War communism
War communism, also called military communism, was the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921. War communism began in June 1918, enforced by the Supreme Economic Council. It ended on 21 March 1921, with the beginning of the New Economic Policy, which lasted until 1928. The system has often been described as simple authoritarian control by the ruling and military castes to maintain power and control in the Soviet regions, rather than any coherent political ideology. The Soviet propaganda justified it by claiming that the Bolsheviks adopted this policy with the goal of keeping towns and the Red Army stocked with food and weapons since circumstances dictated new economic measures.
The deadly Russian famine of 1921–22 was in part triggered by Vladimir Lenin's war communism policies, especially food requisitioning. However, the famine was preceded by bad harvests, harsh winter, drought especially in the Volga Valley which was exacerbated by a range of factors including the war, the presence of the White Army and the methods of war communism. The outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhus were also contributing factors to the famine casualties.
Policies
War communism included the following policies:- Nationalization of all industries and the introduction of strict centralized management
- State control of foreign trade
- Strict discipline for workers, with strikes forbidden
- Obligatory labor duty by non-working classes
- Prodrazvyorstka – requisition of agricultural surplus from peasants for centralized distribution among the remaining population
- Rationing of food and most commodities, with centralized distribution in urban centers
- Private enterprise banned
- Military-style control of the railways
Nationalization
Initially, the state introduced "workers' control" via factory committees. This failed because workers prioritized immediate material needs, leading to the "eating up" of capital and the cannibalization of factory equipment for private sale. Following the June 28, 1918 Decree, the state nationalized all large-scale and some medium-scale industries, including sugar, oil, and the merchant fleet. By the end of the Civil War, roughly 37,000 enterprises were nationalized. In November 1920, the state nationalized even small-scale industries with as few as 5 to 10 workers, including village smithies, windmills, and small tailoring workshops. The state also established a monopoly on foreign trade and grain supplies.The push for the nationalization of apartments and rooms began with a draft proposal on November 25, 1917, and was officially finalized by the decree of August 20, 1918. This decree effectively abolished all private transactions involving real estate, including sales, purchases, and mortgages in cities. In rural areas, the requisition of houses was often handled by village assemblies. The primary targets were "rich" apartments, defined as those where the number of rooms exceeded the number of family members. When these apartments were seized, owners were often forced to leave all furniture behind for the new occupants. In 1919, the state established a formal housing norm of 8–9 square meters per person. This led to a process known as "squeezing", where multiple families were forced into large formerly bourgeois apartments to meet the new density requirements. This process was the origin of the communal apartment.
To manage the nationalized economy, the state created the Supreme Council of National Economy. Management was centralized through dozens of "Glavks", such as the Main Forest Committee or the Emergency Committee for the procurement of felt boots.
Food requisitioning
By February 1918, the "Law on the Socialization of Land" formally established a state monopoly on bread reserves, effectively stripping the rural population of the right to manage their own agricultural output. The practical implementation of food requisitioning evolved into a "food dictatorship" led by the People's Commissariat of Food under the direction of Alexander Tsyurupa. Initially, the state attempted a "product exchange" to barter industrial goods for grain, but this effort failed due to ideological mismanagement and the state's inability to provide sufficient manufactured products. This failure led to the decree of May 13, 1918, which granted Narkomprod extraordinary powers to seize grain by force. By January 1919, the state shifted to Prodrazvyorstka, where the central authorities determined the state's needs and mandated the seizure of that amount, regardless of the peasants' actual surplus or survival needs. To enforce these seizures, the state mobilized a militarized apparatus known as the Food Army. These units, along with worker-led food detachments, were deployed to the countryside to identify and confiscate hidden reserves, often operating as "military-raider gangs" that committed widespread abuses. Complementing these forces were the Committees of the Poor, established in June 1918 to act as "Communist Red Guards" within villages.In "debtor" villages that failed to meet quotas, authorities took hostages and held them until the required grain was produced. Reports sent to Lenin described horrific abuses: peasants who failed to comply were stripped naked and driven into the streets, doused with cold water in the winter, or frozen in unheated sheds. The consequence of this aggressive policy was the eruption of a widespread peasant war against the Soviet state. July 1918 alone witnessed over 200 uprisings, and by 1920–1921, insurgent movements like the Tambov rebellion involved as many as 120,000 participants. To crush these revolts, the Red Army utilized heavy artillery and, in 1921, even used poison gas against rebels hiding in forests. Economically, the requisitioning policy proved catastrophic; peasants responded by drastically cutting their sowing areas to avoid seizures, causing grain yields in major regions to plummet to one-quarter of pre-war levels by 1920.
