Bolshevik Consolidation, 1918-1924

Question 1

establishment of bolshevik authority

Answer 1

banned opposition parties - SRs in1918 and rest in 1921
Vesehenka = in charge of economy, taken away from central government controls
intense use of Cheka
vote for 1918 constitution = didn’t give middle class vote, only bolshevik supporters, only met at intervals so real power remained with sovnarkom
removal of constituent assembly
moved capital to moscow as more central
sovnarkom

Question 2

removal of the constituent assembly

Answer 2

bolsheviks reviewed 23% of votes whilst SRs received 53%
lenin declared elections mean nothing
red guards stormed first meeting in January 5th 1918
this made it difficult for other parties to exist

Question 3

ending of involvement in first world war

Answer 3

trotsky continually negotiated terms until germans began readvance back into russia
april theses promised peaceful end to war
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 3rd March 1918
lost ukraine, nationalities given independence, lost 1/6 of population and 1/3 of agriculture, pay 3billion roubles in reparation

Question 4

causes of the civil war

Answer 4

loss of ukraine had led to severe food shortages
opposition from left as felt bolshevik’s ignored those who allowed them to rise to power and from right as many missed Tsarist regime
Czech legion = took control of railway, abandoned bolsheviks after use of red army
opposition from britain and france as they had abandoned war alliance
national minorities had lack of clarity about self determination
felt bolsheviks were a threat and many feared the cheka

Question 5

course of the civil war

Answer 5

Czech Legion, May 1918
Murder of the Tsar, June 1918
Denikin army from the south tried to advance further north but stopped by stalin at Tsaritsyn, prevented linking up with kolchacks forces
yudenich army got dangerously close to petrograd, could see trains pulling in and out of station, Trotsky used red army to stop forces
april 1920! denikin eventually pushed back into ukraine and replaced by wrangle
autumn 1919 = kolchak executed

Question 6

role of trotsky

Answer 6

travelled over 60,000 miles on train with elite force
reinstated death penalty and class ranks = harsh discipline
use of cheka to ensure loyalty
employed 50,000 ex tsarist officers to train conscripted peasants and ensured loyalty of these using political commissars and keeping families hostage
continuous support form lenin
kept up energy and morale
intense propaganda used to prove need for intensity
“former people” labour batallions getting to front lines; ensuring soldiers are well fed
no military experience; left decision making to others

Question 7

murder of the Tsar

Answer 7

July 1918, police unit shot tsar and family
little effect on subsequent events as had become a forgotten figure

Question 8

reasons for red victory

Answer 8

1. weaknesses of the whites = lack of common aim, split up over large spatial area, poor communication, corruption in armies
2. geography = majority of major cities and times, most production so could get supplies and food, main railway, large number of workers to conscript
3. leadership = strict discipline, death penalty and cheka, trotsky ensured high energy and morale, use of special forces where fighting was fiercest
4. unified force= all working for a common aim, effective forced = unified command structure

Question 9

government and control in wartime

Answer 9

creation of politburo = centre for party control, elected members, sovnarkom met less
orgburo = oversaw day to day running of party
early centralisation of power = Moscow made capital as further from western front
communist state associated with repression and terror = obedience increased, central controls on economy
1992 = became USSR
areas conquered by reds = part of USSR or allowed to turn into separate republic
officials outnumber worked 2:1

Question 10

amount of deaths in civil war

Answer 10

10 million (including civillians)

Question 11

state capitalism

Answer 11

1917-1918
half way house
state would acquire major sectors of economy
creation of veshenka - economic matters taken away from central government
nationalised some businesses e.g. banks and railways
privately owned businesses and private trade was banned
issue with decree on workers control - failed to organise, output shrank

Question 12

conditions in towns and cities

Answer 12

2/3 of food was sold on the black market, authorities tried to shut it down but there was no alternative
60% of petrograd workforce
1917- 1919 urban population fell from 3.6 mill to 1.4 mill
extreme rationing - 50g of bread a day
typhus epidemic killed 3 million
former members of bourgeoise did not have ration cards
blockade of trade and loss of ukraine
industrial output fell = high inflation

Question 13

war communism 1918-1921

Answer 13

introduced to cope with war - keep Russia as single enterprise, reflected bolshevik ideology, focus on winning war and survival of bolshevik regime - food and resources straight to front line
at start peasants did well as they were able to sell horses and eat livestock
1) requisitioning - peasants began to hoard again, kulaks became enemies of the people, requisitioning squads has to force it , peasants were given unfair rewards in response and so sometimes retaliated to murder of the squads
2) labour discipline + rationing - introduction of internal passports to prevent workers going back to country side, working hours increased, rationing organised on a class basis, ration cards replaced wages, strikes forbidden
3) nationalisation - extended to factories and businesses, private manufacturing abolished, employed officers to keep workers in line
impacts: population fell from 170 million to 140 million,industrial output was 20% of pre war levels, 1921 harvest produced 48% of 1913 = famine

Question 14

red terror

Answer 14

after several assassination attempts on lenin, increase in red terror
arrest and execute without reason - used to carry out class warfare
built concentration camps
partly aimed at political enemies = half a million shot

Question 15

revolts of 1920-1921

Answer 15

Tambov revolt - requisitioning squad came but no stock left, 7,000 men army joined by greens = brutal uprising, red army troops poured in and destroyed whole villages
Kronstadt revolt = described as “flash that lit up reality better than anything else”, Kronstadt soldiers demanded end to one party rule, needed them on their side, Trotsky used red army, shot ring leaders and 15,000 sent to labour camp

Question 16

new economic policy

Answer 16

seen as a step back from socialism and thus bolshevik ideology
end to rationing, peasants still had to give some to the state but were given a fixed quota for this grain
economic impact = industrial output took longer than agriculture produce to recover, created scissor crisis as prices of one increased the other dropped, Trotsky quickly sorted so short term issue, increase in trade in cities using Nepmen as ban on private trade removed, nepmen responsible for 75% of trade, foods and goods were able to flow more easily and people had to buy products
political impact = retreat to capitalism but it was difficult to speak out due to 1921 ban on factions and would be regarded as disloyal, more rigorous censorship, retained repression using cheka
practical success but ideological failure

Question 17

foreign intervention in civil war

Answer 17

france and belgium originally involved as felt betrayed over alliance in WW1, delay mass transfer of German troops to western front
allied governments had little up to date knowledge about what was happening in civil war, out of touch
impact - small scale, involved in little direct fighting
nov 1920, britain’s agreed trade agreement

Question 18

comintern

Answer 18

led by zinoviev
first meeting = march 1919, 50 delegates, international communist parties, optimism about spreading world revolution, believed germany was on brink
second meeting = august 1920, revolts around world had been crushed e.g. Spartacist, some delegates broke away, defeat in russo polish war = bridge to west lost
third meeting = 1921, world not as close as hoped, russia more focused on internal developments

Question 19

russo-polish war

Answer 19

causes: poland wanted to expand borders, lenin saw poland as bridge to west
events: polish head so started led army and joined with ukraine captured kiev, brutally destroyed by red army, pushed back, in desperate attempt managed to capture and save warsaw
impacts: Treaty of Riga, proportions of Ukraine handed to poland

Question 20

zinoviev letter

Answer 20

produced by british public to prevent labour winning next general election
later proved to be a scandal
strengthened isolation of russia

Question 21

treaty of rapollo

Answer 21

germany and russia needed allies
economic and military agreements
mutual goodwill
both outcasts from league of nations

Question 22

lenin’s rule by 1924

Answer 22

some in party felt betrayed by NEP
produced testament
lack of progression towards socialism
created cult of lenin