Chapter 3 - Developments between the revolutions of 1917 Flashcards
What were Lenin’s 4 demands?
- All power to the soviets
- Peace
- The war should be brought to an immediate end
- Bread
- Food shortages should end
- Land
- All land should be taken over by the state and allocated to the peasants
How many members did the Bolshevik Party have in Feb/March 1917?
23,000 (relatively small)
How many Bolsheviks were there in the PS in Feb/March 1917?
40
What was the policy of the PS and who agreed?
To give support to the PG while protecting worker’s rights
the Bolsheviks agreed
How did Lenin travel back to Russia?
Travelled from Switzerland to Russia on a sealed train without passport checks, with help from the German government
The German government hoped Lenin and the Bolsheviks could further destabilise Russia, possibly even pulling them out of the war
The train was sealed to prevent him from causing trouble among Germany’s Marxists on his way through the country
Marxist theory and the PS:
“A socialist revolution could only happen after a bourgeois revolution”
What did Lenin belive?
The Russian middle classes were too weak to carry through a revolution; the workers, backed by the peasants, needed to do it
Marxist theory and the PS:
“The Russian proletariat was still developing. There was still a long wait, maybe decades, before a socialist revolution could happen”
What did Lenin belive?
Russia was different: the soviets were a ready-made socialist government, and Russia was primed for a socialist revolution
Marxist theory and the PS:
“There was no quick way to socialism; Marx had identified natural laws that had to be followed”
What did Lenin belive?
The rest of Europe seemed close to socialist revolution; Russia would surely be supported by socialist neighbours
Why did Lenin’s proposals not immediately recieve full support?
Some argued that the Bolsheviks were not yet powerful enough to oppose the PG
Others feared that his radical proposals would do more harm than good
How did Lenin gain support?
- Through a mixture of persuasion, compromise, threats of resignation and appeals to the rank and file
- He abandoned his call for immediate overthrow of the PG, helping him to convince those afraid of a civil war
- He sought out supporters at Party and factory meetings
- He claimed credit for social changes already happening (e.g peasant land seizures), helped him appear in control of events
What was Lenin’s situation at the end of April?
He’d won over most of the Party’s Central Committee but was still struggling to gain wider support
What happened on the 3rd of June?
PS passed a vote of confidence in the PG
What were the July Days?
An armed demonstration organised by the sailors from the Kronstadt naval based that spread to the centre of Petrograd, with workers and soldiers joining them
Rising prices & unemployment contributed to the unrest
Who was blamed when the July Days demonstrations turned violent?
the Bolsheviks
How did the July Days end?
the PG brought in troops to crush the demonstrations
the Mensheviks and SRs of the PS supported the PG
What happened as a result of the July Days?
- Bolshevik newspapers shut down
- Lenin and Stalin fled (Lenin to Finland)
- Other Bolshevik leaders (e.g Trotsky) were arrested and imprisoned
What happened during the summer and autumn of 1917?
The Bolsheviks became more powerful
