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Russia And The Soviet Union > Bolsheviks In Power 1917-24 > Flashcards

Bolsheviks In Power 1917-24 Flashcards

1
Q

What were some early decrees the bolsheviks issued

A

November;
8th - decree on peace - peace should be achieved without annexations or indemnities

8th - decree on land - 540 million acres of land taken from nobles/church./ tsar given to peasant

Decree on unemployment - insurance

Decree on work - 8-hour days

Decree on marriage

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2
Q

When does Trotsky begin peace talks with Germany

A

3rd December 1917

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3
Q

When was the Cheka established

A

7th December 1917

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4
Q

What was significant about the elections for the Constitute Assembly, held in November 1917

A

First free elections in Russia

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5
Q

Who won the elections for the constitute assembly (1917)

A

Social revolutionaries - (370 seats)

Bolsheviks only got 175

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6
Q

When was the first meeting of the constitute assembly after the election

A

5th January 1918

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7
Q

When did Lenin dissolve the constitution assembly

A

January 6th 1918

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8
Q

Why did Lenin dissolve the constitute assembly

A
  • refused to pas Bolsheviks key decrees or to support the principle of all power to the soviets
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9
Q

After his abdication where was the tsar and his family initially allowed to live

A

Royal palace at tsarskoye palace

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10
Q

Why did they move the tsar and his family from the palace to Siberia

A

Palace was too close to Petrograd and afraid they would be attacked by local people

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11
Q

Where were the tsar’s family moved to, from Siberia in April 1918

A

Ekaterinburg in Ural Mountains - away from white armies

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12
Q

When was the tsars family executed

A

17th July 1918

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13
Q

What was the Cheka intended for

A

To combat counter-Revolution, sabotage and speculation

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14
Q

How was the Cheka justified

A

Lenin claimed the Revolution was under threat from the class enemies of workers/peasants - bourgeoisie

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15
Q

Why did Lenin want to end the war

A
  • it’s what the people wanted

- focus forces on wiping out political opponents within Russia instead

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16
Q

Who was given the responsibility of negotiating a treaty with Germany

A

Trotsky

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17
Q

What was Trotsky’s initial demands for the treaty and how did the Germans react

A
  • wanted peace with no losses to Russia

- Germans reacting by ending ceasefire and advancing into Russia further

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18
Q

What were the terms of the treaty

A
  • very harsh
  • Russia surrendered huge traces of land from Black Sea to the Baltic Sea
  • had to pay reparations - 3 billion roubles
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19
Q

What was the significance of the treaty

A

Loss of…

  • 74% coal mines/ iron ore
  • 50% of its industry
  • 26% of its railways
  • 27% of its farmland
  • 26% of its population
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20
Q

How did soldiers react to the treaty of Brest - litovsk

A
  • pleased for the end of the war
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21
Q

How did the left social Revolutionaries react to the treaty of Brest-litosvk

A

-walked out of government in protest

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22
Q

How did the conservatives/ nationalists react to the treaty of Brest-Litsovk

A

Horrified at the sheer amount of land and population lost + the way in which lenin were prepared to sacrifice national interest

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23
Q

What were the reasons for the civil war

A

Economic and social hardship

  • food shortages/ starvation
  • bread rationing reached all time low - 50g a day
  • hunger driving many people away from industrial cities - shrunk 60% by June 1918

Bolshevik reforms

  • decree on land - churches/landlords/ nobles angered
  • decree on peace - nationalists angered - wanted to continue the war

Constitute assembly
- SR’s and Cadets angered about dissolving

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- huge territorial losses appalled Russians

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24
Q

In March 1918, bread rationing reached an all time low of

A

50g a day

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25
Q

By June 1918, hunger drove many workers out of Petrograd. What effect did this have

A
  • workforce shrunk by 60%

- population declined by approx 2/3 million

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26
Q

When did the Czech Legion revolt

A

May 1918

  • 400,000 troops taking over the trans-Siberian railway
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27
Q

Who were the bolsheviks opponents in the civil war

A

Whites

  • former tsarists/ nationalists/ nobles/ wealthy industrialists- wanted to restore the tsar
  • liberals/ moderate socialists - wanted law and order re-established
  • social Revolutionaries - wanted restoration of the constitute assembly

Greens

  • national minorities eg. Georgians
  • wanted independence from Russia

Foreign powers

  • Britain/ France/ USA/ Japan
  • angry that bolsheviks pulled out of the war and cancelled repayments of loans from them
  • scared communism would spread to their own countries
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28
Q

Who were the main generals in the civil war

A

General Yudenich - had British support attacked from north-west - threatened Petrograd

