1917 onwards- oxford textbook Flashcards
how many workers demonstrated on bloody sunday in january 1917?
150,000
what happened on international women’s day?
•90,000 workers are on strike and 50 factories close
•workers join the march
•roughly 240,000 on the streets
•order is restored by the police in the evening
what happens on the 27th of febuary 1917?
•the soldiers mutiny and a sergeant shoots his commanding officer dead
•66,000 soldiers mutiny
•the duma holds a meeting and sets up a 12 man provisional committee to take over the government
•revolutionaries set up the petrograd soviet
what happened to the tsar after the febuary 1917 revolution?
he was abdicated and his family put on house arrest
what was the state of government after 1917 called?
the dual power system
what were the two sides of the dual power system?
•the provisional government
•the petrograd soviet
what was the provisional government?
a cross section of influential elites which was initially meant to be temporary
what was the petrograd soviet?
viewed as the ‘democratic organisation’
•dominated by mensheviks and social revolutionaries
•it lacked the confidence needed to assume direct control
what were the provisional governments promises?
•general amnesty for political prisoners
•basic civil liberties
•the abolition of legal disabilities based on class, religion and nationality
•the right to organise trade unions and to strike
•that a constituent assembly would be elected
what else did the provisional government allow?
•freedom of religion and the press
•abolished the death penalty at the front
•replaced the tsarist police force with a people’s milita
•dismissed provincial governors, giving their work to the elected zemstva
what did the soviets ‘order No.1’ essentially say?
that the soldiers and workers should obey the provisional government, but only when the soviet agreed with their decisions
an example of disagreements between the PG and the PS
•the PG tried to discipline and restore order in towns and countrysides, but the soviet encourages peasants and workers to defy authority and assert their ‘rights’
what were the july days?
street riots that broke out in july 1917
what was the kornilov affair?
•kornilov ordered six regiments of troops to march on petrograd- presumably intending to crush the soviet and establish a military dictatorship
•this coup failed when kerensky panicked and released imprisoned bolsheviks and provided the soviet with weapons
•kornilov’s supply lines were cut and the coup leaders arrested
by the summer of 1917 what was support like for the provisional government? and why?
•there was little support left
•food supplies were low, eight hour working days, real wages fell rapidly as prices rose
what were the prices like in january/ october 1917 compared to 1914?
•in january 1917 prices were 300% of the 1914 levels
•by october they were 755%
why were the hopes of workers dashed in august 1917?
•the right of factory workers to dismiss workers who went on strike was confirmed
•meetings of factory committees during working hours were forbidden
why did the government lose support in the countryside?
due to the continuation of war and the governments failure to redistribute land
•the peasants seized land anyway
what date did lenin return?
he returned from switzerland on the 3rd of april 1917
who helped lenin back into russia?
the germans, who expected him to seize power and make peace
what did lenin’s ‘april theses’ demand?
•power should be transferred to the soviets
•the war should be brought to an immediate end
•all land should be taken over by the state and re-allocated to peasants by local soviets
what were lenin’s demands summed up as?
‘peace, bread and land’
what were lenin’s views on the provisional government?
he stressed a policy of non-cooperation with them, giving rise to a motto ‘all power to the soviets’
what were some reactions to lenin’s return?
•the bolsheviks feared that lenin’ had grown out of touch and that his radical proposals would do more harm than good
•people thought his plan to oppose the provisional government was unrealistic as the bolsheviks were still a minority
•the bolsheviks were divided on whether to cooperate with the provisional government or not
when did the russian congress of soviets meet and what did they do?
•3rd of june 1917
•it passed a vote of confidence in the provisional government
what was the impact of kerensky’s determination to continue the war?
it played into the bolsheviks hands due to the rising frustration
between which months in 1917 did grain prices double in petrograd?
between february and june
•following a poor harvest
how many factories closed and how many jobs were lost?
586 factories closed with 100,000 jobs lost
what happened in the july days?
•20,000 armed sailors joined the workers and soldiers on the streets
•they chanted bolshevik slogans like ‘all power to the soviets’
•attacked property, looted shops, seized the railway stations and other key buildings
what did lenin do after the july days?
he went to finland as his reputation fell
what happened on the 8th of july 1917?
kerensky became prime minister
what percentage did bolshevik support increase by between june and december?
it increased by 164 percent
how did the bolsheviks gain power in september?
•in the elections they won a majority
•trotsky became chairman of the petrograd soviet
how did the kornilov coup save the Bolshevik’s cause?
•bolsheviks were released and they took to the streets- supposedly in defiance of the provisional government
•the bolsheviks organised bands of workers commanded by their ‘red guards’
what did lenin do in mid september?
•he was still in finland and urging them to stage a revolution and seize power
who was resisting lenin’s calls for a revolution?
•Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were prominent members of the central committee
•they feared that russia was not economically ready for revolution, urged restraint and even burned some of lenin’s letters
what did lenin write on the 12th of september?
that ‘history will not forgive us if we do not assume power now’
•three days after this the committee voted against a coup
how did trotsky think they should come to power?
