3.2 - Consequences of Russian Revolution Flashcards
1
Q
Immediate Challenges facing Bolsheviks
A
- Unable to exercise control over civil servants:
o Civil servants went on strike
o Key documents were destroyed or hidden
o Unable to gain access to State Bank until 20th November - Union of Russian Railroad Workers threated to halt all deliveries to Petrograd unless negotiations for a coalition government began
- Lenin and Trotksy’s disinterest in forming a coalition → resignation of Kamenev and Zinoviev
- Bolsheviks had little experience and had no plans on how to govern
- Naivety as many Bolsheviks believed that an international socialist revolution would begin, so governing would be easy
- Bolsheviks lacked influence over rural areas, and generally lacked legitimacy
2
Q
Violence and Disorder Following Bolshevik Takeover
A
- Breakdown in law and order occurred after the fall of the PG
- Wine Riots – where peasants and workers gained access to the wine cellars of the Winter Palace – led to mass drunkenness and violence
- Bolsheviks lacked power to stop the violence
- Bolsheviks instead encouraged the violence as it was considered an act of class warfare and would provide an opportunity for workers to establish change
3
Q
Establishment of Cheka
A
- 7th December 1917
- Political police to expose counter revolutionary and criminal activities
- Meant to be temporary
- Initially limited in its power
- Led by Felix Dzerzhinsky (Iron Felix)
- Assassination attempt of Lenin (Jan 1918) and growing threat of German invasion → significant expansion of powers of the Cheka – now able to operate outside of the law
4
Q
New Decrees by Bolsheviks
A
- Bolsheviks aimed to:
o Ensure a continuation of power
o Institute radical social and economic change, in order to differentiate it from the PG - Initial degrees were designed to encourage popular participation in the Revolution
- Land Decree (27th October) – gave peasantry the right to seize land → project image of Bolsheviks supporting peasantry
- Press Decree (27th October) – banned publication of Kadet newspapers
- 29th October – Workers guaranteed 8 hour work day
- 2nd November – promised right to self determination → Finland declaring independence on 17th November
- Workers’ Control Decree (14th November) – allowed workers to apply to form self management committees for their factories
- 24th November – old criminal justice system preplaced by ‘People’s Courts’ and revolutionary justice
- Women’s rights enhanced
- Homosexuality decriminalised
- All banks, stock companies and financial institutions nationalised
- Armistice signed with Germany in December
- Democratisation of the armed forces
5
Q
State Capitalism
A
- Formed due to:
o Major food and fuel shortages threatening production – Bolsheviks needed to address this to protect revolution
o Social revolution involving workers taking control of production, soldiers forming revolutionary committees, and peasants seizing land → disorder
o Bolshevik desire for a socialist economy - Lenin believed that a temporary compromise of revolutionary ideals was needed to allow for an easier transition to workers’ control = State Capitalism:
o Government to exercise control over key industries
o Government would hold a monopoly on trade
o Financial policy would be directed through a state owned bank
o Workers’ Control Committees supervise management
o Businesses retain old owners as ‘bourgeois experts’
o Free market structure remains - 2nd December – Vesenkha formed to manage workers’ committees and management boards
6
Q
Challenges to State Capitalism
A
- Workers lacked knowledge to run factories efficiently → workers committees urged for nationalisations from below → removed role of ‘Bourgeois experts’
- Workers gave themselves unsustainable pay rises and were corrupt – stealing stock and equipment → further declining efficiency and production
- Higher wages → exacerbated inflation
- Food shortages caused by falling production = lowest rations yet (50g bread/day)
- Ultimately, this led to Lenin realising that a stricter approach to the economy was required
7
Q
Constituent Assembly
A
- Bolsheviks previously supported Constituent Assembly but now held power themselves
- Election occurs 12th November
- Results = unfavourable for Bolsheviks
o Bolsheviks won 9.8m votes = 23.5%, and 175/717 seats
o Bolsheviks won a majority of votes in urban areas
o SRs won 17.5m votes = 42%, and 370/717 seats - Lenin blamed results on:
o Lack of awareness of Bolsheviks in rural areas
o Voters unaware of split of SRs - Lenin also claimed that ‘bourgeoisie parliamentarianism’ is outdated and incompatible with socialism, and would restrict power of the Soviet
8
Q
Bolshevik Dissolution of Constituent Assembly
A
