Context. Flashcards
Who was the treaty of Brest Litovksk with and what territorial loses did it entail?
The treaty of Brest Litovsk was a treaty between the Bolsheviks and the central powers. Territorial loses included the lands of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and parts of the Caucuses region.
Who were the Mensheviks?
A communist group far more moderate than the bolsheviks, with Menshevik literary meaning small party and Bolshevik meaning big party. Unlike the Bolsheviks the Mensheviks were willing to cooperate with the bourgeois.
Who were the Socialist revolutionaries SRs?
The SRs were a group if democratic socialists who believed in the right of small group to self govern themselves. The SRs were more faithful to Marx’s historical dialectics wherein the state would wither away and the end of history would be achieved
How did the Bolsheviks dispose of rival left wing parties between 1918-1922?
The Mensheviks and SRs would struggle to publish their newspapers due to restrictions placed upon them by the Bolsheviks.
The SRs lost all of their power when they walked out of government in protest of the decision to withdraw from WW1
In the March of 1918 the Bolsheviks were renamed to the communist party as all other rival parties had been banned by 1921.
In April 1921 Lenin declared that the only place for Mensheviks and SRs was in prison. Through waves of arrests the two parties ceased to exist as organisations.
What was the Sovnarkom?
The sovarkom was the council of the people’s commissars and took the role of top government ministers who were, in theory responsible for key decision making and giving the government orders.
What was the role of the Central executive committee?
It was a larger group elected by the congress of soviets. It’s task was to oversee the work of government and its administration.
What was the role of the all Russian congress of soviets?
It was the supreme law making body of the state. All laws issued by the sovnarkom had to be approved by the congress .
What was the politburo?
What t was a group of seven to nine leading members of the Bolshevik party, who were chosen by the parties central party committee to make key decisions affecting policy. The politburo met daily under Lenin and eventually became more important in decision making than the sovnarkom .
What was the theory of democratic centralism?
It was the principle of Soviets being used to represent the interests of workers on a local level. Their wishes would be expressed through a structure of of representative organisations that would take their wishes and concerns to higher governmental institutions.
What was Lenin’s personal power?
Lenin’s official positions in government were as chair of the sovnarkom and as as one of the politburo members, therefore giving him significant levels of influence both within the government and the party.
Lenin preferred a method of collective leadership he dismissed a personal dictatorship as utter nonsense.
How did the communist party strengthen their power upon the state?
The apparatus of control of the state was now in the hands of the party, it seen that the party was firmly placed under the control of it’s leading council the politburo.
What did the soviet constitution if 1924 establish?
The constitution of 1924 was an important step in the centralisation of power within the soviet state.
What was the Nomenklatura system?
The Nomenklatura system was a list of jobs within the state approved by party leadership. Evidence of loyalty to the communist party cause was necessary to remain on the list, this system encouraged corruption as favours were expected from those who placed on the list and promoted.
How was revoking one’s communist party an effective means to end their political career?
Communist party membership party was a condition required to remain on the Nomenklatura lost.
Define Chistka.
The Russian term for cleansing, usually applied to those that occurred under Lenin. They were non-violent and those who were cleansed had their communist party membership revoked.
