1918-1941

Question 1

between what dates was the Russian civil war?

Answer 1

1918-1921

Question 2

who was the civil war fought between?

Answer 2

the Reds (pro-bolshevik) and the Whites (anti-bolshevik)

Question 3

why did the civil war start?

Answer 3

•there was opposition to the creation of a bolshevik state, including from Kerensky
•the SR’s won the majority in the constituent assembly elections, Lenin shut it down
•in march 1918 Lenin and the Bolsheviks agreed to pull out of WW1
•they signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with the Germans

Question 4

what was the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer 4

•it set a president for future action by establishing that ‘socialism at home’ would take priority over the spread of international revolution
•it provided the intellectual foundation for stalin’s later ‘soviet first’ approach
•most of the territory on Russia’s western boarder was lost

Question 5

what were the consequences of the treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer 5

•aggravated grain shortages in the city
•the treaty encouraged patriotic Russians to join anti-Bolshevik forces, making a civil war almost inevitable

Question 6

an overview of what the civil war was

Answer 6

•the Reds vs the Whites
•opposition to the bolsheviks merged to create the whites
•russias previous allies (britain, france and the USA) have support to the whites
•the whites had no common goal or ideology
•the reds consisted of the Bolshevik party and their supporters
•the reds were united by a common ideology and goal, they also consistently held moscow

Question 7

what were the consequences of the war on the bolshevik party organisation?

Answer 7

•there was greater centralisation and party control
•a local party was created in order to impose party control
•lenin banned factions in 1921 meaning that any decision taken by the central committee had to be accepted by the whole party

Question 8

what were the consequences of the war on national minorities?

Answer 8

•independence movements were denounced as ‘counter- revolutionary’ and brutally crushed (eg Georgia)

Question 9

what was Russia’s economic situation at the start of 1918?

Answer 9

•the economy was facing collapse
•too little grain was reaching the cities so the workers were going hungry (due to land seizing and wartime transport disruptions)
•as food shortages worsened, food riots erupted in 1918 and workers began to flee from the cities in search of food
•this led to a shortage of labour in the factories

Question 10

what were 4 key elements of war communism?

Answer 10

•grain requisitioning: red guards and soldiers took grain from the peasants by force
•all industry was placed under state control, with workers’ committed replaced by managers reporting to the government
•factory discipline was imposed, with fines for lateness and absence from work
•food rationing was introduced, with highest priority given to workers and red army soldiers and lowest to the bourgeoisie

Question 11

was war communism a result of ideology or circumstance?

Answer 11

necessity may have dictated this policy but it also ensembles the bolsheviks to extent class warfare and deal with ‘class enemies’. the bolsheviks saw centralised control as the way to develop socialism.

Question 12

what was war communism?

Answer 12

the economic and political system that existed in soviet russia during the russian civil war

Question 13

what was the red terror?

Answer 13

a 4 year campaign (1918-21) to eradicate all political and cultural opposition to the bolshevik party

Question 14

which group orchestrated the red terror?

Answer 14

the cheka

Question 15

what triggered the red terror?

Answer 15

a failed attempt on Lenin’s life

Question 16

who was targeted in the red terror?

Answer 16

•the bourgeois, opponents of the revolution, social revolutionaries, mensheviks, the tsar and his family
•anyone Lenin deemed as a ‘class enemy’

Question 17

what kind of punishments and torture were inflicted and how many died?

Answer 17

•executions, labour camps, putting victims into boiling water, making rats eat through people
•500,000- a million people died

Question 18

how did Lenin neutralise opposition within the Bolshevik party?

Answer 18

•they were threatened with expulsion from the party
•he introduced a ban on factions

Question 19

who were the main target of the red terror?

Answer 19

the peasantry
they were forced to hand over grain to feed the soldiers and workers

Question 20

reasons why the red terror was motivated by lenin’s ideology

Answer 20

•believed the bourgeois stage towards communism should be skipped (and that happened through increased violence)
•was inspired by the terror in the french revolution
•the formation of the cheka and the army are used to pave way for his ideology
•meticulously planned out suggests it is not a reaction to circumstances

Question 21

what suggests that the red terror was motivated by circumstances?

