structural:scholar_edition, information:highlighting
Social, legal, and economic reform: 1917–1918

In November 1917, Lenin issued the Decree on Workers' Control, calling on workers to form elected committees to monitor their enterprise's management. That month, Sovnarkom also requisitioned the country's gold, and nationalized banks, viewing this as a key step toward socialism. In December, Sovnarkom established the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh), overseeing industry, banking, agriculture, and trade. The factory committees were subordinated to trade unions, which were in turn subordinate to VSNKh, prioritizing the state's central economic plan over local workers' interests. In early 1918, Sovnarkom canceled all foreign debts and refused to pay interest. In April 1918, it nationalized foreign trade, establishing a state monopoly on imports and exports. In June 1918, it nationalized public utilities, railways, engineering, textiles, metallurgy, and mining, though often only in name. Full-scale nationalization did not occur until November 1920, when small-scale industrial enterprises were brought under state control.