1.3 DEVELOPMENTS BETWEEN THE REVOLUTIONS

Question 1

EXPLAIN AND DESCRIBE THE RETURN OF LENIN

Answer 1

• at time of 2nd rev, bols party still small, 23,000 members, only 40 bols in the petrograd soviet
• the bolshevik in petrograd agreed with the policy of petrograd soviet, to give support to PG while protecting workers rights
• lenin was in exile in switzerland, he was permitted to travel back to russia via germany on a sealed train. germans allowed this as it was able them to see how lenin and the bolsheviks could destablise russia even further possibly even pulling them out the war

Question 2

EXPLAIN HOW LENINS IDEOLOGY CHALLENGED THE TRADITIONAL MARXIST IDEOLOGY

Answer 2

((marxist 1st lenins 2nd))

• a socialist rev could only happen after borgeouis rev- russian middle class to weak to carry out rev, the workers backed by peasants needed to do it
• russian proletariat still developing, there was still a long wait, maybe decades before socialist revolution could happen- russia was different, soviets are ready made socialist gov, russia primed for socilist rev
• no quick way to socialism, marx had identified natural laws that had to be followed- rest of europe seemed close to socialist revolution, russia would surely be supported by socialist neighbours

Question 3

WHAT WAS LENINS APRIL THESIS

Answer 3

• TWO MAIN SLOGANS
• ‘all power to the soviets’ - Russia should be handed over to soviets to run
• ‘peace’ - war should be brought to immediate end
• ‘bread’ - food shortages should end
• ‘land’ - all land should be taken over by the state and allocated to peasants

Question 4

WHAT WAS LENINS ROLE AS LEADER

Answer 4

• didn’t receive full support for his proposals
• he gained support through a mixture of persuasion, compromise, threats of resignation and appeals to the rank and file.
• abandoned his call for immediate overthrow of pg, helping to convinve those worried abt civil war
• he sought out supporters at party and factory meetings
• he claimed credit for the social changes already happening in russia, such as peasant land seizures whch helped him to appear in control of event
• by end of april, lenin had won over most of partys central commitee but was still struggling to gain wider support

Question 5

WHAT WERE THE JULY DAYS

Answer 5

• sailors from kronstadt naval based organsied a demonstration that spread to centre of petrograd, with workers and soldiers joining them, rising prices and unemploymemt contributed to the unrest
• when demonstartions turned violent, bolsheviks were blamed
• PG brough tin troops to crush demonstartion, petrograd svoeit supported this
• bols newspapers shut down, lenin and stalin fled, other bols leaders (trotsky) imprinsoned

Question 6

EXPLAIN THE KORNILOV COUP

Answer 6

• june 1917- increase in desrtions for the army following heavy losses in the war
• kerensky appoints general lavr kornilov as commander in cheif to bring back dicipline
• the petrograd soviet criticises kornilovs army dicipline and right wing veiws.
• aug 1917 kornilov orders troops to march on petrograd, in attempt to establish miliary dictatorship
• kerensky panics and allows bolsheviks to arm workers to halt kornilovs advance
• kornilovs march is stopped and coup leaders are arrested

Question 7

WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE BOLSHEVIK PARTY THROUGH SEPTEMBER

Answer 7

• bols had majority in both Petrograd and Moscow soviet
• trotsky became chairman of executive committee of the petrograd soviet
• bolshevik membership had grown from 23,000 to 200,000

Question 8

WHAT WERE THE REASONS FOR THE BOLSHEVIK MEMBERSHIP MASSIVELY INCREASING

Answer 8

• the pg had failed to imporve food supplies to the cities and prices were far higher than wages, bolsheviks promised end to food shortages
• the war was still continuing, russias offensive in june had failed. the bols promised an immediate end to war
• pg pushed back land redistrubution until a consituent assembly could be elected, bols promised land for peasants
• bols could portray themselves as the saviours of the revolution and as a result of the kornilov coup they had an armed wing of 10,000 red guards
• kerensky weakened by kornilov coup, he had appointed kornilov in the first place and then had to rely on the bolsheviks to deal with him

Question 9

HOW DID LENIN AND TROSTSKY SEIZE POWER

Answer 9

• kamanev/zinoviev disagreed with lenin saying russia not economically ready for revolution yet
• Trotsky thought armed uprising could be avoided if the Bolsheviks became leading socialist party at latest congress of soviets
• frustrated by this resistance Lenin returned in disguise convincing central committee to vote in his favour. Kamenev and Zinoviev still didn’t support
• ## Trotsky put it charge of uprising and he gathered red guards militias at bols headquarters and sent commissars to get the loyalty of Petrograd garrisons