General deniken - french support - threatened south

Admiral Kolchak - British support - threatened east

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29
Q

Key events of the civil war

A

1919 - Denikin (army of 150,000) got within 320km of Moscow

June 1919 - kolchak captured Kazan and samara

Summer 1919 -admiral Miller launched unsuccessful attack along northern Dvina river

October 1919 - yudenich (army of 15,000) reached outskirts of Petrograd with Estonian troops

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30
Q

Who won the civil war

A

Bolsheviks

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31
Q

What were the strengths of the Bolsheviks in the civil war

A
  • leadership of Lenin - ruthless
  • war communism - tackled the economic crisis
  • Cheka - terrified Russians so they wouldn’t help the whites
  • control of central Russia - shorter distances to supply their armies/ moved capital to Moscow for better use of railways unlike whites / central areas contained main armaments factories
  • got possession of tsars old arsenals - 2.2 million rifles, 12000 field guns, ammunition
  • conscription - built up army
  • support from peasantry - made up main body of army (supported as of decree of land)
  • effective propaganda - fighting for a cause/ October Revolution/ look after the ordinary
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32
Q

What was the role of Trotsky in the civil war

A
  • appointed commissar of war in 1918
  • organised mobilisation of red army into a huge fighting force
  • realised army needed experienced ex-tsarists officers - kept their families hostage to ensure loyalty
  • encouraged soldiers to read and write/ learn about aims of bolsheviks
  • introduced socialist military oath
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33
Q

What were the weaknesses of the whites in the civil war

A

Lack of unity

  • made up of variety of different parties who didn’t share same aims
  • argued/ didn’t trust each other - fighting for tsarism or republicism?
  • white generals didn’t trust each other/ competed - no co-ordinated military strategy

Poor leadership

  • cruel to soldiers - thus little loyalty
  • High levels of corruption and indiscipline eg. Uniforms/ munitions sold on black market

Geographically spread out

  • Communications difficult
  • can’t co-ordinate attacks

Small populations
- less conscription

Foreign intervention

  • half-hearted/ ineffective
  • gave Bolshevik propaganda opportunity - foreign invaders
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34
Q

What was the Cheka

A

Bolshevik secret police

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35
Q

By 1919 how many employees did the Cheka have

A

100, 000

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36
Q

Why was the red terror introduced

A
  • to remove opponents of the Bolsheviks following an assassination on Lenin’s life at the end of august 1918
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37
Q

What was the red terror

A

Those who were suspected of working against the Revolution were arrested, tortured and executed

38
Q

By the end of 1918, how many people had it ‘removed’

A

More then 500,000

39
Q

How was terror/ the Cheka used in the civil war

A

Sent to areas to arrest anyone who was thought to be working with the whites

40
Q

When was the red terror

A

September 1918 - February 1919

41
Q

How many people were executed in Petrograd under the red terror

A

800 people

42
Q

By the end of the civil war, how many people had the Cheka killed

A

200,000

43
Q

When was the second Kronstadt mutiny (after that in the February Revolution)

A

28th February 1921

44
Q

Why did the Kronstadt revolt in 1921

A

Against war communism/ requisitioning of food/ red terror/ lack of political freedom

45
Q

How did they deal with the Kronstadt mutiny of 1921

A

Trotsky sent 50,000 red army soldiers
It took until 17th March for sailers to be defeated
500 were executed

46
Q

Where were the surviving rebels from the Kronstadt mutiny put

A

Gulags or executed by the Cheka

47
Q

What was the politburo

A

The leading decision making body in the communist party

48
Q

When was the politburo set up

A

1919

49
Q

How many members were in the politburo and who were they

A

5

Lenin, Trotsky, zinoviev, Kamanev, Stalin

50
Q

How did the politburo contribute to the centralisation of the Bolsheviks

A

Initially set up to make day-to-day decisions which were too urgent to wait for the central committee
All major decisions increasingly made by the politburo

51
Q

What consisted the USSR

A
  • Ukrainian soviet socialist republic
  • Russian soviet federated republic
  • Belorussian soviet socialist republic
  • Transcaucasian
52
Q

What was war communism

A
  • everything in the economy was geared to meeting the needs of the military first in hope to win the civil war
53
Q

What were the economic reasons for war communism

A
  • peasants wanted to keep their land but were unwilling to sell their food
  • Lenin wanted to control supply of food to feed soldiers/workers
  • Lenin wanted to control industry to supply red army with weapons and Resources
  • inflation
  • transport problems - lack of raw materials
54
Q