- Bolsheviks take action before the opening of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918:
o 28th Nov – Kadets targeted with Decree on Political Parties banning all non-socialist parties
o 12th Dec – Left SRs joined Sovnarkom → legitimisation of Bolshevik regime - 5 Jan – Martial law declared in Petrograd, pro Bolshevik troops brought into Petrograd, ban on public gatherings
- Lenin calls for CA to recognise decrees made by Sovnarkom – rejection → Lenin issues threat of violence
- Bolsheviks and Left SRs stage a walkout, with Red Guard and Kronstadt Sailors remaining behind to intimidate
- Bolsheviks have Red Guard block access to Tauride Palace before second convening
o Lack of public protest to dissolution of CA
o Bolsheviks clearly unwilling to give up power
9
Q
Lead-Up to Treaty of Brest Litovsk
A
- Expectation that Bolsheviks would end war due to it being a central promise prior to their assumption of power
- 26 Oct 1917 – Decree on Peace: outlined peace without annexation or indemnities as ideal, and insisted that negotiations should be held speedily and transparently
- 15 Dec 1917 – armistice signed
- Division in Bolshevik party as to how to address peace:
o Left faction demanded a continuation of the war, as a revolutionary war, in order to spread socialism
o Lenin believed that Bolsheviks needed to consolidate power and not take the risk of continuing the war effort, combined with low morale of war
o Trotsky called for ‘neither peace, nor war’, which entailed a delay to peace, in the hopes that German forces would collapse first
10
Q
Negotiations with Germany
A
- Trotsky led negotiations
- Prolonged discussions, gave long contradictory speeches and pretended to be close to a deal before rejecting it
- Trotsky also addressed the German public to promote revolution
- Strike in Berlin with 400k workers calling for immediate peace without annexations or indemnities → Trotsky believing his tactics were successful
- However, Germans become increasingly frustrated and question why the losers (Russia) are trying to dictate the peace → ultimatum: sign the peace terms or hostilities will resume
- Trotsky decides that Russia will withdraw from war and not sign peace treaty → 18 Feb 1918 – 700k German troops advance on Russia without opposition, making 240km in 11 days
o Democratization of army and low morale → no resistance - 12 Mar 1918 – Capital relocated to Moscow
11
Q
Consequences of Treaty of Brest Litovsk
A
- Conditions of Treaty:
o 34% of Russian population no longer under Soviet control
o 32% of farmland lost, including Ukraine
o 1/3 of European territory lost, including Poland, Lithuania and Estonia
o 89% of coal and iron reserves lost
o 54% of industry lost
o 26% of railways lost
o 3bn roubles in reparation (double cost of war effort for Russia) - Treaty signed 3 Mar 1918
- Decision very unpopular in party → Lenin blames Left faction but calls for unity
- Increased resentment for Bolsheviks from nationalists
- 19 Mar 1918 – Left SRs leave Sovnarkom → no opposition to Bolsheviks
- However, Left SRs attempt to restart war
- 11 Nov 1918 – German surrender → much of the Treaty is renounced
12
Q
Beginnings of Civil War
A
- Military opposition to Bolsheviks emerged almost immediately after seizure of power
- Oct 1917 – Krosnov’s Cossacks take control of towns close to Petrograd and begin preparations for a march on Petrograd
- Defeat of Cossacks (30 Oct 1917) demonstrated dedication of Red Guards and Kronstadt Sailors and removed chance of PG regaining power
- Bolsheviks still faced opposition in the Don, Kuban and Ukraine regions
- Dec 1917 – formation of volunteer army – White Army
13
Q
Bolshevik Preparations for Civil War
A
- 16 Dec 1917 – abolition of ranks
- 23 Feb 1918 – Trotsky creates the Red Army
- Trotsky implements:
o Conventional army structure with ranks
o 50k Former Tsarist officials as ‘military specialists’ but these remain under tight control of Bolsheviks
o Reinstated conscription due to low numbers of volunteers
o Strict discipline, including execution for desertion and retreating - End of 1920 – Red Army has 5m troops
14
Q
Czech Legion
A
- 40k Czech soldiers given permission to cross Russia to travel to the Western Front
- However, hostilities broke out between Czech soldiers and regional Soviets → battling of local military forces
- 8 June 1918 – Regional Soviet overthrown in Samara and replaced with SR led governments (Komuch)
- Komuch established a ‘people’s army’ that advanced on Siberia
15
Q
White Armies (Key Groups)
A
- Consisted of 4 groups by 1918:
- Denikin’s Forces:
o Largest of the groups – 150k men
o Based in Ukraine, Caucasus, Kuban and Don regions (South Russia)
o Came within 300km of Moscow in Nov 1919 but were overstretched and outnumbered → defeat in 1920 - Kolchak’s Forces:
