Defending the Bolshevik Revolution Flashcards
How did the Bolsheviks initially look after the October Revolution?
- The Bolsheviks deemed to be supportive of the Constituent Assembly having the ability to decide Russia’s future
What was Lenin’s true intent after he took power?
- H wasn’t going to ruin his Communist Utopia by handing over power to the Constituent Assembly.
What was Lenin’s justification for the Constituent Assembly results?
- Lenin disregarded the Constituent Assembly, claiming that the ballot papers didn’t allow voters to distinguish between pro-Bolshevik left SRs and anti-Bolshevik right SRs.
What were the conditions that Sovnarkom imposed upon the Constituent Assembly?
- Members could recall previous representatives to replace ‘awkward’ representatives.
- Meetings could go ahead if only half of the members were present.
- Bolsheviks would check the credentials of members.
What happened before the Constituent Assembly meeting?
- 50,000 anti-Bolshevik protesters gathered in Petrograd but 10 were killed by Bolsheviks.
What happened during the Constituent Assembly meeting?
- The Assembly was disbanded after one day by the Bolsheviks.
When did peace talks between Russia and Germany begin?
- November 1917.
Why did Lenin want to avoid the war?
- He had made a promise to Russian working class people that he would end the war.
- He wanted to control the Bolsheviks’ internal enemies and needed ‘two hands to throttle the bourgeoise’.
- Russia was vulnerable to German invasion.
Why did the Germans want to end war on the eastern front?
- The USA had entered the war and joined the western front, leaving Germany fighting 3 major powers.
- As a result, they needed to end their activity in the east to transport men and materials to the western front.
How did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk go?
- Germany demanded several countries within the Russian Empire.
What were the figures for Russia’s loss from Germany?
- 26% of its population.
-27% of its arable land. - 74% of its coal and iron ore.
What were the contrasting viewpoints on how Russia should deal with the Treaty of Brest Litovsk?
- Bukharin believed Russia should deny the Treaty and start a ‘revolutionary war’ with Germany where they’d stir up the German working class against their Government.
- Trotsky believed that the Russians should not accept the treaty but also should end the war, ‘neither war, nor peace’.
- Lenin urged the acceptance of the treaty and threatened to leave Sovnarkom if his wishes weren’t met.
What did the middle-upper classes think about the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
- Russia’s middle and upper class saw the treaty as cowardice and now were hoping to overthrow the Bolsheviks and restart the war with Germany.
What was the Cheka?
- The political police force of the Soviet Union to begin with.
What was the purpose of the Cheka?
- To suppress counter-revolution and sabotage across the whole of Russia.
How many employees did the Cheka collect by 1921?
120,000
What power did the Cheka have?
- Power to arrest and punish alleged counter-revolutionaries as it saw fit.
What reputation did the Cheka have?
- Reputation for savagery and brutality through its uses of torture, becoming a permanent feature of Communist rule in Russia.
What was Lenin’s decree on the press?
- The banning of hostile newspapers to the Bolsheviks.
How did the Bolsheviks manage political parties and participation?
- The Bolsheviks outlawed the Kadet Party.
- The Bolsheviks banned middle class citizens from voting.
- The Bolsheviks expelled the Mensheviks and SRs.
What was the Red Terror?
- A period of Cheka brutality against those who aimed to destabilise the Bolshevik Government.
What 2 reasons did the Red Terror lead to increased violence by Bolsheviks?
- The reaction to Brest-Litovsk made Bolsheviks feel insecure.
- There was an increase in assassination attempts against Lenin and officials of the Bolshevik Government.
Why did the Cheka kill the Tsar’s family?
- Lenin saw Nicholas II as a potential rallying point around whom enemies could assemble.
How many lives did the GPU claim?
- 200,000 potentially.
What were the methods of Cheka brutality?
- Scalping, crucifixion
Why were the Bolsheviks unable to dictate economic policy when they took over?
- The Bolsheviks inherited a dire economy with a lack of productivity and soaring inflation.