Answer 21

•the large amount of opposition meant that the red terror was necessary to maintain control (the assassination attempt urged him to take drastic measures)
•the level of torture that was permitted goes beyond what would have been needed to just implement his ideology
•it was a reactionary measure

Question 22

what were the three reasons why Lenin thought increased state intervention was necessary?

Answer 22

•the workers did not have the skill or experience to run the factories and production fell
•with fewer industrial goods for sale, the peasants hoarded their grain as there was little to buy if they sold it
•it was necessary to feed the workers and soldiers and thus win the war

Question 23

by 1921, industrial output was only what percentage of what it had been in 1914?

Answer 23

20%

Question 24

when did lenin announce the new economic policy?

Answer 24

1921

Question 25

what was included in the NEP?

Answer 25

•grain requisitioning was abolished. peasants had to hand over 20% of their grain (a form of tax) to the government but could sell any remaining surplus
•the state would continue to control the ‘commanding heights’ of the economy (the railways, coal, iron and steel)
•small businesses were reopened
•private trade was allowed

Question 26

why did many bolsheviks oppose to private trade reopening?

Answer 26

they saw it as a betrayal of the revolution as they thought it would widen the gap between the rich and poor and ultimately lead back to capitalism

Question 27

what were the results of the NEP?

Answer 27

•economic recovery was led by an increase in the supply of grain and other foodstuff to countries
•there was an end to revolts and civil unrest
•there was a revival of the kulak class of peasants and the emergence of ‘NEP men’, traders and speculators
•however, industrial trance was slow to recover so that peasants began to hold back their gran as there were few consumer goods to buy
•grain procured by the government by the end of 1927 was 75 percent of what it had been in 1926
•stalin ordered grain seizures

Question 28

when did Lenin suffer from a stroke?

Answer 28

1922

Question 29

who were the two people thought to succeed Lenin?

Answer 29

Trotsky or Stalin

Question 30

who succeeded Lenin?

Answer 30

Stalin

Question 31

when was trotsky forced out of his position as Commissioner for War?

Answer 31

1925

Question 32

how did Stalin maintain aspects of Lenin’s rule?

Answer 32

he maintained and extended Lenin’s system of one party rule and centralised control

Question 33

what did the constitution of 1936 promise?

Answer 33

•stalin claimed it was the ‘most democratic in the world’ and it promised
-considerable autonomy given to the regions, but central government control ensured there was little
-elections every four years, but these were not contested. only approved party members’ names were on the ballot papers
-civil rights, such as free speech, but these were mostly ignored

Question 34

what were the successes of the NEP?

Answer 34

•reboots the economy with private buisnesses and goods
•rapid recovery from famine in 1921 in villages
•economic stability allowed foreign trade to begin

Question 35

what were the failures of the NEP?

Answer 35

•unemployment rose in the first few years
•wages were still very low
•poor workers rights and protection
•resentment against NEP men
•proletariat felt exploited and the bolsheviks were unhappy
•market crashed leading to food shortages
•the scissors crisis- the widening gap between food and goods prices led to peasants hoarding grain

Question 36

what were some ideological changes Lenin made to society?

Answer 36

•decree on the 8 hour work day (1917)
•decree on popular education (1917)
•petrograd libraries should extend their opening hours (1917)
•more university students and more accessible for the poor (1918)
•decrees on illiteracy (1919)
•women had political and legal equality with men
•korenizatsiya, the process of de Russification

Question 37

what were some pragmatic changes Lenin made to society?

Answer 37

•intellectuals deemed to oppose the bolsheviks were exiled (1922)
•grain was confiscated from the kulaks for distribution in the cities (1918)
•labour camps were established to hold opposition (1918)
•by the end of 1920, 84 camps had been established
•execution of priests who resisted the government
•removed abortion from the criminal code
•set up the Russian young communist league (Komsomol)

Question 38

what did Stalin announce in december 1927?

Answer 38

the start of a ‘five year plan’

Question 39

what was Stalin’s five year plan?

Answer 39

he aimed to catch up with the industry advancements seen in Europe and the USA. he wanted to build socialism in one country.