CHP3.1Return `of Lenin Flashcards
How many members were there in the Bolshevik party at the time of the feb/march revolution?
small, only 23,000 members
How many representatives of the Bolshevik party were there in the Soviet of 1500?
only had 40 representatives in the Soviet of 1500
When did Stalin get back to Petrograd and what did he do?
mid March and took over control of the party newspaper ‘Pravda’ (The Truth)
When did Lenin return to Petrograd from Switzerland?
3rd April 1917
Why did the Germans allow Lenin safe passage from Switzerland ?
They were fond of the idea of his return in stirring up trouble and ending the war
How long had Lenin been in exile?
Apart from a few months in 1905 -1906 Lenin had been in exile for 17 years
What were the 3 main demands of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’?
- The war should be brought to an immediate end
- Power should be transferred to the Soviets
- All land should be taken over by the state and re-allocated to peasants by local soviets
What was Lenin’s theses summed up as which was supported by the motto , “all power to the Soviets”?
“peace, bread, land”
What were the reactions of Lenin’s proposals when they were first put to a meeting of the Social Democrats?
(4)
- Some Bolsheviks felt that Lenin had grown out of touch during his time in exile
- Allegations that Lenin was in pay with the Germans
- Mensheviks feared that Lenin would undermine their work and cause a rightwing reaction
- Some believed that Lenin’s proposal to oppose the PG was unrealistic as the Bolshevik party was still a minority
How did Lenin succeed in gaining more support after the obvious unpopular reaction to his initial speech to the Social Democrats?
(2)
- Work a workers cap to look more Proletarian at factory meetings
- Abandoned his call for an immediate overthrow of the PG and so won over those scared of civil war
What 2 things did Lenin wrongly claim credit for?
- Peasantry seizing land, which had already begun in the absence of any authority
- the massive anti-war demonstration in Petrograd in April, which was actually as a result of Milyukov’s announcement about the continuation of war
What did Milyukov say in his announcement?
That Russia would continue fighting ‘until victory’
How was Milyukov’s announcement positive for Lenin and the bolshevik party?
- Milyukov and Guchkov were forced to resign and were replaced by 2 socialists, Viktor Chernov + Alexander Kerensky as well as an additional 2 Mensheviks to the cabinet
- This meant that the PG took a move to the left
By the end of April, what did Lenin achieve the majority in through force of his personalty ?
the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
When did the ‘All Russian Congress of Soviets” meet in Petrograd?
3rd June 1917
At the “All Russian Congress of Soviets”, what was the votes of confidence in the PG?
543 votes - in confidence
126- no confidence
In June, did the Bolshevik party to bad or good in the Duma elections?
good
What happened in the June demonstrations?
the Petrograd Soviet called the June demonstrations in an attempt to outmanoeuvre the Bolsheviks however Bolshevik banners dominated the march
How was Lenin put in a difficult position by the Kronstadt naval base demonstrations?
-he knew that a premature revolution risked defeat and therefore could neither give full support or condemn their actions
Why did the Germans help Lenin return to Russia who they were fighting?
as they believed that the Bolsheviks would end the war with Russia on the eastern front
Where was Lenin in exile?
Switzerland
How man comrades did Lenin travel with on a sealed train through Germany?
31
How was Lenin greeted on his arrival in Finland station in Petrograd?
by cheering crowds
Where did Lenin land in Russia?
Finland station in Petrograd
At the time, what did Bolsheviks and Mensheviks believe was needed which Lenin and Trotsky disagreed with?
That there needed to be a ‘bourgeois stage’ of revolution
Why did Lenin and Trotsky not believe that there needed to be a ‘bourgeois stage’?
as this would hold back the proletarian revolution
What was Lenin’s demands ‘peace, bread, land’ supported by?
‘All power to the Soviets’
What the Bolshevik Party in April 1917 under Lenin’s tight control?
No
Why did some of the Social Democrats when Lenin first proposed his ideas believe that his call to oppose the PG was unrealistic?
as the Bolsheviks were still only a minority among the Socialists