What did politicians like Bukharin on the left think about the economy’s functional state?
- Bukharin believed Russia should immediately be transformed into a fully socialist economy.
What was state capitalism?
- The combination of private ownership and state control.
What was the Vesenkha?
- A body aimed to supervise industry and manage the economy, it reported directly to Sovnarkom.
Why was the nationalisation in Russia unsystematic?
- The Bolsheviks took over the banking industry, leading to factories being prone to nationalisation, or ‘nationalisation from below’ where workers took control of enterprises and declared them to be state property.
Why was war communism implemented?
- Due to the onset of full-scale civil war which meant the Bolsheviks no longer had access to the resources of the Ukraine and other areas.
What economic issues did Lenin face after Brest-Litovsk?
- Lenin faced a slump in industrial output.
- Lenin faced shortages of food and fuel.
- Prices soared
- The peasantry were unwilling to sell their produce
- Urban workers deserted the cities for food.
How much of Petrograd’s population was lost between 1918-1920?
- Three-quarters
What were the key features of war communism?
- Compulsory requisitioning, a ban on private trade, rationing, ‘one-man’ management.
What was the rationing system in Russia?
- food was rationed based on the Bolsheviks’ views on society.
- Bourgeoise were given virtually nothing whilst the workers and military were prioritised.
What were some features of ‘one-man management’?
- The introduction of discipline and productivity.
- The introduction of internal passports.
What was the Tambov Rising?
- Rising by the peasants in response to grain requisitioning.
- 40,000 men were led by Alexander Antonov.
How did the Government respond to Tambov?
- Use of poison gas and hostages of soldiers wives and children.
What effects did Tambov have on other aspects of Russia?
- There was a food crisis in the towns.
- Lenin was forced to start thinking about concessions to the peasantry.
Why were urban workers discontent during War Communism?
- Food shortages fuelled urban discontent, but there was also calls for the restoration of trade union rights.
- ## As well as this, urban workers saw the Bolshevik Government as corrupt.
What happened during the Kronstadt Mutiny?
- 10,000 sailors of the Baltic fleet based in Kronstadt mutinied in support of strikers in nearby Petrograd.
- Workers called for the legalisation of all socialist parties.
- Workers called for the rights of trade unions.
- Workers called for the end of special privileges to the Bolsheviks.
Why was the Kronstadt mutiny a huge blow for the Bolsheviks?
- The Kronstadt sailors had been one of the biggest supporters of the Bolsheviks during the October Revolution, however, their mutiny symbolised the disillusion with the communist system.
What was the overall effect of the New Economic Policy?
- The result was a mixed economy for Russia?
How did Lenin replace the ‘grain requisitioning’?
- He used a ‘tax in kind’ meaning that peasants had to hand over a fixed proportion of the grain they had produced.
- Any ‘tax in kind’ could be sold as surplus for profit.
Why did some bolsheviks see the NEP as a betrayal of the revolution?
- The NEP led to private ownership and privatisation.
Which businesses were privately owned and state owned?
- Cafes, restaurants and bars were privately owned in the service sectors but industry and banking still was owned by the state, as Lenin described them as the ‘commanding heights’.
What was Lenin’s approach for the future, by using the NEP?
- Lenin urged Russians that the NEP was the retreat from the dire economic and political situation that Russia had faced in the last few years.
- He expected a fully socialist system to eventually come into play.
What was the Black Earth Famine in Russia?
- When there was a drought in the Black Earth region, crop failure occurred leading to a deadly famine.
How many were killed in the famine?
- Roughly 5 million, the greatest famine in the history of Europe.
What was the economic situation of Russia by 1921?
- The Soviet economy recovered strongly with industrial output rising sharply as well as grain production.
What was the scissors crisis?
- Crisis when agriculture recovered more quickly than industry, leading to industrial prices soaring and agricultural prices deflating.
What were the views on Russian economy after the death of Lenin?
- Trotsky hoped to phase out the NEP into a fully socialist system.
- Stalin and Bukharin hoped to keep the NEP as permanent.
