What characterized War Communism in 1918-1921?

• A. Centralized requisitioning of grain, nationalization of industry, rationing, and political suppression.
• B. Free market reforms and private property growth.
• C. NEP with small private enterprises.
• D. Decentralized planning and worker control of factories.

Answer: (A)

War Communism centers on total state control of the economy to win the Civil War, backed by coercive power. In 1918–1921 the Bolsheviks requisitioned grain from peasants to feed the army and cities, using centralized orders and often force rather than market exchange. Industry and banks were nationalized, putting major means of production under state ownership and planning. A rationing system allocated scarce goods to priority groups, especially urban workers and the military, instead of letting supply and prices guide distribution. Political power was exercised through suppression of dissent and opposition, with the Cheka enforcing the regime and curbing rival institutions.

This is why it fits War Communism: the emphasis is on centralization, coercion, and wartime extraction of resources. It doesn’t describe the period as free-market reforms or growing private property, which would undermine state control. It also doesn’t match the later shift of the New Economic Policy, which allowed limited private enterprise, nor the idea of decentralized planning or worker control, which would imply less central authority.