Chp6.5 Government and Control in Wartime Flashcards
What did the modern historian Orlando Figes suggest?
“the totalitarian state had its origins in the Civil War when it was necessary to control every aspect of the economy and society”
What was Lenin’s natural inclination? (3)
- to control
- discipline
- lead from the centre
When was the centralisation of power established ?
early in Civil War when Moscow replaced Petrograd as Russia’s capital
What was the symbolic change of moving Russia’s capital from Petrograd to Moscow?
symbolic change from a city that had been built to open Russia up to the western world to a regime which believed itself superior to the world
From Moscow what style government evolved?
a military style
How many Party members fought for the Red Army in the civil war?
500,000+
In order fro government to function efficiently, what grew enormously during these years of the civil war?
Soviet bureaucracy (most decisions made by state officials rather than by elected representatives
By how much did officials outnumber workers?
by 2 to 1
What is it suggested that the extension of government from the growth of the Soviet bureaucracy created?
a ‘dictatorship of the bureaucracy’
What was the Bolshevik/Community Party’s structure based on?
annual congresses, elect by the mass membership
Where were policies and decisions shaped?
the Party’s Central Committee
When was another body created (politburo) which became the real centre for party policy?
1919
What was the theoretical sub-committee of the Central Committee which was set up in 1919 known as ?
the Politburo
Who were the Politburo, set up in 1919, first elected members? (3)
- Lenin
- Trotsky
- Stalin
After the introduction of the Politburo set up in 1919, what met less frequently during the 1920’s?
the Sovnarkom
What was the name of the organisational bureau in 1919 to supervise the work of local Party committees and the permanent secretariat which carried out the day-to-day running of the party ?
Orgburo
What was the role of the organisational bureau Orgburo which was set up in 1919? (2)
to supervise the work of local Party Committees and the permanent secretariat which carried out the day-to-day running of the party
When was the organisational bureau Orgburo created?
1919
What was democratic centralism which Lenin spoke of?
Where the Soviet Union was a democracy because the workers and peasants elect members of their local soviets who chose those who sat on a higher level soviet and the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, thus exerting influence on policy decisions
-central authorities passed decisions down to the masses
Why was the new Communist State more firmly associated with repression and ‘terror’ between 1918-1921?
due to the impact of fighting a Civil War
What were centre controls brought in to do?
they were brought in to manage the economy and deal with food shortages
What were centre controls which were brought in to manage the economy and deal with food shortages known as?
‘war communism’
Why was terror used systematically?
in order to enforce the stringent new measures and eradicate opposition
Why did the Bolsheviks/Communists adopt a ‘siege mentality’?
as they faced internal and external enemies bent on their destruction
What happened to areas conquered by the Red Army as a result of the civil war ? (2)
either
- absorbed into the “Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic” set up in January 1918
- or allowed to remain as separate republics
What are examples of areas allowed to remain as separate republics? (3)
- Ukraine
- Belorussia
- Georgia
Who disagreed with Lenin about the status of the independent republics?
Stalin, the Commissar of Nationalities
Why did Lenin disagree with Stalin who wanted all independent republics directly controlled by Moscow?
because Lenin favoured a federation of soviet republics
When was the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics formally established? (USSR)
at the end of 1922
How many members were in the Politburo compared to the Sovnarkom with 15-20 members from the Central Committee?
7-9 members
