Fitzpatrick describes how the leaders had hoped the peasants could pay most of the industrialization cost, but instead the urban population had to bear considerable costs instead. Millions of people went to the cities and many kulaks were deported (Fitzpatrick, 1999, 4). This lead to famine, shortages, and overcrowding. Many would say that communism needed more time to work and to create the abundance the people were promised, but it seemed in Russia that communist and scarcity would be linked for years to come (Fitzpatrick, 1999, 4). .
The Communist party, among other things, demanded loyalty. Trotsky may have said it best when he said "The party is always right" (Fitzpatrick, 199, 19). There was a formal scale of punishment for those who violated the party in anyway. It started with a warning, went all the way up to expulsion from public life and in some cases, even exile. Enemies of the party lead a life even worse than ordinary citizens, as they would possibly lost their jobs, be arrested, or exited (Fitzpatrick, 1999, 22). The communists saw .
Taylor 3.
themselves as the dictators of public and private life, and it gave them a sense of superiority over the masses (Fitzpatrick, 1999, 22). .
State controlled production and distribution lead to sever scarcity for the basic human necessities. Food shortages lead to sever famine all over Russia for years. Clothing and shoes though were even harder to come by. The author points out this reflects Russia's desire to concentrate on heavy industry rather than worry about consumer goods. When clothing and supplies were obtained, they were often so poorly made that they would fall apart after a few uses. As for housing, the growth in the urban population created a considerable strain on residential housing. People were crammed into overcrowded apartments, dormitories and barracks. They were all under state ownership, and they just kept piling people in.