•he thought that they should wait for the congress of soviets in october
•he believed that at this congress they could will the support of all socialist parties without having to resort to violence
what month did the bolsheviks seize power?
october 1917
what happened on the 10th and the 20th of october?
•lenin attends a meeting of the bolshevik central committee and his call for a bolshevik-led revolution is agreed
•the military revolution committee of the petrograd soviet meet for the first time
what happened on the 24th of october?
armed workers and soldiers took over key buildings and communication centres in petrograd
what happened on the 25/27th of october?
the remaining members of the provisional government are arrested by the bolsheviks
the congress adopts lenin’s decree on peace and land and appoints the first soviet government with lenin as chairman
what was the new secret police established?
december 1917
what was the new secret police called?
the cheka
when did lenin secretly return to petrograd?
on the 7th of october, he returned to attend a meeting of the central committee
how was kerensky used to bolshevik advantage?
•he responded to bolsheviks by sending more radical army units out of the capital (he was accused of abandoning it and allowing it to fall to the germans)
•he tried to stop bolshevik newspapers and transport links (accused of betraying the soviet and an abandonment of the principles of the february revolution)
when did the bolsheviks storm petrograd?
25th of october 1917
what side supported lenin and which side opposed him?
•the left congratulated lenin
•the right accused him of using violence to seize power illegally
what did the executive committee establish after the bolsheviks came to power?
•the ‘soviet of people’s commissars’
•otherwise known as Sovnarkom
what was the sovnarkom comprised of?
exclusively of bolsheviks
what decrees did lenin introduce on the 27th of october?
•decree on leave promised to end war
•decree on land abolished private ownership of land and legitimised peasant seizures without compensation to landlords
what did lenin introduce in november 1917?
•workers control decree
•nationality decree
•new legal system of elected people’s courts
•government outlawed sex discrimination and gave women the right to own property
what did lenin introduce in december 1917?
•military decree removed class ranks
•decrees on the church nationalised church land and removed marriages and divorce from church control
•nationalisation of banks ended private flow of capital
evidence showing that the bolshevik control was shaky following their seizure of power
•bankers refused to provide finance
•it took them ten days to persuade the state bank to hand over its reserves, and then only under threat of armed intervention
which one of lenin’s promises was barely fulfilled?
his promise to consider coalition with other socialist parties
what were lenin’s methods of maintaining bolshevik control?
•a propaganda campaign against political and ‘class’ enemies- particularly the bourgeoisie
•the closure of anti- bolshevik newspapers
•a purge of the civil service
•the establishment of the cheka
•leading kadets, right wing social revolutionaries and mensheviks were rounded up and imprisoned in december
how many times did the constituent assembly meet?
•for one day on the 5th of january 1918
•lenin’s consolidation of control mean that that his opponents could only pin their hopes on this
•lenin dissolved it after its first and only meet
what did lenin believe about the needs of the proletariat?
•lenin believed that the bolsheviks understood the needs of the proletariat better than the proletariat themselves
what did lenin believe about the bolsheviks ideology and the russian people?
•he believed that the people would see that a bolshevik government ruled in their interests and would support it
•he spoke of an expansion of democracy and a reduction in state bureaucracy
which early decrees supported lenin’s ideological aspirations?
•those on land (october)
•workers control in factories (november)
what suggests that lenin’s october and november decrees were a result of circumstances?
•it is likely he had little choice in the regard, since peasants were already seizing land and workers taking over factories
•also the decrees did not actually help create the conditions necessary for ‘socialism’
how did lenin show he had no intention of sharing power with other socialist parties?
by creating the bolshevik-only sovnarkom
how often did the sovnarkom meet compared to the soviet?
•sovnarkom- once or twice a day
•soviet met increasingly less frequently
what type of state did russia become?
a one party state
how was lenin’s committment to the one party state shown?
through his dispersal of the constituent assembly in 1918
when did lenin disperse the constituent assembly?
january 1918
when did the bolsheviks change their title and what to?
•march 1918
•the communist party
when was the cheka created?
in december 1917
how did lenin justify the cheka?
he said that the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ would require the active repression of ‘counter-revolutionary’ enemies
what were some impacts of the civil war on the party and the state?
•demand for obedience to the party tightened
•war communism introduced
•terror was used to enforce new measures and eradicate opposition
•the civil war forced the adoption of a more centralised form of government
what was ‘central planning’ and what could it be justified as?
•nationalisation of industry and state control
•could be justified as a fulfilment of socialist principles
•or could be seen as a pragmatic reaction to crisis
what suggests that pragmatism was more important to lenin than ideology?
•his readiness to ‘change course’ after the war in 1921 allowing more capitalistic practices, would seek to reinforce that pragmatism was more important that ideology
when did lenin introduce the ban on factions?
1921
what was one major way in which the civil war changed the communist party’s ideology
•earlier support for ‘self determination’ of ethnic minorities was abandoned and all independence movements were denounced as ‘counter- revolutionary’
when did lenin die?
1924
what were some key features of the soviet state that had been established by the time lenin died?
•a fierce attack on the church began
•censorship became more systematic
•the powers of the secret police were extended
