died of starvation and
disease, though this figure could
be as high as eight million.
• In 1921 the situation was so
desperate, the Bolsheviks
accepted famine relief from the
ARA (an American charity).
• The ARA imported over a million
tons of grain and fed in excess of
10 million people per day in
Russia.
2

10. The Great Famine
• A lack of rainfall in the
Ukraine (black soil region
providing 1/3 of Russia’s grain
and cereal crops) had a
severe impact on the rest of
the country.
• 1921 crop yield = half the
total crop yield on 1913.
• Normally, peasants would be
prepared for a situation like
this as they would store a
year’s grain in reserve.
However, after years of war
and grain requisitioning,
these stores were empty.
• A lack of rainfall in the
Ukraine (black soil region
providing 1/3 of Russia’s grain
and cereal crops) had a
severe impact on the rest of
the country.
• 1921 crop yield = half the
total crop yield on 1913.
• Normally, peasants would be
prepared for a situation like
this as they would store a
year’s grain in reserve.
However, after years of war
and grain requisitioning,
these stores were empty.
3

11. The Great Famine
Source A: Suspected cannibals found selling body parts for food.
Source B: Ilarion Nyshchenko to save himself from starvation killed his
3-year-old brother and ate him.
Source A: Suspected cannibals found selling body parts for food.
Source B: Ilarion Nyshchenko to save himself from starvation killed his
3-year-old brother and ate him.
Source A
Source B

12. Famine in the Cities
• ¾ of wages were spent on food.
• Cuts to rations in Jan 1921 lead to
demonstrations which had to be broken
up by the Cheka.
• Many people fled the cities (Petrograd
1917 = 2.5mil to 1921 = 0.75 million).
• Rations were calculated on a class basis
so a worker got more than a bourgeois.
• Water and electricity were rarely
available.
• Housing was controlled by committees, so
former owners of a large house could find
themselves living in one room, sharing
their former home with several families.
• Peasants in famine-affected areas left for
the cities, but the situation there was
equally bad.
• In Kiev and Moscow (1921) foreign aid
workers found dozens dead on the streets.
• ¾ of wages were spent on food.
• Cuts to rations in Jan 1921 lead to
demonstrations which had to be broken
up by the Cheka.
• Many people fled the cities (Petrograd
1917 = 2.5mil to 1921 = 0.75 million).
• Rations were calculated on a class basis
so a worker got more than a bourgeois.
• Water and electricity were rarely
available.
• Housing was controlled by committees, so
former owners of a large house could find
themselves living in one room, sharing
their former home with several families.
• Peasants in famine-affected areas left for
the cities, but the situation there was
equally bad.
• In Kiev and Moscow (1921) foreign aid
workers found dozens dead on the streets.
1

13. Famine in the Cities
“ Our staple diet when things were grim were potato
peelings fried. One evening we found a large, black
crow, frozen solid. Tousia, my sister, plucked it, cutting off
its feet and its head…we now had the most magnificent
chicken.”
A young girl describes food shortages in Moscow, 1921.
“ Our staple diet when things were grim were potato
peelings fried. One evening we found a large, black
crow, frozen solid. Tousia, my sister, plucked it, cutting off
its feet and its head…we now had the most magnificent
chicken.”
A young girl describes food shortages in Moscow, 1921.
“Sometimes a starving family eats the body of one of its
junior members…sometimes parents at night take part of
a body from the cemetery and feed it to their children.”
A Russian Doctor, 1921.
“Sometimes a starving family eats the body of one of its
junior members…sometimes parents at night take part of
a body from the cemetery and feed it to their children.”
A Russian Doctor, 1921.

14. Famine in Rural Areas
• Rural areas were even worse than cities – most had fled leaving
entire families dead. Those remaining survived on seed, acorns,
tree bark, etc.
• Government officials in one town suggested that starving
residents dig up the dried bones of animals, grind them into flour
and bake a “bread substitute (that has) a nutritive value of 25
per cent more than rye bread, in spite of its unpleasant smell and
taste”
• The consumption of these foods killed many.
• Other diseases spread through Russia – typhus, typhoid fever,
smallpox, influenza, cholera and even the bubonic plague.
• Murders were frequent, either for revenge, pity or eliminate
another mouth to feed.
• The Bolsheviks almost lost control as peasant rebellions increased
due to the lack of food.
• Railways barely functioned, blocked by abandoned trains which
were home to gangs of bandits or filled with bodies of typhus
victims.
• Rural areas were even worse than cities – most had fled leaving
entire families dead. Those remaining survived on seed, acorns,
tree bark, etc.
• Government officials in one town suggested that starving
residents dig up the dried bones of animals, grind them into flour
and bake a “bread substitute (that has) a nutritive value of 25
per cent more than rye bread, in spite of its unpleasant smell and
taste”
• The consumption of these foods killed many.
• Other diseases spread through Russia – typhus, typhoid fever,
smallpox, influenza, cholera and even the bubonic plague.
• Murders were frequent, either for revenge, pity or eliminate
another mouth to feed.
• The Bolsheviks almost lost control as peasant rebellions increased
due to the lack of food.
• Railways barely functioned, blocked by abandoned trains which
were home to gangs of bandits or filled with bodies of typhus
victims.
2

15. Effects of War Communism
• British Historian Peter Oxley estimated that out of the
10 million deaths during the period of war, 9.5 million
were from famine and disease.
• Industrial output fallen to 15% and agricultural output
to 60%
• Number of industrial workers had halved
• Coal production had fallen to 30% of total output
• Electrical energy had fallen to 25% of its total output
• Bribes had be come an every day aspect of life
• Savage stories emerged of cannibalism and slated
human flesh being sold at markets
• British Historian Peter Oxley estimated that out of the
10 million deaths during the period of war, 9.5 million
were from famine and disease.
• Industrial output fallen to 15% and agricultural output
to 60%
• Number of industrial workers had halved
• Coal production had fallen to 30% of total output
• Electrical energy had fallen to 25% of its total output
• Bribes had be come an every day aspect of life
• Savage stories emerged of cannibalism and slated
human flesh being sold at markets
3