7. Marxism-Leninism & The Bolsheviks seize control of the state Flashcards
What did the Bolsheviks change their name to once in power?
Communist Party
Marx has believed that the working class created by capitalism would eventually overthrow the system themselves. But Lenin argued…..
That political revolution needed to come first, led by a well-organized working class party.
Although Marx had believed there would be no need for s government once communism was established, this did not happen in Russia. Lenin believed…..
That the party needed to keep control of the state after the revolution, in order to bring state bring about and protect communism.
Society Russia became a _____ one party state with a hugely powerful leader.
Totalitarian
Who planned for election which the Bolshevik government went ahead with?
The provisional government
What were the results for the elections?
They were disappointing for the Bolsheviks who won less than a quarter of the seats.
What did the elections show?
The Bolshevik position was not secure.
Who met in January 1918 for the first and only time?
The constituent assembly
Why did the constituent assembly meet?
To criticize Bolshevik policies
What did Lenin do the day after the constituent assembly met?
Sent troops to close it down permanently. The red guards used force to stop demonstrations in support of the parliament and over a hundred people were killed or wounded.
What was made clear by the Bolsheviks?
They were prepared to use force to stay in power.
True or false
The soldiers at the naval base at Kronstadt were strong supporters of the communist dream.
True
Lenin always believed that a disciplined group of full-time ______ organized into a single _____ Party such as the Bolsheviks should lead the mass of the people to a revolution.
Revolutionaries
Political
What did Lenin describe the party as when he believed they should lead the people to the revolution?
He described the party as being the ‘vanguard of the proletariat’.
What is a vanguard?
A small organized group which takes the lead
Lenin believe that since the communists were in power they should continue the role as the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. What did this mean?
Meaning that a small group of committed leaders would rule on behalf of the people.
What did they ban?(3)
- opposition parties
- newspapers
- no freedom of debate
What was name of the ruthless secret police set up?
The CHEKA
What reforms did the party set up?(4)
- Peace with Germany
- Land Reforms
- Working conditions
- Education
What did Russia sign with Germany?
A peace treaty . The peace terms by the German terms were very harsh and Russia lots of land and resources in Western areas.
What did the government ‘confiscate’?
Large areas of land from estates of tsar, the church, the nobles and landlords.
How did the government improve working conditions?
Established an eight hour day and forty hour week and introduced a system of insurance to protect workers against injury,illness and unemployment.
How did the government improve education?
Free education for all and launched an adult literacy campaign.
