What was the Bolsheviks responce to Lenins newly introduced NEP and why?
There were broadly two different responses among the Bolshevik leadership about the introduction of NEP: The first response was that it was a necessary evil. This was because the economy had been in meltdown, caused by WWI and the Civil War. NEP was seen as a way of kick-starting the economy, before a more socialist form of production could be implemented. The second response was that it was merely capitalism, and should not be implemented, and that the best solution for Russia’s economic difficulties lay with exporting the Revolution to more developed parts of Europe. Many rank and file Bolsheviks saw NEP as a betrayal of the principals of the Revolution. The two chief protagonists for these arguments were Stalin and Trotskii respectively. See: http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/gcselinks…