How did Lenin reinforce political dominance during the NEP?
- He suppressed the SRs and Mensheviks.
- 5000 alleged counter-revolutionaries were put on trial with 11 being condemned to death.
- The Cheka was rebranded to the GPU to assert dominance.
What was the Bolshevik onslaught on the Orthadox Church?
- The church was separated from the state and stripped off its privileges.
- The Bolsheviks did this because they claimed that the orthodox church didn’t give away treaures to famine victims (Richard Pipes said this was an excuse to abolish the Orthadox church)
- Soviets were ordered to remove precious items from their churches in the locality.
What did the ban on factions in 1921 mean?
- Groups within the Bolsheviks with different ideologies and agenda were no longer allowed to run.
How did Bolshevik membership change because of the ban on factions?
- On the eve of the NEP, there were 730,000 members, but by early 1923, there were only 500,000.
What were 2 reasons for the outbreak of the Russian Civil War?
1) The closure of the Constituent Assembly.
2) The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed in March 1918.
How many people were killed in the Russian Civil War?
- Roughly 3 million died due to fighting and disease spread.
Why was there a complex nature of who was fighting in the Russian Civil War?
- The reds were fighting the whites but the reds also faced conflict with green SR armies and separist movements.
What Government formed 500 miles to the east of Moscow?
- The Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly.
What was the aim of ‘Komuch’?
- To champion the cause of what they called the ‘democratic counter-revolution’.
What other Government were based in eastern Russia apart from Komuch?
- The Provisional Siberian Government was made up of Kadets and ex-Tsarist officers.
How did Komuch and the ex-tsarists combine their governments?
- Through the creation of the Provisional All Russian Government.
What happened to the Provisional All Russian Government?
- The Conservatives saw off right SRs and expelled their leaders from Russia.
What was the Czech Legion?
- Group of 50,000 Czechoslovakian soldiers taken prisoner by Russia during World War One.
What events involved the Czech Legions?
- The Bolsheviks agreed to help the Czech Legion and push them to fight for the west, however, the Czechs were suspicious of the Bolsheviks and overpowered them.
Why did the Czech Legion eventually suffer?
- Mutinies within their ranks
- Lack of resources
Why did Lenin’s Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia’ contradict itself?
- Lenin agreed to let national minorities separate from the Russian Empire if they wished.
- However, Lenin wasn’t ready to see the resources of these minorities be lost from Russian territory.
Who were the white armies led by?
- Former Tsarist officers
What were the values of the white officers?
- Strong believers of property rights.
- Re-establishment of pre-1917 borders.
- Lack of concessions for national minorities.
- Monarchists
- Dictatorship
Who were the main leaders of the white armies?
- Admiral Kolchak in Siberia
- General Denikin in Southern Russia
- Baron Wrangel
- Yudenich
What was the system of Red Army appointment called?
- Appointment from above.
What did appointment from above allow Trotsky to do?
- Allowed the appointment of ex-Tsarist officers.
Why did ex-Tsarist officers join the Red Army?
- They had no choice and couldn’t make a living.
- They willingly joined.
Why did ‘dual command’ secure trust in ex-Tsarist faithfuls?
- Each Tsarist officer was supervised by a political commisar who was loyal to the Bolsheviks.
How did the number of Bolshevik Red Army troops increase between 1918-1921?
- 1 million men in 1918 but in 1921 it was 5 million men.
What were 2 issues in the Red Army?
- Desertion
- Disease
Why was Trotsky an immense leader of the Red Army?
- He rallyed support on his armoured train.
- He was inspirational despite not being a great battlefield commander.
Why was Bolshevik location crucial in the Russian Civil War?
- The Bolshevks were in control of the most densely populated areas of Russia such as Moscow and Petrograd, allowing them population superiority over the Whites.
Why was Bolshevik access to industry crucial?
- The Bolsheviks location in Moscow and Petrograd allowed them majority access to industry, whilst the whites relied on foreign handouts.
What were Kolchak’s flaws as a politician?
