Bolshevik Consolidation

Question 1

What issues did the bolsheviks face after their seizure of power in1917 ?

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Answer 1

• The war with Germany was still being fought.
• The Bolsheviks had substantial support within the cities but their support was still limited in the countryside.
• The Bolsheviks faced strikes by civil servants who refused to cooperate with the new government.
• The State Bank refused to provide the Bolsheviks with financial support.
• There were food shortages in the cities.

Question 2

What were the early decrees ?

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Answer 2

• Decree on Land (October 1917): Abolished private land ownership and redistributed land to the peasants, winning their support.
• Decree on Peace (October 1917): Promised an immediate end to Russia’s involvement in World War I and called for peace talks with Germany and Austria-Hungary.
• Decree on Workers’ Control (November 1917): Allowed workers to manage factories, creating soviets (workers’ councils) in industrial areas.
• Decree on the Press (November 1917): Limited opposition newspapers to control the spread of counter-revolutionary ideas.

Question 3

How did the bolsheviks begun to establish one party control ?

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Answer 3

• SOVNARKOM - Policy making became the responsibility of an elite group from the Bolshevik Central Committee, which was formalised in 1919 into the Politburo.
• CHEKA - Lenin was determined to impose absolute Bolshevik rule by suppressing all political opponents.December 1917: established its own secret police, known as the Cheka.By 1921 it had 143,000 employees.Labour camps were introduced to imprison political prisoners.
• CONSITUANT ASSSEMBLY - abolished

Question 4

How did Lenin deal with the constituent assembly ?

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Answer 4

• In November 1917 elections to the Constituent Assembly were held, which Had been arranged by the Provisional Gov.
• the Results of the election showed the Bolsheviks only had 24% of the vote - being outvoted by the SRs.
• Lenin allowed the CA to meet but demanded it be subservient to the Sovnarkom and the Soviets.
• When this was rejected by the CA, Lenin ordered the Red Guards to surround the building, preventing entry.This effectively shut down the long awaited CA after only a day.
• LENIN JUSTIFIED THIS by claiming he closed the assembly to defend democracy due to the confusion around the left SR’s and the right SR’s and claiming that this was ‘ bourgeois democracy ‘.

Question 5

What were the reasons for ending the war ?

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Answer 5

• The war was a key reason for the downfall of the provisional government.
• Lenin hoped that the by ending the war the economy would have chance to recover
• would allow the government to recall troops in order to prepare for the civil war
• Germany was still financing Lenin and the bolsheviks.

Question 6

What were the terms of the treaty of Brest-litovsk?

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Answer 6

• Germany demanded that they have the Baltic states, parts of Poland, territory in Ukraine
• meaning Russia lost 32% of its arable land, 26% of its railway system, 33% of its factories, 75% of its coal and iron ore mines, Approximately 60 million Russian citizens.

Question 7

What were the consequences of the treaty ?

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Answer 7

• The treaty led to a break with the Left SRs. Brest-Litovsk was extremely unpopular as it resulted in massive losses of land. The Left SRs who had supported the government and participated in the Sovnarkom, resigned from government.
• The treaty led to a significant decline in support for the Bolsheviks and Lenin’s government.
• Support for the SRs and Mensheviks who opposed the treaty increased.
• Consequently, the Bolsheviks lost the elections to the soviets across Russia in April and May 1918.

Question 8

What was the final outcome of the treaty of Brest-litovsk ?

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Answer 8

• While the treaty was criticised for its heavy terms, Lenin and the Bolsheviks defended it as a necessary step to secure peace and focus on the internal problems of the revolution.
• The treaty also demonstrated the Bolsheviks’ pragmatism, as they had to deal with the immediate threat of war while attempting to maintain control over a fragmented and war-torn Russia.

Question 9

What evidence is there that the Bolshevik government was still challenged ?

Answer 9

• ECONOMIC - food shortages, hyperinflation, large workers strikes
• TERRITORIAL - lacked support in the countryside, emergence of white armies and nationalist movements
• SOCIAL UNREST - Kronstadt 1918, Tambov and other peasant rebellions