5.1 Early Bolshevik Decrees and 5.2 the constituent assembly and 5.4 the treaty of Brest-Litovsk Flashcards
What were included in the November decrees
Decree in land - land taken from tsar and nobles and given to peasants
Decree on unemployment insurance
Decree on peace — making peace in the war
Decree on work — 8hr working day, 40hr working week, holidayS
Decree on titles— titles and classes abolished, woman equal to men
Decree on press — all non Bolshevik newspapers banned
What was included in the December decrees
Decree on workers control - all factories to be placed under the control of elected community workers
Decree on political parties - the cadets were banned
Decree on banking - all banks under sovnarkoms control
Decree on marriage - non religious weddings allowed and divorce is easier
Decree to set to the political police - Cheka
What was sovnarkom
The council of people’s commissars
The government
What was the constituent assembly and what role did it play
Electrons for Russia’s new parliament
First free elections in Russian history
What were the results like + how did the Bolsheviks respond
SRs gained the most seats
Bolsheviks only gained 1/4 of the votes — mainly from working class
Lenin said because there were soviets in Russia there was no need for the constituent assembly
It met on 18th Jan 1918 — Bolsheviks suggested the CAs power be limited. This proposal was denied, — Lenin gave the order to dissolve the CA
Overview of the treaty of Brest litovsk:
In March 1918, the Bolsheviks signed the treaty of Brest litovsk with Germany to end the Russian involvement in WW1
What were reasons for the treaty of Brest Litovsk
- Lenin opposed the war from the beginning
If the Bolsheviks wanted to hold onto their power there had to be an immediate peace settlement. — continuing the war might mean the army won’t support them
When did Peace talks begin + why did they try to prolong the talks
Peace talks began on 3rd December 1917
Trotsky was Russia’s representative
They prolonged the talks as they thought workers in Europe would revolt and when this happened the war would end and Germany and Russia could make fair peace
why was Lenin forced to make peace
The German army advanced into Russia so Lenin had to make peace
What were the terms of the treaty - what did Russia lose
Large amount of land
Had to pay Reparation of 3 billion roubles
Lost large amount of population (50million)
27% of arable land
26% of railways
74% of iron and coal
What were the reactions of the treaty in Russia
Patriotic Russians objected to the treaty because of the:
- amount of land and population lost
- amount of reparations
- the way in which Lenin and Trotsky were prepared to sacrifice national interest to secure peace at any price
- the dictated nature of the peace
What was the significance of the treaty of Brest litovsk / why did it become meaningless / what did Lenin think would happen
Lenin signed the treaty on the prediction that Germany would be defeated in the war.
When Germany lost the war (due to the failure of the Germans spring failure) the treaty became meaningless
