What was the general opinion among Lenin's colleagues concerning the NEP?

Answer 1

The NEP was an acronym for the New Economic Policy that Lenin designed to end the economic problems the peasantry were having with socialism. The policy was an attempt to provide better incentives for more farming production. Its primary features were the abolition of Russia's requisitions system in favor of a fixed tax and the return to legal market transactions. This gave the peasantry an incentive to resume full production. This also required the government to do what was necessary to stabilize the ruble. With these two measures in place, it gave the peasantry a better opportunity to buy finished products with their funds.The NEP was more than that however. Lenin enacted certain other measures. Among these were allowing a certain amount of private enterprise in trade and in some industries was revived. Additionally, foreign capital was invited to make investments in the Soviet Union on a concession basis. This last measure might be considered risky for foreign investments in that Lenin had canceled all payments on loans to western nations and companies upon taking power.

To gather support for the NEP, he decided to speak about the NEP at the Eleventh Party Congress in 1922.

He made the point that the Soviet regime was living on political credit given to it by the peasantry and warned that the credit was not inexhaustible. Lenin was personally taking blame for this in that he and the Bolsheviks had not correctly perceived that their socialist policies might not be acceptable to the masses of peasants. He felt uncomfortable about taking what was called a strategic retreat.

Initially, there were no important Bolshevik leaders who openly objected to these measures.

Beneath the surface, however, unpublished Columbia University documents indicate that very few leading Bolsheviks, nor the Party rank and file, agreed with the NEP measures. In addition, Lenin believed that the NEP was not going to be a short lived policy. He, according to N.N. Volskski, envisioned the NEP to remain as policy for a long period of time. Lenin's untimely death terminated his own opinion on the length of time the NEP would be necessary.

Answer 2

Many saw it as a betrayal of the policies of War Communism. But there was no way they would say this publicly while Lenin lived.