War communism

"War communism" (Russian: Военный коммунизм, romanized: Vojenný kommunizm), also called "military communism", is a term used to describe the economic and political system that existed in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1921, while the country was led by Vladimir Lenin. 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 (the proletarian power-base) 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 impacted by war communism policies, especially food requisitioning. However, the famine was triggered 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. The Western Entente blockade and wartime embargoes on Soviet Russia have also been identified as an aggravating factor to the growth of the famine.