o Formed after overthrowal of Komuch
o Mar 1919 – menaced Red Army from the East
o However, poor leadership → defeats
o Gen. Kolchak executed by Bolsheviks in Feb 1920 - Yudenich’s Forces:
o Formed in Estonia
o Small army, with only 14k men at its peak
o Reached Petrograd in Nov 1919
o Fled in 1920 - Foreign Forces:
o Included Germans, British, Japanese, US and French
o Allies became involved as they wanted to support any group that would re-enter WWI
o Japan became involved due to their territorial ambitions in Russia
o US became involved as they wanted to protect Trans Siberian Railway and limit Japanese expansion
o Foreign powers also were concerned at anti-capitalist and international revolutionary rhetoric
o Britain had taken control of northern port cities and Azerbaijan oil fields
o Japan had taken control of Vladivostok
o Involvement of foreign forces → strengthened Bolshevik belief that they were fighting capitalist imperial invaders
o Foreign soldiers were war wearied and lacked numbers → withdrawal as Bolsheviks triumphed
16
Q
Green Forces
A
- Peasant insurgent groups resisting both White and Red forces
- Held control over South-eastern Ukraine throughout 1919-20
- Powerful as they are able to disrupt food supplies
17
Q
Soviet Polish War + Impacts
A
- Poland declare independence from Russia
- Apr 1920 – Attempt to expand territory into Ukraine
- Red Army force Polish forces back
- Belief within Bolsheviks that Red Army could spread international revolution
- Poles viewed Red Army as invaders → defeat of Red Army in Poland in Mar 1921
- Treaty of Riga:
o 30m roubles in reparations to Poland
o Ukrainian and Belorussian territory to Poland
o Poland’s eastern border secured - Defeat allowed Soviets to focus on short term issues
18
Q
Reasons for Bolshevik Success in Civil War
A
- Geography:
o Population of Soviet controlled areas = 70m vs White controlled areas = 10m
o Ethnically homogenous → clear direction and unity
o Soviets controlled key factories
o Soviets had extensive railway system
o White armies had difficulty in coordinating attacks and communicating - Ideology:
o Bolsheviks had shared sense of purpose and vision
o Bolsheviks made effective use of propaganda
o This provided a reason to fight → proportionally lower rates of desertion - Trotsky:
o Successfully reorganised army
o Implemented harsh discipline
o Attached a political commissar to each commanding officer, who would carry out propaganda work and ensure orders were carried out properly
o Praised and rewarded those who performed their duties effectively
o Recognised importance of decisive leadership and had strong speaking skills → regularly visiting front lines → generated loyalty and boosted morale
o Expected that officers and commissars showed the same level of dedication as he did
o Willing to leave key military decisions to those with greater expertise than himself - White Army Weakness:
o Smaller population
o Lack of coordination
o Difficulty motivating troops
o Unable to articulate intentions
o Neglected effective government administration in regions under White control
o Angered peasants by restoring rights of landlords and punishing those suspected of supporting the Reds
19
Q
Origins of Red Terror
A
- Cheka created to crush resistance and opposition to the Bolsheviks
- Cheka targeted more privileged members of society, claiming that this was a class war
- Cheka’s powers escalated after assassination attempt on Lenin
- 5 Sep 1918 – Decree beginning of Red Terror
- Involved creation of concentration camps for class enemies and allowed for execution of anyone involved in White Guard organisations, conspiracies or rebellions
20
Q
Methods Used in Red Terror
A
- Shooting victims body part by body part
- Glove trick, where hands were held in boiling water until skin came off
- Rolling in spiked barrels
- Pipes filled with rats so that they would eat through the victim’s body
- White army had epaulets nailed into their shoulders
- Shot in back of head
- Published list of those executed to deter others
21
Q
Lenin’s Hanging Order
A
- 8 Aug 1918 – Lenin orders hanging of 100 dissident peasants in Penza for opposing grain requisitioning
- Lenin hoped that this would deter future opposition, and create support for removing Kulaks
22
Q
Role of Dzerzhinsky (Iron Felix)
A
- Idealist and fanatic
- Viewed his role with great importance
- However, not all members of Cheka were as virtuous as Felix – corruption commonplace
23
Q
Execution of Tsar
A
- 17 July 1918 – Tsar and his family executed
- Intention to not leave a banner for the Whites to rally around
- Wanted to frighten and horrify enemy but also demonstrate to Reds that there was no way back now
24
Q
Treatment of Peasants During Red Terror (Green Forces)
A
- Taking and executing hostages in relation to peasant desertions
