Roman concrete is very similar to what we use today. It was used to build structures and many buildings. It was revolutionary at the time as not many things were made of something such a concrete. The Romans proved to be much more advanced than other people and a leader in the world at the time.
The concrete was most likely some sort of mud mixture. It was used for things such as making bricks for paving roads and building walls. It was stronger and more stable than other materials that were available.
When Lenin came up with the idea for the New Economic Policy, he made some exceptions to allow for certain amounts of capitalism to be implemented to boost output of war materials.