nationalization of industry proceeded at a frenetic rate, with an industrial survey of august 1920 indicating that some 37,000 firms had been expropriated by the state — including more than 5,000 which employed only one person. the supreme council of national economy (vesenkha), chief economic control agency of soviet russia in this period, cited a far lower figure of 4,420 nationalized enterprises in november 1920, while a third source indicated a total of 4,547 firms under state ownership. that authoritative sources disagree so wildly is indicative of the ad hoc nature of the nationalization process.