- 15k executed following Tambov Rebellion (largest peasant rebellion)
25
Q
Treatment of Workers During Red Terror
A
- Workers strike due to food shortages and demands for freedom of press and free elections
o Up to 4k workers killed at Astrakhan Strikes
o 200 executed at Putilov steelworks - Terror does not stop strikes
26
Q
White Terror
A
- Whites response to Red Terror
- Involved spiking communists to trees; buried and run over by cavalry, or had limbs cut off
- Pogroms against Jews – up to 200k killed, and Bolshevik Jews were boiled alive
- Communists responded by furthering Red Terror
27
Q
Aspects of War Communism
A
- Nationalisation of industry:
o State ownership of heavy industry
o Nationalisation of factories with >10 workers
o Vehenkha given greater control over economy - Militarised workplaces:
o State control over working hours, conditions and type of work
o Imprisonment or cut rations if workers did not attend factories
o Formation of labour armies to build roads, cut trees and unload goods
o Communist Saturdays - Forced labour for the Bourgeoisie
o Work included shovelling snow and digging graves
o Bourgeoisie humiliated while working - Abolition of money
- Ban on private trade – Food Commissariat established to supply goods
- State supplied services:
o Free post, transport, medicine and food
o Payments for rent, heating and lighting
o Food rationing designed to punish Bourgeoisie - Crusade for Bread
o Attempted to increase grain supplies
o Committees for the Poor established to uncover surplus grain and return it to the state - Requisitioning Squads
o Established out of desperation to increase grain supply
o Used Cheka and armed workers
o Often left no grain, thereby limiting future planting
28
Q
Reasons for Introduction of War Communism
A
- Shortages of raw materials
- Lack of consumer goods
- Nationalisations from below
- Declining grain stocks
- Civil War – foreign blockage, peasant uprisings, loss of Ukraine and prioritisation of Army
29
Q
Impacts of War Communism
A
- Did little to improve economic output:
o Industrial output at 13% of pre-war levels
o Steel output at 4% of pre-war levels - Working population fell from 2.6m (1917) to 1.2m (1920)
- Over-bureaucracy slowed down processes
- Made Bolsheviks less popular with workers and soldiers
- Black market became the only source of goods
- More private trade than ever before
- Grain uncovered during the Crusade for Bread was not returned to State
- Grain requisitioning united peasants against Bolsheviks
- Grain requisitioning removed incentive to produce and restricted ability to plant future crops – amount of land under cultivation fell by 40% and harvests were only 37% of usual yields
30
Q
1921 Great Famine
A
- Natural causes – drought affecting 50% of food producing areas
- Manmade causes – grain requisitioning → lacked seeds to plant future crops
- 20% of food producing areas experienced total crop failure
- Impacts:
o 20m people affected
o 5m deaths from disease or starvation
o Thousands of cases of cannibalism
o Bolsheviks forced to accept foreign aid from USA and Britain → humiliated regime
o Demographic shift – Petrograd population fell 70%; Mosco population fell 50%
o Millions of children either abandoned or orphaned
31
Q
Peasant Unrest during Civil War
A
- Peasant uprisings, such as in Tambov and Ukraine
- These areas became effectively ungovernable for Bolsheviks
- Significant political confusion from peasants
- Peasants demanded freedom and fair trade
32
Q
Change to Structure of Bolshevik Party
A
- Increase in military personnel in the party → increased discipline
- Belief that Communists were the pillar that held up Russian society
- Communists became accustomed to flexing their political muscle and issuing commands
- Soviet became irrelevant – only 68/480 decrees considered by Soviet in 1st year of Bolshevik rule
- Party restructured into 3 bodies following Sverdlov’s death in 1919:
o Secretariat – administrative wing
o Orgburo – made decisions about personnel and delegated tasks
o Politburo – highest decision making body on policy
33
Q
Causes of Kronstadt Revolt
A
- Not all Kronstadt sailors were Bolsheviks
- Heard of crackdown on workers in 1921 → angered at conditions, which were described as ‘forced labour prisons’
- Angered at authoritarian stance of Bolsheviks and their unwillingness to implement the Revolution in full
- Heard of grain requisitioning and poor conditions in rural areas
- Public anger at continuation of War Communism despite threat of Whites being removed
- 118 uprisings in Feb 1921 → Martial law declared in Moscow and Petrograd
34
Q
Events of Kronstadt Revolt
A
- 28 Feb 1921 – 15 point resolution published
