From 1914 to 1921 agricultural production fell some 40%. Many peasant uprisings made it clear that change was necessary. One problem for the party was finding a solution that would help the ailing economy and help booster socialism at the same time in the Soviet state. The New Economic Policy spawned thanks to the works of party leaders (including Stalin) at the 10th Part Congress in March of 1921. Critics of the NEP would say that it was a retreat to capitalism. This was a viable criticism. In order for the party to stimulate agricultural productivity, they al

lowed farmers to lease and hire labor. They also allowed most workers to freely enter a competitive labor market. So the NEP definitely had capitalist implications, but necessary ones according to Lenin. In order for Socialism to jump start in Soviet Russia, there would have to be a temporary capitalist-like economic policy to stimulate agricultural and industrial growth.

If not for Lenin's death in 1924, the NEP might well have developed into a progressive policy. Since the party leaders who set it up saw the NEP as temporary, it had little hope to succeed in the first place. Lenin began to see the NEP as a way to build socialism. If it was not for his untimely death, the NEP may well have lasted and built reel prosperity eventually.

In looking at the NEP as an alternative I think that it was the only alternative that Soviet leaders had that would inspire any economic growth at

Some common words found in the essay are:
Soviet Russia, Economic Policy, Lenin NEP, Maybe NEP, Critics NEP, Soviet Union, , Lenin Socialism, economic policy, Congress March, market nep, foreign trade, soviet russia, stimulate agricultural, alternative soviet, party leaders, Soviet History,
Approximate Word count = 605
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)