In March 1918 the Bolsheviks (which were hitherto known as the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) renamed themselves as the Russian Communist Party. Slowly they captured all the chief posts in governments, army, trade unions and other similar organizations. It then proceeded to reshape the entire national system.
It adopted socialist policies and passed a number of laws to this effect. Private ownership of all lands including that of the peasants themselves was abolished. A person who wanted to cultivate the land without the help of hired labour got land from the state.
Rigid food controls were introduced and the prices of food-stuffs were fixed. The state started collecting a share of the grain from the farms with the help of armed forces. The state encouraged collective farming and provided liberal loans for this purpose. In February 1919 the first state farm was created. The key industries were also nationalized. All coal mines, oil-fields, railway works etc. were declared as private property.
Private trading was abolished and private banks and shops were closed. All foreign trade was nationalized. These changes introduced with a view to protect and promote the interests of the workers proved quite disastrous. The workers being assured of these pay stopped work or took the things lightly. As a result the productivity of the country declined. The rule that the farmers had to hand over the surplus food grains to the government without payment further encouraged the farmers to produce only as much as was sufficient to meet their immediate needs.