- 1 Mar 1921 – thousands of sailors rallied in Kronstadt → Soviet Chairman, Kalinin, and Commissar of Baltic Fleet, Kuzmin, warn against further action
- However, these calls are ignored
- 2 Mar 1921 – Provisional Revolutionary Committee formed
- Called for new Soviet elections to ensure greater Soviet power
- Kronstadt posed a significant crisis for Bolsheviks:
o Military – only 25km from former capital, Petrograd
o Traditional supporters had abandoned Bolsheviks - Bolsheviks took a hardline approach – argued that Kronstadt were counter-revolutionary, needed to demonstrate strength of Bolsheviks, and needed to prevent resistance spreading
- 7 Mar 1921 – 50k Red Army troops launch an offensive
- Outcomes:
o 10k Red Army and 5k Kronstadt soldiers lost
o Cheka execute 2.3k sailors and 6.5k sent to labour camps
35
Q
Significance of Kronstadt Revolt
A
- Bolsheviks broke with revolutionary ideals
- Demonstrated that Bolsheviks would respond to any challenge with force
- Lenin realised that Bolsheviks needed to address the causes of the Revolt, and accepted that current economic system was no longer feasible
36
Q
Aspects of New Economic Policy
A
- Grain requisitioning replaced with a tax in kind
- Peasants able to keep surplus and sell it → incentivised production
- Government rationing and distribution of food was phased out
- State supplied services phased out
- Cash wages reintroduced
- New currency backed by gold standard → inflation brought under control
- Markets and private trade legalised
- Small businesses could reopen
- Smaller factories leased or sold by Government
- Economic ties with foreign nations resumed – trade deal with Britain in 1922
- Militarised workplaces abolished
- Economy and heavy industry still under Government control
37
Q
Results of New Economic Policy
A
- Success in manufacturing, electricity and oil production
o Electricity – increased from 1945kWh (1913) → 3508kWh (1926) - Failures in heavy industry
o Steel production at approx. 75% of pre-war levels - Lacked capital to finance expansion of industry – foreign investors unwilling to invest due to previous nationalisations
- Reduced discontent amongst workers, leading to a decline in strikes
- Progress in agriculture:
o Grain production at similar levels to pre-war
o Greater variety of crops – potatoes, cotton and sugar beets → reduced potential for famine
o Consolidation of strips of land
o Crop rotation to improve soil quality
o By 1920, rural sector outproducing the manufacturing sector
38
Q
Scissors Crisis
A
- 1923 – gap between rising industrial prices and falling agricultural prices
- Factories struggling to produce enough goods to sell to the peasantry
- Concern that if peasants had nothing to buy, they would be less willing to produce → shortages of food
- Response to Scissors Crisis:
o Resumed grain exports in 1923
o Set ambitious targets for under-performing industries, and attempted to increase efficiency
o Stores selling goods at inflated prices were shut down – equal to 250k stores in 1923/4
o Commissariat of Trade expanded role as distributor and retailer of goods → reducing impact of NEP men
39
Q
Tenth Party Congress
A
- 8th March 1921
- Lenin argued for stricter discipline and unity
- Opposition groups began to emerge – workers’ opposition and democratic centralists
40
Q
Opposition Groups (10th Party Congress)
A
- Workers’ Opposition:
o Led by Alexandra Kollantai
o Campaigned for greater proletarian involvement in the running of the economy, rather than Veshenka control
o Concerned at attempts to militarise the workplace, put unions under the control of the central government, and involve non-communists in the running of factories
o Believed the party was becoming overly-bureaucratic and out of touch with workers - Democratic Centralists
o Shared concerns about the rise of bureaucracy
o Argued that the element of democratic centralism in the party had been lost
41
Q
Response to Opposition Groups (10th Party Congress)
A
- Opposition groups struggled to gather considerable support
- Lenin denounced these groups and labelled them as anarcho-syndicalists
- Lenin called for the party to put stop internal disagreements to ensure the long-term survival of the party – need to present themselves as united
- Two decrees introduced:
- On Party Unity:
o Declared that the demands of all opposition factions were inconsistent with the membership of the communist party
o Promotion of ideals of opposition factions became illegal
o Still allowed for individuals to voice their ideas but not as a faction
o Ultimately created a highly centralised state
42
Q
Evolution of the Cheka
A
- Feb 1922 – Cheka replaced with State Political Administration (GPU)
- Change described as one from violence and expediency to legality, unity and conformity