- He was thin-skinned, taking offense to critcism.
- He was a poor administrator.
What were Kolchak’s involvements in the war?
- He built up an army of 150,000 men which pushed the Red Army back more than 250 miles.
What was the demise of KolchaK?
- A counter-attack by the reds forced the Kolchak resistance back and led to the capturing of Kolchal by the Red Army.
What was Denikin’s military campaign like for the whites?
- Denikin held an army of 150,000 men.
- His army came just 250 miles from Moscow.
How was Denikin suppressed?
- Massive Red Army counter attack.
- Denikin resigned and went into exhile.
Which leader replaced Denikin?
- Wrangel
How long did Wrangel’s army hold up for against Bolshevik resistance?
- Nine months before being defeated.
How many of Wrangel’s men and civilians escaped from the Bolsheviks?
- 150,000 were carried out by Allied warships.
How many men did Yudenich’s army hold?
- 15,000 men from the north-west.
What was Yudenicch’s military campaign like?
- Yudenich came in sight of Petrograd but was defeated by Trotsky’s Red Army counter attack.
Why were the allies concerned with the Russian Revolution? (GIVE 3 reasons)
1) With Russia out of the war, the German weren’t facing a war on both fronts
2) Allied exports of military material were being held in areas such as Archangel that needed protecting.
3) They were concerned that Germany were going to make considerable economic gains.
What were the objectives of allied intervention?
- Establish a government willing to reopen an Eastern Front against Germany.
- Denying Germany access to Russian resources
- Prevent allied supply dumps reaching Russians.
What was Winston Churchill’s view on Bolshevism?
- He saw Bolshevism as a contagious disease that may spread through Europe.
Why did France want to intervene in Russia?
- They had economic interests in the Ukraine that they wanted to protect.
Why did the USA want to obligate in the Russian Civil War?
- To protect the Czech Legion for humintarian purposes.
What orders were the USA under during intervention during the Russian Civil War?
- The orders to not involve themselves in direct combat.
When and where were French forces withdrawn from in Russia?
- Southern Russia in early 1919.
Why were the Japanese half-heartedly involved in the Russian Civil War?
- The Japenese confined themselves to the Pacific Coast rather than having direct conflict with the Bolsheviks.
Which country was by the far the biggest interventionists?
- Britain
How many British soldiers were killed during intervention in the Russian Civil War?
- 400
Why were the British limited in their intervention in Russia?
- The British were limited because the £100 million worth of supply to the whites often found its way into Bolshevik hands.
- General Knox himself received a letter from Trotsky congratulating him on passing the resources to the Bolsheviks.
What was Woodrow Wilson’s point of view over the Civil War?
- the Treaty of Brest Litovsk angered Wilson but he believed that Russia should handle their situation alone rather than being intervened.
Why was Churchill’s anti-communist viewpoint overlooked by David Lloyd George?
- Lloyd George said that Britain couldn’t afford to determine a suitable outcome in Russia and that the British needed to cut public spending post-WW1.
What was Georges Clemenceau’s viewpoint of the Russian Civil War?
- Clemenceau didn’t agree with communism but didn’t agree with an ideological war, and believed the only way to prevent European communism was to create a strong Poland.
How did British citizens react to war against Russia?
- The British Labour movements called for a ‘Hands Off Russia’ Campaign, involving the lack of shipping of White Army arms.
How did interventionist soldiers react to war with Russia?
- Interventionist soldiers often were reluctant to involve themselves in Russian affairs.
- Interventionist soldiers often mutinied especially British troops.
When did interventionists leave Russia?
- By early-1920, but the aid given to the Whites was not stopped.
Why did the Russo-Polish War start?
- Poland, a re-established country, wanted to expand eastwards and took control of Kyiv.
- They were countered by the Red Army.
- However, in the Miracle of the Vistula, the Bolsheviks were forced to retreat eastwards.
- At the Treaty of Riga, a ceasefire was declared and the Russians ceded more than 30,000 square miles of territory on its eastern borders.
