Consolidation of Power Flashcards
What major issues did Lenin face in 1917?
Demand for socialist coalition
Bread, peace and land promise
Opposition parties
Railway union strike / reluctance of State Bank to provide credit
Establishing authority outside of the capital (Kerensky rallied an army)
How did the Bolsheviks deal with demand for a coalition?
Left-wing SRs as Sovnarkom juniors
How did the Bolsheviks deal with opposition parties?
Arrest of all Kadets (later SRs and Mensheviks too)
Banning of opposition press (starts with centre then left too - all banned by 1921)
Cheka established - December 1917
Propaganda against bourgeoisie and removal of their right to vote (1918)
What decrees were issued in accordance with peace, land, and bread?
Decree on Peace - October (armistice November)
Decree on Land - October
Hunger was not effectively addressed
How did Bolsheviks establish authority outside of the capital?
Controlled 17 provincial capitals by October 31st
Defeated Kerensky’s army in November
Did not fully complete this aim until end of Civil War
How did the Bolsheviks encourage cooperation from resisting civil servants?
Threat of armed intervention
Leaving strikes to fizzle out
What did the CA elections mean for the Bolsheviks?
The SRs were twice as popular as them - they had a majority of 53%
Lenin must either choose coalition or repression
Why did Lenin choose to repress the CA?
Did not want to have his vision refuted
Believed in a dictatorial, revolutionary party for the proletariat
What were the implications of the terms of Brest-Litovsk?
Loss of 60m people
3 billion roubles in war reparations
74% of iron ore/coal supplies
1/3 of agricultural produce
26% of railways
Why was Brest-Litovsk signed?
Had been promised to the proletarians
Trotsky angered the Germans by concluding neither peace nor war for too long
Lenin expected revolution to happen in Germany anyway
The Russian army could not compete with an advanced capitalist society
How did the 1918 Soviet Constitution assist repression of opposition?
Toiling masses could vote, exploiting masses could not
Worker : peasant vote - 5:1
The Congress of Soviets only met at intervals - the Sovnarkom was the Supreme Organ of Power
When was the Cheka set up?
December 1917
Who did the Cheka target?
Enemies of the revolution
Members of the White Army
Imperial Army officers
Property owners (land valued 10,000 roubles)
What did the Cheka do?
Over 200,000 casualties
Stopped private trading
Crucified priests
Night raids
Shot people without trial
Grain requisitioning
Imprisonment
Shot at resisting Red Army
When was the Cheka dissolved?
February 1922