Militarization of labor
Lenin was heavily influenced by the German model of 'War Socialism', characterizing it as a 'military prison for workers' yet also as the necessary material preparation for socialism. He advocated the use of 'barbaric means' to accelerate the implementation of such centralized control in Russia. This policy intensified in early 1920 following major victories in the Civil War; by that time, roughly 4,000 enterprises had already been nationalized. Trotsky, the primary architect and vocal proponent of this system, explicitly stated: 'We do not know free labor... we represent a state that considers itself unfree toward its citizens and, in turn, grants no freedom to those citizens'."The state implemented extensive forms of coercion and mobilization to sustain the economy and the revolution amidst the severe crisis of the civil war. The foundation of this system was the universal labor principle, which transformed labor from a personal choice into a compulsory social obligation for all citizens under the constitutional slogan "who does not work shall not eat". Another distinct organizational form of mobilization was the creation of labor armies '', which repurposed existing Red Army units for economic tasks during periods of temporary truce. These units maintained their military command structures while performing mass labor projects like logging, transport repair, and agricultural harvesting.
Abolition of private trade and markets
The Bolsheviks believed that socialism was synonymous with the destruction of the commodity economy. Lenin argued that if exchange remained, it was "ridiculous to even speak of socialism," as free trade inevitably led to the growth of capitalism.On November 21, 1918, a decree was passed to organize supply, which abolished the remaining private trade apparatus and transferred the responsibility for providing all household and personal goods to the People's Commissariat for Food.
Open-air markets, such as Moscow's famous Sukharevka, were viewed as remnants of the bourgeois order. By late 1920, the government took decisive steps to permanently close Sukharevka and disperse small traders in major squares to end private enterprise.
The state engaged in unrestricted currency emission, deliberately devaluing the ruble until it could be dispensed with. By May 1918, one ruble was worth only one kopek compared to 1914 prices. The term "bank" was officially abolished, and all remaining banking functions were merged into the State Treasury. Securities, stocks, bonds, and citizens' savings were annulled or frozen.
In late 1920 and early 1921, a series of decrees abolished payments for state services to transition toward "communist" free distribution. This included making housing, railway transport, food rations, fuel, medicine, post, and telephone services free for urban residents.
Food and goods distribution
The Bolshevik government implemented a centralized system of consumption control known as the class ration. In July 1918, the state formalised the division of the urban population into four categories:- Category 1: Those engaged in especially heavy physical labor.
- Category 2: Workers engaged in ordinary physical labor, the sick, and children.
- Category 3: White-collar workers, intelligentsia, and family members of workers.
- Category 4: The 'bourgeoisie' and non-laboring elements, including former owners and traders.
While the masses struggled with the class ration, the Bolsheviks established a parallel system of "Special Distribution" for the elite and essential personnel. In May 1919, the Orgburo created a special fund of consumer goods outside the general plan to satisfy the needs of central government employees and those on special missions. In December 1919, a highly classified ration was established for "irreplaceable specialists." Managed by S. E. Chutskayev, this "arch-secret" list initially included 200 people, expanding to 370 by mid-1920. Unlike the meager "class rations" given to the public, a special ration typically included meat, butter, sugar, coffee, tea, and tobacco. Records from the VTsIK food department show that high-ranking officials like Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky received individual deliveries. For example, in November 1920, Lenin's family received priority supplies eight times, including luxury items such as caviar, cheese, and sweets.