What were the social reasons for war communism

A
  • severe food shortages of food and other basic necessities
55
Q

What were the political reasons for war communism

A
  • policy followed communist idea of central control
56
Q

What were the military remains for war communism

A

Has to guarantee supplies for huge red army against the whites

57
Q

What were the features of war communism

A
  • peasants couldn’t sell their crops - Cheka requisitioned most crops
  • industries nationalised and given targets
  • industries put under control of Vesenkha - supreme economic council
  • freedoms banned - strikes dealt with by the Cheka
  • rationing
  • factories with 10+ workers nationalised
  • inflation - money became valueless - bargained in goods
58
Q

Why was war communism unpopular

A
  • lead to starvation

- angered peasants/ workers

59
Q

What were the consequences of war communism

A
  • peasants grew less and bred fewer animals - farm production fallen to 37% of 1913 levels
  • famine 1920-21 - 7 million dead
  • production halved
  • black market developed
60
Q

Why was there a famine in 1920-21

A

As of war communism, Lenin requisitioned the grain needed for next crops

61
Q

Reasons for the NEP

A
  • disastrous economic consequences of war communism

- political opposition due to war communism

62
Q

What were the features of NEP

A
  • free market - peasants could sell surplus crops
  • state dropped requisitioning grain - paid tax on sales instead
  • money reintroduced
  • factories with less then 20 workers were given back to their owners
  • electrification of Russia - network of power stations established
63
Q

Who was ‘for’ NEP

A
  • peasants and traders - freedom
64
Q

Who was ‘against’ NEP

A

Many communist party members thought it was a backwards step - brought capitalism back

Managed to convince them as it was said to be a ‘temporary’ measure

65
Q

What were the economic effects of the NEP

A
  • agricultural production increased - grain production increased from 37 million tonnes (1921) to 56 million tonnes (1923)
  • from 1920-1923, industrial growth increased by 200%
  • nepmen - private traders - by 1923, 25,000 just in Moscow
66
Q

What was the scissor crisis

A

By 1923, so much food was being produced prices fell, but prices of industrial goods rose as they were still in short supply

Widening gap between agricultural industrial goods.

67
Q

How did Lenin change the life of women for the better

A
  • new divorce laws - easier to get a divorce
  • paid maternity leave 2 months before and after birth
  • abortion on demand was made legal
  • church weddings replaced with civil marriages - reduce influence of religion
68
Q

How did Lenin change the lives of women for the worse

A
  • by 1920’s had highest divorce rates - women abandoned when pregnant
69
Q

When was the zhenotdel set up

A

1919

70
Q

What was the zhenotdel

A

Women’s organisation that was set up to increase freedom equality and influence of women

71
Q

Why did women’s employment position worsen

A
  • during civil war women working in industry doubled
  • when men returned and discharged after civil war they were preferred for jobs
  • women forced from skilled labour to unskilled labour
72
Q

Who was the first women to be a member of any European government

A

Alexandra Kollontai

73
Q

What did Lenin introduce regarding education

A
  • each child must receive 9 years of education
  • curriculum changed to involve compulsory learning about history of Revolution and communism
  • more practical education
  • authority of teachers reduced - forbidden to set hw
  • co-education ( girls and boys taught together)
74
Q

What were the two youth organisations set up under Lenin

A

Pioneers - children under 15, camping /trips - like Boy Scouts

Komsomol - young people - used to take propaganda into towns through activities. Seen as an entrance to communist party

75
Q

What was socialist realism

A

The portrayal of of communism in an accessible/ positive way

76
Q

What was Lenin’s effect on art

A
  • increasingly censored to ensure socialist realism
77
Q

Who was the head of the Cheka

A

Felix Dzerzinchy

78
Q

How many people had the cheka removed by the end of the civil war

A

200,000

79
Q

How did the red terror spread fear

A

Rumours - skinned + burnt victims

80
Q

The politburo worked within the frameworks of…

A

Democratic centralism

81
Q

Economic centralisation

A

War communism

82
Q

How much enterprise was owned by the government in the summer of 1919

A

80%

83
Q

What were industries put under the control of (lenin)

A

Veneskha - supreme economic council

84
Q

Social centralisation

A
  • control of art/culture
85
Q

who was the head of the Cheka

A

Felix Dzerzhinsky

86
Q

how many operatives did the Cheka have

A

by 1921 - had 30,000

87
Q

where was the Cheka most active

A

in countryside - supporting requisition brigades

88
Q

examples of Cheka cruelty

A
  • in Kharkov the Cheka scalped their prisoners

- in Poltava they burnt at the stake peasants that opposed them

89
Q

how many people had the Cheka imprisoned by the end of the civil war

A

85,000

90
Q

what does Cheka stand for

A

all - Russian extraordinary commission for combating counter revolution and sabotage

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