1a: Establishing Communist Party control, 1917-24

Question 1

What was Russia like before the Bolshevik revolution?

Answer 1

• Tsarism - politically repressive, massive economic inequality
• Growth of underground opposition - Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs), supressed by the Tsar’s political police
• WW1 - economy unable to provide necessary food and equipment, incompetent leadership, February Revolution (1917) overthrew the Tsar

Question 2

What was the Provisional Government?

Answer 2

• set up after the February Revolution
• freedoms - expression, religion, assembly
• promised democratic elections
• continued to fight in WW1
• overthrown in October 1917 by Lenin and his followers (the Bolsheviks)

Question 3

What was Lenin’s ideology and messaging?

Answer 3

• ‘Peace, Land and Bread’
• replace capitalism and imperialism with socialism
• based on Marxist view of history - class conflict leads to revolution which is how history has progressed, unclear on how revolution would actually work
• WW1 chaos provided an opportunity to overthrow capitalism across Europe

Question 4

What was Lenin’s state like initially?

Answer 4

• radically democratic