- GPU lost policing powers – only able to enforce crimes against the state and counter-revolutionary threats
- July 1923 – GPU enshrined into the Constitution
- GPU aimed to infiltrate all areas of society
- GPU preferred not to use terror
43
Q
First Soviet Criminal Code
A
- June 1922
- Defined political crimes as propaganda and agitation or participation in organisations that help the international bourgeoisie
- Punishments included execution or forced labour
44
Q
Political Repression
A
- Dissenting voiced exposed and censored
- Removal of members of the Mensheviks and SRs from the Communist Party:
o 1921 – both parties declared illegal
o 2000 Mensheviks arrested following the 10th Party Congress
o 34 SRs involved in show trials in 1922 - May 1922 – Lenin orders GPU to examine academic and literary journals → 120 intellectuals imprisoned by Sept 1922
- Orthodox Church targeted:
o Confiscation of all valuable religious items
o At least 1400 violent clashes with the Cheka
o 7000 priests, monks and nuns killed
45
Q
Bolshevik View on Culture
A
- Believed that a new culture would need to express values of the proletariat and remove religion
- Believed that cultural developments were needed to create the ‘New Soviet Man’
46
Q
Artistic Development
A
- Art began to express utopian and socialist themes
- New movements included:
o Futurism – glorified technology and rejected past traditions
o Proletarian Culture Movement (Prolekult) – involved proletariat working to create a new proletarian culture
o Constructivism – believed that art was constructed with political and social purpose - Sculptures of Tsarist figures were replaced with revolutionaries
- Revolutionary themes including industry and civil war
- Orchestras performed without conductors (persinfants)
47
Q
Propoganda
A
- Used visual imagery due to low literacy rates
- Included Rosta posters
- Agitational propaganda (agitprop) trains used to broaden reach of cultural changes into rural areas
48
Q
Revolutionary Theatre
A
- Nationalisation of Russian theatre → greater communist influence
- Creation of a ‘people’s theatre’ to portray revolutionary tales to a mass audience
- Glorified actions of Bolsheviks and Civil War
49
Q
Changes to Daily Life
A
- Cities renamed to commemorate Communist leaders
- Christenings replaced with Octoberings
- Red Marriages
- Christian holidays replaced with May Day
- Use of ‘comrade’
- Refinement of language to increase efficiency and reduce ‘coarseness’
50
Q
Literacy
A
- Low levels of literacy – only 25-30% were literate, and only 3% in Central Asian Russia
- Viewed that literacy was essential for masses to participate in the development of a socialist society
- Early campaigns focused on the Red Army – including compulsory reading lessons
- Literacy training became essential for all Russian aged between 8 and 50
- Introduction of 40k liquidation patrols to identify and remedy areas with low literacy
- 16k reading rooms established
- Intensive courses offered for those who appeared to be learning quickly
- Standardisation of school curriculum
- Free and compulsory schooling introduced → 49% (1915) → 80% (1926) attended school regularly
51
Q
Women’s Rights
A
- Lenin was very proud of female party members (Bolshevichki)
- Party campaigned for emancipation of women and gender equality
- Women granted right to act as head of household and rights over land ownership
- However, peasants were suspicious so change was limited
- Decree on Marriage (Dec 1917) → easier divorce and ensured consent
- Women afforded right to equal pay and improved working conditions; however, these were rarely enforced
- Russia was the 1st country to legalise abortion
- 1919 – Zhenotdel formed to promote women’s rights
o Led by Kollontai after 1920
o Developed creches and communal kitchens and laundries to liberate women
o Worked to improve female literacy and industrial skills - However, developments to women’s liberation were limited due to:
o Lack of funding
o Traditional patriarchal attitudes being maintained
o Declining role of Kollontai due to her participating in the Workers’ Opposition
52
Q
Electrification
A
- Inspired by utopian vision and a quest for modernisation and a better life
- Lenin believed electrification was key to overcoming the backwardness of the countryside
- 1920 - GOLERO (Commission for Electrification) established to establish a long term plan
- Some scepticism existed on the ability to electrify Russia
- Invested around 1bn roubles into electricity
- Electricity production: 1.9MW (1913) → 0.5MW (1921) → 3.5MW (1926)
- Electricity would be able to bring head, light, sanitation and efficiency
53
Q
Death of Lenin
A
- Died 21st Jan 1924
- Had been ill since 1922
- Lenin believed that leadership after his death should be collective
- Over 500k people visited Lenin’s body on display
