ABSTRACT
The extreme egalitarianism, the ever expanding role of the State, the breakneck speed of the attempt to make the economic life of the country socialist. If War Communism was a leap into socialism then the New Economic Policy (NEP) was a leap out of socialism. Towards the end of 1921 and throughout 1922 the question of whether there should be a foreign trade monopoly aroused passions in the Politburo and the Central Committee. The Communist Party of Georgia, as a constituent part of the Russian Communist Party, was duty bound to follow the directives of Moscow. Lenin was the natural leader of the party but he had to reaffirm his credentials repeatedly. Pretenders were legion but only three could be taken seriously: Trotsky, Zinoviev and Stalin. That left three other members of the Politburo, men whose support or opposition would decide who succeeded Lenin. So the three lame ducks came together.
