Tag: New Economic Policy (NEP)

On Russia’s New Economic Policy in Early 1920s (II)

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In the early 1920s, the Bolsheviks carried out a retreat from earlier policies of the 1917 Russian Revolution — the New Economic Policy (NEP). It was launched following the devastation of the young Soviet republic after three years of civil war, foreign imperialist intervention, and setbacks of revolutionary struggles in Europe. In discussions and debates on social media and elsewhere in Cuba on a series of economic measures adopted in the Caribbean country on June 18, 2026, a number of supporters of the Cuban Revolution have referred to the NEP. While some of the measures being taken in Cuba resemble the NEP, the situation facing Cuba today is very different. An article on the NEP in the first installment of this post summarized that policy and the reasons for its implementation in Soviet Russia, as well as the differences between the situation in Soviet Russia in the early 1920s and what Cuba faces today. In this part, we are publishing major excerpts of speeches by Lenin on the NEP.

On Russia’s New Economic Policy in Early 1920s (I).

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On June 18, 2026, Cuba’s National Assembly — the country’s highest legislative body — adopted an extensive series of new economic measures. These decisions were made as Cuba confronts its deepest economic and social crisis since the 1959 revolution, largely caused by Washington’s relentless economic war for nearly seven decades, which the Trump administration qualitatively escalated this year. In discussions and debates on social media and elsewhere in Cuba, a number of supporters of the Cuban Revolution have referred to similar measures adopted in the early years of the Russian Revolution, known as the “New Economic Policy” (NEP). While some of the measures being taken in Cuba resemble the NEP, the situation facing Cuba today is very different. As a contribution to this discussion, we are publishing here an article on the NEP with a postscript sketching the main differences in the political situation faced by the Bolsheviks in the 1920s and those Cuba confronts today.