Arthur Ransome 
The Crisis in Russia 
1920

On December 17, 1919, the moment it became clear that there was a real possibility that the civil war was drawing to an end, Trotsky allowed the Pravda to print a memorandum of his, consisting of "theses" or reasoned notes about industrial conscription and the militia system. He points out that a Socialist State demands a general plan for the utilization of all the resources of a country.

Arthur Ransome wrote three reports on Russia; this one in 1920 was the third. It is a lucid and clear-sighted account of the problems facing Russia at the time and of the way the Communist state functioned.

The problems of lack of manpower, infrastructure and raw materials, and low industrial production were caused by the First World War and the blockade during and after it, then exacerbated by the chaotic internal situation. These were slowly being addressed by meetings and discussions to obtain a consensus on action, "Saturdayings" by the more enthusiastic workers, propaganda and eventually industrial conscription. Ransome could see the difficulties, but retained a certain optimism about the future. His account of how the Russian state functioned is fascinating.

(This promising situation did not last long. The crisis was eventually 'solved' by Stalin, who did not encourage discussion and achieved consensus by removing all his opponents. It is possible that without threats from outside Russia / USSR Stalin's dictatorship would not have happened.)