Chapter 12 Flashcards
The establishment of Bolshevik government
When did Lenin return to Russia?
3rd April 1917
What were the demands of the April Theses
Power transferred to the Soviets, war brought to an immediate end, land redistributed to the peasants
What can the April Theses be summed up as?
Peace, bread and land
What was the reaction to Lenin’s April Theses?
Some Bolsheviks feared Lenin was out of touch, Mensheviks believed he would cause a right-wing reaction and the Bolsheviks were divded whether to support the Provisional Government
Which notable Bolsheviks supported the Provisional Government?
Stalin and Kamenev
What was the support for the Provisional Government in June 1917?
543 to 126 votes
What was the reason for the July Days?
Grain prices had doubled in Petrograd and shortages of resources caused the loss of 100,000 jobs
How many members of Kronstadt supported the July Days?
20,000
What was the impact of the July Days on Bolshevik reputations?
Bolshevik propaganda was burned and Pravda offices were closed - Lenin’s reputation fell
How did the Kornilov Coup positively affect the Bolsheviks?
Kerensky supplied them with arms and they organised bands of workers
How much did Bolshevik support increase by from June to December
164%
How did the Bolshevik membership grow from February to October?
From 23,000 members to 200,000
Who became the Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet?
Trotsky
What did Lenin begin to demand from mid-September 1917?
He demanded to stage a revolution and seize power
Who were the strongest opposition to Lenin’s demands?
Zinoviev and Kamenev
How did Trotsky suggest the Bolsheviks gain absolute power?
By working through the Petrograd Soviet and wait for the Congress of Soviets
When did Lenin secretly return to Petrograd?
7th October
Why did the Bolshevik-controlled Soviet establish a ‘Military Revolutionary Committee’?
Kerensky sent radical Bolshevik units outside of the capital
Who governed the ‘Military Revolutionary Committee’?
Trotsky and Dzerzhinsky
What did the ‘Military Revolutionary Committee’ control?
200,000 Red Guards, 60,000 Baltic sailors and 150,000 Petrograd soldiers
How did Kerensky try to restrict power?
By trying to close down two Bolshevik newspapers and restrict the Military Revolutionary Committee’s power
What key positions did the Red Guards take on the 24th-25th October?
Around the telephone exchange, post office, railway stations, news agency, state bank, bridges and power stations
How many did Trotsky claim were actively involved in the revolution?
25,000 to 30,000
How many were really present at the Winter Palace on 25th October?
10,000-15,000 (most are presumed to be bystanders)
Why would the Bolsheviks claim a larger number were actively involved?
The legitimacy of their regime was based on the idea of a popular revolution
How many delegates arrived for the first session of the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets?
670
Why were the Mensheviks and right-wing SRs disappointed by the result?
The majority of seats for the executive committee went to Bolsheviks and left-wing SRs
What did Trotsky claim that the moderates belonged to?
The ‘dustbin of history’
What did this executive committee establish on 26th October?
The ‘Soviet of People’s Commissars’ or Sovnarkom
What decrees were established on the 27th October?
Decree on peace and an end to war and a decree on land which abolished private ownership and legitimised peasant seizures
What decrees were establised in November 1917?
Workers’ control decree gave workers right to ‘supervise management’, nationality decree to promise self-determiation to the countries within the former empire, decree of elected peoples’ courts, outlaw of sex discrimination and right for women to own property
What decrees were established in December 1917?
Military decree removed class-ranks and military decorations, decrees on the church nationalised church land and removed marriage and divorce from church control, nationalisation of banks ended private flow of capital
In what ways was the Bolshevik government’s support limited?
Civil servants refused to serve under them and bankers refused to provide finance
What was Kerensky’s opposition to the Bolshevik government?
He formed an army of 18 Cossack regiments - there were 10 days of fighting between the troops before Kerensky’s troops were convinced to defect
How did Lenin deal with other socialist parties?
He did very little; his only concession was that left-wing Social Revolutionaries were allowed to join Sovnarkom
What were Lenin’s methods against his political and ‘class’ enemies?
A propaganda campaign, closure of anti-Bolshevik newspapers, a purge of the civil service, establishment of the Cheka and leading opposition was arrested
How many seats did the Bolsheviks recieve at the Constituent Assembly elections, and how many did the SRs?
Bolsheviks recieved 175 while the SRs recieved 410 seats (including 40 left-wingers)
How long did the Constituent Assembly meet for before it was dissolved?
One day only - 5th January 1918
